Paris Blues

Within 2 years of "Paris Blues" being released the US involvement in Vietnam began to sour the relationship between America and la rive gauche. French intellectuals affected to disdain the United States and all its works;one of the few aspects of Americana that were permitted to be still admired was jazz music. Even so the myth of the American jazz musician as a god-like figure had faded by the mid sixties.Giants like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington were still revered but the journeymen jazzers like Ram Bowen(Newman)no longer filled the clubs just because they were American. The Indian Summer of America's honeymoon with Europe peaked with "Paris Blues".

Beautifully shot in black and white in the quintessentially Parisian parts of the city where the 2 pairs of lovers could stroll hand in hand photogenically it was a love letter to the arondissements beloved of Scott Fitzgerald,Hemingway and Gertrude Stein 30 years after the affair had ended.

Paul Newman was never more charming,Sidney Poitier never more cool and self-effacing;their pairing considered quite daring at the time coming just a few years after the ground-breaking "The Defiant Ones". Duke Ellington wrote the score and his "Mood Indigo" is beautifully played by Murray McCeachern.Louis Armstrong plays himself - why his character is named Wild Man Moore one can only speculate.

I saw "Paris Blues" when I was 20 years old and my love affair with jazz was a its height. Looking at it now it doesn't seem all that special,the characters and situations have all become clichés;but perhaps that's a bit like saying "Hamlet"'s a good play but it's full of quotations.

The American in Paris theme has been done very often in American cinema. The tradition is huge splashy technicolor with Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Jane Powell, Audrey Hepburn cavorting around the well known streets and landmarks. Those are nice films, but that ain't what you get here.

No Louvre, no Arc de Triomphe, no Eiffel Tower, a brief shot of Notre Dame from a distance; that's about it from the well known Paris. The Paris we see here in this black and white film is of the jazz clubs of the Left Bank where two expatriate musicians, Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier, eke out a living doing what they love.

Newman has ambitions though, he'd like to be a serious composer not a trombonist all his life. Poitier has come to Paris for reasons of the race problems in the USA.

Into their lives two American tourists come, Joanne Woodward and Diahann Carroll. A couple of dual romances commence.

Carroll and Poitier have a spirited debate over civil rights. The movement is getting into high gear in America and Carroll wants him to return and be part of it. No thanks, says Poitier, he just wants to do his jazz thing where his skin color isn't anyone's problem least of all his own.

Interestingly Carroll was doing a kind of warm up for another part of a black woman in Paris on Broadway the following year in Richard Rodgers, No Strings. In that play she falls for an expatriate writer played by Richard Kiley. An interracial romance, one of the first shown on the Broadway stage, still a lot of the same issues were in that show.

Paris Blues is a different slice of Parisian life for an American film to explore. All four leads do just fine, though the film probably doesn't rank in the top work of any of them.

Lots of jazz music for the aficionado. And of course the presence of the incomparable Louis Armstrong. The highlight of the film is the jam session with those two ersatz musicians Newman and Poitier.

The way Satchmo is received by the public only proves the truth of that line he sang in High Society about the way the French love American jazz.

I read all the other comments regarding this movie, and especially the commentator from Toronto, who stated that the trite clichés of American movies abound in this one; then Green Card and French Kiss were mentioned (Yes, those films WERE awful); The music is excellent; Duke Ellington's music is the backdrop; and Louis Armstrong appears in the film. Sidney Poitier is always right on the mark, sensitive and real; a superb actor. Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman play the ill-fated couple; and do quite well, as has already been mentioned in several reviews. While the story itself is not original, the cinematography is; you will see the street markets; walking along the Seine, Montmartre, Notre Dame, etc. (Compare this to the last big Hollywood film "Moulin Rouge", and I would prefer this film any day!).

This film is to be appreciated for the era it depicts; I have traveled to Europe, and always find that each person's impression is different; Americans who have never traveled unfortunately perpetuate the stereotype; That is sheer ignorance, however. I sincerely hope that all Europeans do not see Americans as portrayed by Meg Ryan, an imbecilic blonde American; or for example, "Le Divorce", with Kate Hudson and Naomi Watts; Please note that Hollywood does NOT represent educated Americans. This is in itself sad, because in the 1960's, when my mother traveled to Europe, I think the world was more friendly; now when even the U.S. is divided into "red" and "blue" states; we are consigned to trash films like "Le Divorce", which Hollywood makes for the lowest common denominator, instead of smaller "art" films which are a pleasant experience.

It is a shame that Hollywood portrays Americans as uncultured imbeciles; this is all about the bottom line (profits). I can honestly say that a real person has not been portrayed by American film blockbusters since the 1970's.

See this film for yourself. It is definitely worth it.

When the story begins, Ram (Paul Newman) and Eddie (Sidney Poitier) are American musicians who have been living in Paris for some time. They love jazz and spend their evenings performing in various clubs. However, their bohemian lifestyle is about to be challenged in the form of two ladies who are traveling together (Joanne Woodward and Diahann Carroll). When love is in the air, there are problems--can such a lifestyle work with wives AND would these men be willing to return home to the States if need be?

This is a film I really enjoyed for a couple reasons. First, the acting was terrific and the characterizations were very nice. Second, the story is unusual. However, some of it being unusual is because the movie leaves the viewer wondering what will happen next...will they have a happy ending or not? Well, the film doesn't make this clear...which didn't bother me. Worth seeing.

This is not merely a movie about race, jazz, drug use, love affairs, Parisian scenery, etc. It's a movie about all the aforementioned and then some. Ritt & Co. go deeper than just superficially touching on so-called hip, trendy issues. Each character portrayed has his/her own set of "blues" to contend with and no individual set of "blues" is merely confined to one sole issue, but rather a complex mixture of many factors that comprise each of our character's makeup. It is in the intertwining of each character's individual persona with the other characters' own traits and idiosyncrasies that lets the story unfold and take cohesive shape. Successes and failures are inextricably linked, as in Ram's (Newman) fame as a jazz soloist counterpointed with his rejection as a serious composer/arranger. Eddie (Poitier) also has his own set of personal conflicts that are duly explored here.

Joanne Wodward, Diahann Carrol and Barbara Laage (in a more minor role, albeit soulful and penetrating) all hit their mark with humor, depth and candor. Serge Reggiani's role as the junkie guitar player adds his own set of "blues" to an already spicy mixture of music, love, rejection and pathos. "Satchmo" and company provide a most welcome musical interlude at just the right time to lighten up the plot just a bit!

A timelessly entertaining film.