Paris Is Burning
by Jennie Livingston
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DVD details
Actor: André Christian, Carmen and Brooke, David The Father Xtravaganza, Dorian Corey, Paris DupréeDirector: Jennie Livingston
Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
Cinematographer: Paul Gibson
Producer: Jennie Livingston
Editor: Jonathan Oppenheim
Producer: Barry Swimar
Producer: Richard Dooley
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 71 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-09-06
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Miramax
DVD Reviews of Paris Is Burning
DVD Review: Oh come let us adore them/These Legendary Children
Summary: 5 Stars
I first saw this film in London when it was doing the festivals and my friends & I - black and white alike - immediately got caught up in the world of balls, houses, legends, categories, shade, reading, walking and mopping. There's a remarkable transformative moment around two thirds of the way through where a pretty young transsexual, Octavia, attends a modelling competition in a white suburban shopping mall and as we, the viewers, are confronted by a sea of white, straight, comfortably-off faces we find ourselves wondering, 'Well, what do these people do? They don't walk in balls. They don't compete in categories. What do they have in their lives?' At that moment one is - or I was - totally caught up in the world view of the participants in Paris is Burning. It's strange to rewatch now what was then a contemporary piece, and which gave the viewer a portrait of the world of voguing before Madonna opened it up to the great white suburbs, but it's still one of the most vividly human films I've ever seen.
The dvd features a clean wide-screen print, deleted and extended scenes, and a commentary track. The extra scenes are mostly interesting. There's a whole strand on the religious beliefs of the leading participants, and how they view their sexuality in light of those beliefs. There's brief footage of Willie Ninja's (wheelchair-bound) mother attending a ball - particularly interesting in light of bell hooks' critique of the film, where she observes that it tends to downplay biological family connections. Only a rather long sequence of a peace festival seems out of place, but even that is tied into an interview with Pepper Labeija and others where war, the military, uniforms, masculinity and machismo are discussed.
After watching the deleted scenes I went straight on to listen to the commentary track, which features director Jennie Livingstone and her editor, and two of the leading characters in the film, one of whom, Willie Ninja, went on to have success as a dancer-choreographer with Malcolm Mclaren and, of course, Madonna. Commentaries are often flabby and dull, but this one isn't. Everyone is to the point and the listener learns a lot, both about the business of putting the film together and about the interplay of film-maker and participants. All four seem fond of each other and clearly enjoy reliving the times when the film was shot. We find out who is still with us and hear the story of the mummified body found in Dorian Corey's flat (about which I remember reading years ago) from those who knew him. I found particularly interesting remarks about what the ball scene is like now. ('It used to be Legends. Now we've gone to Icons'). Commentaries can really drag but this one whisks by.
I read in a recent issue of gay monthly Attitude that there's a follow-up documentary (not by Livingstone) that one can buy mail-order on dvd, by which means the makers hope to finance cinema distribution. Whilst that doesn't make me that optimistic about its quality it certainly sounds worth a look.
Description of Paris Is Burning
The award-winning PARIS IS BURNING has been igniting audiences and critics across the country and all over the world with record-breaking box office performances. An unblinking behind-the-scenes story of fashion-obsessed New Yorkers who created "voguing" and drag balls, and turned these raucous celebrations into a powerful expression of fierce personal pride. This world-within-a-world is instantly familiar, filled with ambitions, desires, and yearnings that reflect America itself. Paris Is Burning is an intimate portrait of one urban community, a world in which the allure of high fashion, status, and wealth becomes an affirmation of love, acceptance, and joy.Paris Is Burning closes with two neon-lit boys holding each other on the streets of Harlem. One looks into the camera and asks, "So this is New York City and what the gay lifestyle is all about--right?" This documentary takes an honest, humorous, and surprisingly poignant peek into one of America's overlooked subcultures: the world of the urban drag queen. It's a parallel dimension of bizarre beauty, where "houses" vie like gangs for turf and reputation ... only instead of street-fighting, they vogue their way down makeshift catwalks in competitive "balls." The only rule of the ballroom: be real.
In surprisingly candid interviews, you discover the grace, strength, and humor it takes to be gay, black, and poor in a straight, rich, white world. You'll meet young transsexual "cover girls," street hustlers saving up for the big operation, and aging drag divas reminiscing about the bygone days of sequins, feathers, and Marilyn Monroe.
Made in the late 1980s, this fashion-conscious film shows its age less than you'd expect. It's still a great watch for anyone interested in the whole range of humanity, or anyone who's ever been an outsider, desperately wanting something the world hides out of reach. --Grant Balfour
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