Nostalgia is denial - denial of the painful present... the name for this denial is golden age thinking - the erroneous notion that a different time period is better than the one one's living in - it's a flaw in the romantic imagination of those people who find it difficult to cope with the present.
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Please find below a link to the trailer for the 1951 film An American in Paris, starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron and directed by Vincente Minnelli. It won the Academy Award for best picture (and the fact that it did so is thought by many to be the reason why Singin' in the Rain did not win in 1952-- after all, the Academy just rewarded an MGM Freed Unit Musical starring Gene Kelly the year before).
The plot of An American in Paris is a variation on that of Hemingway's A Moveable Feast. It tells the story of Jerry Mulligan, and American painter and GI in post-World War II Paris. The title of the film comes from the name of George Gershwin's 1928 composition of the same name which forms the soundtrack for the film's dream ballet sequence. Kelly's co-star Leslie Caron was a French ballet dancer-- this film launched her career as an American movie star.
As Gene Kelly as Jerry Mulligan tells us, "Paris is a mood-- a longing you didn't know you had until it was answered. Paris is like love or art or faith-- it can't be experienced, only felt."
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Please find below a link to the trailer for the 1951 film An American in Paris, starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron and directed by Vincente Minnelli. It won the Academy Award for best picture (and the fact that it did so is thought by many to be the reason why Singin' in the Rain did not win in 1952-- after all, the Academy just rewarded an MGM Freed Unit Musical starring Gene Kelly the year before).
The plot of An American in Paris is a variation on that of Hemingway's A Moveable Feast. It tells the story of Jerry Mulligan, and American painter and GI in post-World War II Paris. The title of the film comes from the name of George Gershwin's 1928 composition of the same name which forms the soundtrack for the film's dream ballet sequence. Kelly's co-star Leslie Caron was a French ballet dancer-- this film launched her career as an American movie star.
As Gene Kelly as Jerry Mulligan tells us, "Paris is a mood-- a longing you didn't know you had until it was answered. Paris is like love or art or faith-- it can't be experienced, only felt."
Below you will find a link to the first part of the 1961 film Paris Blues (the entire film is available in seven parts on youtube). Paris Blues, directed by Martin Ritt, is another variation on the basic American expatriate plot wherein two American jazz musicians yearn to settle down in Paris. The film stars Sidney Poitier and Paul Newman.
Below please find a link to the 1923 Charlie Chaplin film A Woman of Paris. It stars Edna Purviance and was written, directed, and produced by Chaplin, who also composed the musical score. He does not appear in the film and it is not a comedy!
Finally, please find below the trailer for Richard Linklater's 2004 film Before Sunset starring Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke. This film provides a more recent interpretation of the "American in Paris" plot. The film is part of a trilogy that also includes Before Sunset of 2004 and Before Midnight of 2013.