Is Paris burning? Maurice Jarre

Shortly after the failed 20 July plot to assassinate him in 1944, Adolf Hitler appoints General der Infanterie Dietrich von Choltitz as military governor of occupied Paris. Hitler believes Choltitz will obey his order that the Allies should not be allowed to capture Paris without the Germans destroying it completely, similarly to the planned destruction of Warsaw.The French Resistance learn that the Allies are not planning to take Paris, but are bypassing it to avoid confrontation and are heading straight to Germany instead.

Despite his two Oscar wins, Maurice Jarre was not originally chosen by director René Clément to score the film, he was selected instead by Paramount Studio producers. Jarre understood that the film’s narrative was a matter of national pride. As such he sought to infuse his score with an authentic French identity, and relates that he prominently featured the accordion in his signature waltz because “the instrument speaks with the voice of Paris.” For the score, he composed five thematic identities; first and foremost he created a waltz for the ages, the Valse Paris, a remarkable free flowing accordion rich French melody, which perfectly captured the beating heart of Paris. Lyricist Maurice Vidalin transformed it into a wonderful song popularized by singer Mireille Mathieu, under the title Paris en colère.