User Reviews

While singing in a lower class quarter in Paris, the street singer Albert (Albert Préjean) falls in love with the Romanian party girl Pola (Pola Illéry), who is the companion of the gangster Fred (Gaston Modot). One night, Albert meets with Pola, who has just found that Fred had stolen her key, and his friend Louis (Edmond T. Gréville) proposes to toss to date her. However, Albert brings her to his room and they spend the night together, with Albert sleeping on the floor and Pola on his bed. Early in the morning, the pickpocket Émile (Bill Bocket) brings a bag with stolen pieces and asks Albert to keep the bag for him. When the police busts Albert's room and finds the stolen goods, he is arrested and sent to jail. Meanwhile Fred travels and Pola seeks comfort with Louis, and they stay together. When Émile is arrested by the police, he confesses that Albert is innocent and he is released and seeks out Pola. Meanwhile Fred returns to Paris and also seeks out Pola that is with Louis. The three men that are under the spell of the gorgeous lady dispute her love and only one wins.

"Sous les Toits de Paris" is a film with a wonderful transition between silent and sound eras. This is the first René Clair's film that I watched and I found very original and interesting the style of this director that uses the acting of silent movies with gestures and facial expressions and dialogs instead of intertitles, everything supported by the marvelous song "Sous les Toits de Paris" and impressive camera work. The paradox of this delightful film are the low-life characters, composed by pickpocket (Émile); gangster (Fred); a pickpocket that steals the girl of his friend (Louis); and an easy woman (Pola). It is also unusual that the girl does not end the story with the good guy, showing no commercial concern like in most of the Hollywood movies. Not only Albert, Fred and Louis, but I have also been bewitched by the beauty and charm of Pola Illéry. I did not find any information about the death of this actress in Internet. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Sob os Tetos de Paris" ("Under the Ceilings of Paris")

"Sous les toits de Paris", a 1930 comedy/drama was René Clairs first venture into sound film making - and is already a masterful showcase for the use of sound. It is actually a blend between silent movie and talking movie with whole sections being without any sound or the dialogue turned off. In its deliberate use of sound, the movie reminded me of Fritz Lang's "M".

Also, the sets are fantastic. They show the "lower" quarters of Paris as both a fantastic place and a realist place. It gives the movie a very nice touch.

But the story isn't that fantastic. It's a simplistic plot about a man falling in love. He's getting arrested. In the meantime, his best friend falls in love with his girl. I think Clair wasn't out to write something terribly new but used this simple, yet lovely story to carry his technical idea about sound (he was at that time still a strong defender of the silent cinema). Also, he wanted to show the "other" life in Paris, the low life. And he succeeds quite well at that.

All that said, however, I have to add that this isn't my kind of film. I appreciate its virtuoso style for its time, I even might consider it a classic to some extend because it led the way for a generation of film makers - but personally, it doesn't do much for me. I watch it sort of emotionless. Overall, I'd give it a very personal

6/10

The film marvellously shows the nostalgic dream of the old Paris and its common people. With melancholic irony, Clair tells a story of the milieu of backstreets and backyards, of street singers, pickpockets, fiddlers and strange townsmen. Here, his grasp into the present does not become realistic depictions of circumstances, but a poetic romance, for which reality is only one aspect of life.

In this regard, especially the sound has turned out quite well. And how hesitantly Clair used this new technical innovation! His generally critical attitude towards sound in films induced, that "Sous les toits" is mainly composed of silent parts (including many dialog scenes), which are highlighted with music or noises such as trains driving past. The song "Sous Les Toits De Paris" of Albert, the street singer, becomes to the red thread which links several scenes and bridges time distances. A fight taking place in the dark only informs the viewer through noises. For that, we witness a dispute, where the matter is uninteresting and predictable, without any sound - shot through a glass door. One can say sound is especially used for enrichment and left out when it would be needless. Thus, a film came into being that wonderfully combines sentiment, humor and intelligence with languishingly beautiful tunes.

"Under the Roofs of Paris" is a film written and directed by René Clair. His direction is lovely--with some creative and lovely camera-work. As far as the story goes, it seems a bit thin.

