Paris Is Burning

UPC: 786936297256

Studio: Miramax

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Nudity, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Language]

Summary: Poignant, well-received documentary that reveals the community of New York's minority drag queens, gay black and Latino men who cross dress as women and invent the dance style of "voguing," imitating the fashion poses on the covers of the magazine Vogue. As director Jennie Livingston discovers, her subjects band together into family-like "houses" for protection, taking the same last names and competing in drag balls where awards are given out for authenticity or "realness," as well as other categories like "evening wear" and "executive wear." Both an embracing and a refutation of the world of high fashion, the balls become the social locus of this underclass, underground society of outcasts defiantly refusing to be ignored by a world that scorns them. Paris Is Burning (1991) was one of several critically acclaimed documentaries of the late 1980s and early 1990s excluded from Academy Award nominations, eventually leading to a reappraisal of the Academy's stodgy selection process. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Category: Culture & Society

Awards: Best Documentary – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Documentary – New York Film Critics Circle Grand Jury Prize - Documentary – Sundance Film Festival

Features: Feature Commentary By: Jennie Livingston, Director/Producer Willi Ninja, NMother, House of Ninja Freddie Pendavis, House of Pendavis, Jonathan Oppenheim, Editor

Paris Is Burning

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 09/06/2005

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Runtime: 76 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Paris Is Burning
1. The Ball Circuit [4:45]
2. Live the Fantasy [6:34]
3. Categories [8:58]
4. House & Family [7:48]
5. Mother [2:55]
6. Reading & Voguing [7:55]
7. Opulence [4:19]
8. Supermarket [5:06]
9. Working Girls [8:30]
10. Complete Woman [8:02]
11. Hooray for You [5:45]
12. Coda & End Credits [5:42]

Tom Wiener

A brief, informative, and ultimately moving excursion through an urban subculture, Paris Is Burning is a fly-on-the-wall documentary that allows its subjects to reveal themselves. As gays and members of minorities, these subjects have had to form their own community and social rituals. Filmmaker Jennie Livingston gained her subjects' confidence by filming them over several years' time, but in truth, many of these men are eager to strut their stuff. Livingston doesn't present their transvestite balls as freak shows; she approaches the events without condescension or pandering. The overall mood of the film is joyous, but inevitably, the reality of this world, which celebrates a lifestyle still considered immoral by much of the population, finally intrudes. Though some of the characters come off like lost souls, Livingston still finds much to celebrate in the imagination and wit of a hardy band of urban brothers. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Carmen  Actor 
Freddie Pendavis  Actor 
Willi Ninja  Actor 
Paris Dupree  Actor 
Octavia St. Laurent  Actor 
Anji Xtravaganza  Actor 
Junior Labeija  Actor 
Angie Xtravaganza  Actor 
Sol Pendavis  Actor 
Sandy Ninja  Actor 
Bianca Xtravaganza  Actor 
Brooke  Actor 
Avis Pendavis  Actor 
Venus Xtravaganza  Actor 
Nigel Finch  Producer 
Davis Lacy  Producer 
Jennie Livingston  Director 
Jennie Livingston  Producer 
Dorian Corey  Actor 
Pepper Labeija  Actor 
Danny Xtravaganza  Actor 

Country: USA