The film begins with Pola being vigorously dated by Fred. In other words, the thug Fred isn't about to take no for an answer--and Pola is naturally creeped out by him. Ultimately, Fred steals her apartment key and Pola is understandably afraid to return home. When she bumps into Albert, he takes pity for her and takes her home. Over time, they fall for each other. However, Albert is arrested (thanks to his friend Emil) and Fred isn't about to allow Albert and Pola to be together. What's to come of them?

Technically, the film is a mixed bag--though I really cannot fault the film for its deficits. Although the film is part sound and part silent, films outside the United States took much longer to shift to all-talking pictures--so I accept that French films still were making the transition. Sound-wise, this 1930 film is very similar to 1927's "The Jazz Singer"--with a few songs and a bit of dialog but otherwise being essentially a silent film. However, what was very advanced was the camera work and the crane shots--they were very impressive and the film sure looked great.

Apart from the technical, the film had a story that seemed a bit weak. There isn't a lot of depth to the characters, they aren't necessarily likable and I didn't feel all that involved with them. So, overall, it is worth seeing but not a must-see--and not as good as some of the director's other efforts.

René Clair's "Sous les toits de Paris" ("Under the Roofs of Paris" in English) manages to strike the right balance between happy and gritty. This jolly musical tells the story of a love affair between street singer Albert and Romanian immigrant Pola. Or at least, they attempt a romance. They're surrounded by all manner of lowlifes. This is not the gay Paree that we expect.

Released when talkies were still in their relative infancy, the movie has sound scenes, but also silent ones. It finds the right balance between them. Moreover, the characters are complex if lowly individuals. Watching it all these years later, I wonder which direction French cinema would've taken had World War II not happened.

Anyway, outstanding movie. Not the greatest by any stretch, but still impressive.

René Clair's early sound films are amongst the best ever made. Le Million (1931), Quatorze Juillet (1933), and Under the Roofs of Paris (1930) are masterpieces of musical comedy and romance (I leave out perhaps his most famous, À nous la liberté, which I need to see again). Under the Roofs of Paris is the loose but good story of a young street singer (Albert Préjean) who falls in love with a girl (Pola Illéry). He has an uneasy relationship with a couple of pickpockets (including Gaston Modot, who also made L'Âge d'or with Buñuel the same year) who like to work when he's demonstrating his talent. In the film's opening scene, there is an amazingly edited sequence of one of these men at work. Everyone wants Pola, including Albert's best friend, Louis, and when Albert is framed for burglary, they don't think twice about going after her. Clair's direction moves like silk. It's so supple. The camera movements, full of crane shots and pans, is technically stunning, especially for the time but even now. And the use of sound is absolutely revolutionary. It's more or less half silent, half talkie. Unlike many early sound films, Clair keeps the dialogue to a minimum, so it's never clunky. Characters only speak when they have to; at other times, they gesture. The film is often described as a musical, but it is not. There are two songs, and the music arises diagetically from an accordion player. The music, and the use of music, are quite amazing. This is one of the most wonderful movies ever made.

This story follows the fortunes of Parisian petty street criminals, and, in particular, street busker Albert (Albert Prejean). He falls in love with Pola (Pola Illery) but things don't work out as he plans....

This is a good film despite being full of detestable characters. Albert's best friend steals his girlfriend and is quick to fight with him, and another colleague is a pick-pocket who is responsible for sending him to jail. Then there is Fred (Gaston Modot), a womanizing leader of a street gang. Fred is also involved with Pola and he remains a nasty piece of work throughout the film. However, worst of all is Pola - what a slag! She sleeps with everyone and seems to have no loyalty. She leads Albert on and doesn't let him score with her in his bedroom. She sends very mixed signals.

This bunch of no-gooders ensures that we sympathize with Albert and root for him throughout the film as he is the only character that shows us any decency. He is far too good to be mixed up in the life that he leads. The way that the film ends can only be seen as a blessing for him.

The film is half silent and the use of sound and silence is effective in each particular section, eg, the fight scene which also contains a funny moment - watch as Albert is offered a selection of knives for his fight with Fred. He inspects them all and rejects them all with an air of superiority before giving Fred a quick slap around the head and starting the fight. Even though the film is French and so the talking sections sound like "hongh-hi-hongh-hi-hongh", this is an entertaining film with some excellent camera shots and a catchy main song.

The great French film actor Jacques Tati made several films that tried to capture a Paris that disappeared even before World WarII. It was a world best seen through the gifted photography of Atget and Brassai. A world of intimacy, silent streets, virtually no traffic, limited means, but unlimited pleasures. A wonderful opening shot glides across rooftops to join a cluster of ordinary Parisians enjoying a singalong, an odd but compelling precursor of karaoke and rock concerts, but untarnished by special effects or hype. There is a sense that we are witnessing a street version of Lautrec's Moulin Rouge.

The cinematography is extraordinary. It can only be compared to Fritz Lang's "M", or the "Third Man". Very little actually happens and dialogue is used sporadically. Yet we find ourselves caring very much about the people about whom we know so little.

An unforgettable film.

I'd be lying if I said this didn't surprise me a little bit. In various ways it is, in turn, clever, novel, well done and brilliant, but also sometimes a tad uneven. René Clair's orchestration of shots and scenes as director is outstanding and often kind of ingenious, and the cinematography of Georges Périnal and Georges Raulet could hardly be more vivid and lovely; these are the first facets to catch our attention, in fact. There's also no mistaking how wonderfully crisp the image is on a basic level, and clearly this benefited from preservation efforts that some of its contemporaries didn't enjoy. It also stands out as one of the earliest sound pictures to come out of France, and more than that, Clair dallies with sound in a very playful, atypical manner - declining innate audio at many points underneath the original music, at others possibly spotlighting some sounds and not others that would coincide with action on-screen, and then still using some louder sounds to "cloak" softer ones and thus avoid the need to capture and reproduce every last one. All the while, it's certainly worth noting that 'Sous les toits de Paris' ('Under the roofs of Paris') is marvelously well made in all other regards, with sets, costume design, hair, and makeup that are utterly terrific. The sound design is perhaps imbalanced as it presents, but under the circumstances I think we can forgive the slight deficiency.

The writing is another matter in some measure. By all means, the story is compelling, and ultimately enjoyable and strongly satisfying as a viewer. Broadly speaking the scene writing, dialogue, and characters range from suitable to flesh out the tableau, to excellent. I think this suffers a bit in the details, however. As it happens, like another early French talkie released in 1930, Augusto Genina's 'Prix de beauté,' I think this title has a problem with finding the appropriate tone. 'Sous les toits de Paris' dallies with crime, romance, music, comedy, violence, and drama, and ranges from funny, to heartwarming, to inspiring, while also being unexpectedly dark and dour at new few points, including the ending. It generally seems like the feature builds strength and gels more cohesively as the runtime elapses, but the mood imparted wavers and never quite entirely feels just right. This difficulty is amplified by the peculiar directness of the storytelling, for in some cases it rather comes across that a beat or idea hasn't been meaningfully developed, and is instead just flatly introduced. When the notion of marriage is brought up, for example, it definitely doesn't seem to have received any significant treatment in the narrative, or discussion by the characters; one happily pronounces "I'm getting married," and it is just so - and the cold contrivance of such instances is exemplified in this one when their partner responds to this proclamation with a quizzical expression on their face. Suspension of disbelief takes a hit at such times.

These troubles in writing and/or execution are unfortunate, because the screenplay is mostly quite smart and solid. Clair penned a worthy, engaging tale, and everyone involved put in fine work to bring the movie to vibrant life, particularly concerning that unusual use of sound (in 1930, no less). Such quality certainly includes the cast, all giving swell performances, with Albert Préjean, Pola Illéry, and Edmond T. Gréville naturally standing out giving their prominence, but also in my opinion proving that they deserve it with the skill they demonstrate. While it's regrettable that the whole takes a while to especially come together, had the writing been tightened just a tad the end result would have benefited considerably. With all this said, though, it speaks very well to the capabilities and intelligence of all who participated in the feature's creation that it comes off as well as it does, with value that handily outweighs the weaker facets. Whatever one's impetus for watching and however one comes across 'Sous les toits de Paris' I don't think it's so essential as to fully demand viewership, but it's unquestionably deserving of recognition on its own merits. Don't necessarily feel the need to go out of your way for it, but if you have the chance to watch, this is worth exploring.

Having been highly impressed by "Le Million", I decided to check out Rene Clair's other acclaimed musical comedy, "Under the Roofs of Paris". I can happily assure you that this film was even better than "Le Million" in almost every single way. It amps up the heart and humor, has a much stronger emotional impact, and, while "Le Million" felt like a purely plot driven film, "Under the Roofs of Paris" balances plot and character to near perfection.

This hilarious love story unfolds slowly and steadily, introducing the audience to different characters and places without rushing everything. We watch and learn before the plot strikes us like a lightning bolt of beauty. Rene Clair's camera beautifully glides through the streets of Paris, following characters and peaking in on their most fragile moments. This film is like the finest work of literature; it contains laughs and tears, moments of melancholy and hope. It is, simply, a masterpiece.

This modest little film features a triangle among a girl, a gangster and a street singer. We already know where the film will wind up, but the characterizations are a bit interesting, and coming to the inevitable conclusion requires a bit of inventiveness by the writers, which is provided to satisfaction. Make no mistake, however; this is not the Hunchback of Notre Dame with an enormous budget and enormous talents to match. It is a small production that still captures the best of soap instincts. If you have the patience, you will be rewarded with a satisfactory soap ending. You can also add a star if you are a soap fan.

--- this film changed my views on b&w, i first saw this when i was a wee lass of 13, awkward and shy, all i had to do with myself was watch late- night t.v. i cried so hard at the end of the film i thought for sure i'd wake my mum, thank god CBC showed it again not long after that, and like the big geek i was, and probably still am, i taped it, i liked the rawness of it, the sound wasn't very good, but it didn't matter, still doesn't, i would love to make a movie that has this same feeling the absolut "realness" i dislike the crud hollywood keeps churning out, but , the fact remains that i live in this time, and am almost forced to swallow the disgraceful porridge that is cinema. it's christmas day, i think i'll go slip on my "under the rooftops of paris" and dream of a time when film still had a heart!!

There were quite a few reasons for wanting to see 'Under the Roofs of Paris'. The premise sounded great. The title of the film is a charming and far from forgettable one. Not every early sound film is great or even good, with some silent film directors and actors not being able to transition from silent to sound. Have liked to loved other films of the very gifted Rene Clair, including other early sound films of his such as 'Le Million' (one of the best).

'Under the Roofs of Paris' isn't one of his best overall films. Also did prefer his other early sound films, namely 'Le Million' and 'Quartorze Juillet'. Also preferred 'A Nous La Liberte'. It is a very good film though and mostly accessible, even if the other three films had more story content and more rootable characters, have noticed that they have been the film's two main criticisms and can understand both. There is so much to recommend and all the good things of 'Under the Roofs of Paris' are brilliant.

Its weak link is the story, which is very slight and some of it is pretty uneventful.

Although the characters are very well played and quite interesting, they could have been developed more and will agree that they are not easy to get behind. Certainly didn't care for these characters as much as those in 'Le Million' and 'Quartorze Juillet'.

However, Clair's direction is absolutely immaculate and he depicts Paris in a way that is very nostalgic and full of atmosphere. It is very classy direction and is never static or dull, not all directors were comfortable with the silent film to sound transitioning but Clair was and it was like he was already a pro despite in reality being relatively new to it. The film is a clever mix of silent and sound, with no favouring of one over the other. The silent sections are handled with a lot of nuance and there is just as much energy as in the scenes with dialogue. The dialogue itself is not too talky and flows well, with a nice mix of amusing and touching in a sophisticated way.

Despite the story being very slight, there is charm and energy present too. The sound is cleverly used and doesn't come over as gratuitously random or gimmicky, no unrefined experimenting here. While there may not be standout performances as such, the actors play their characters with vigour and always in a natural way. The music is lovely to listen to, with a very infectious main song.

What stands out though in 'Under the Roofs of Paris' is the cinematography, which is pretty incredible. Not just very sophisticated, seamlessly fluid and really enhancing the handsomely and affectionately used locations, but also very creative in its technical skill (the case with all of Clair's early talkies).

In summary, not one of Clair's overall best or among his finest early works but as far as early talkies go 'Under the Roofs of Paris' fares better than most at this early stage of sound film development. 8/10

Tons of gallic charm to be found in this whimsical tale of unrequited love amongst the working class of Paris during the interwar years. Albert Prejean plays a street singer who falls for vulnerable Romanian girl Pola Illery, who is the reluctant girlfriend of small-time gangster Gaston Modot. The signature tune is infectious, the characters likeable and the direction inventive.