Paris Is Burning (DVD) ~ Willi Ninja (actor) Cover Art

Paris Is Burning (DVD)

Willi Ninja (actor), Dorian Corey (actor) and Jennie Livingston (director)

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Synopsis

Documentary about the Harlem drag balls thrown by predominantly inner city black and Latino gay men in the mid-1980s. The film features footage of the actual "drag" pageants, as well as interviews with ball participants, who describe their backgrounds and dreams, and the intricacies of their rich and detailed dialect. A fascinating look at the complexities of this elaborate subculture.

Product Description

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Review

Los Angeles Times, 08/09/1991, p.F1, "...Absorbing, seductive....Scrupulously open and evenhanded..."

New York Times, 03/13/1991, p.C13, "...Very fine....PARIS IS BURNING is more than spectacle..."

USA Today, 08/15/1991, p.5D, "...Exhilarating..." -- 3 1/2 out of 4 stars

Rolling Stone, 04/04/1991, p.60, "...[A] spirited and heartbreaking documentary..."

Title Note

Appearing in the film were:
Andre Christian; Dorian Corey; Paris Dupree; Pepper Labeija;
Junior Labeija; Willi Ninja; Sandy Ninja; Freddie Pendavis;
Sol Pendavis; Avis Pendavis; Octavia Saint Laurent; Stevie Saint Laurent; Angie Xtravaganza; Bianca Xtravaganza; Brooke Xtravaganza; Carmen Xtravaganza; Danny Xtravaganza; David Xtravaganza; David Ian Xtravaganza; David the Father Xtravaganza; Venus Xtravaganza
And all of the legendary children and upcoming legends.

Funding provided by:
The National Endowment for the Arts; Jerome Foundation; New York State Council on the Arts; New York Foundation for the Arts; Paul Robeson Fund; Edelman Fund; Art Matters Inc.; BBC Television

Film was "In Memory of David Baer, Kevin Sutton, Lee Marks, and Richard Roland Livingston."

Venus Xtravaganza was murdered not long after production ended in 1989.

Dorian Corey, 56, died of AIDS on August 29, 1993. In a "New York Times" interview, he explained why he did the film, saying, "I didn't do it for the money. I did it for fun. Always have. You see I was in show business for years, so when my 15 minutes finally came up, it was gravy." In addition to performing regularly, Corey had his own clothing design business.
In the film, Corey said, "Everybody wants to leave something behind them, some impression, some mark upon the world. And then you think, you've left a mark on the world if you just get through it and a few people remember your name. Then you've left a mark. You don't have to bend the world. I think it's better just to enjoy it. Pay your dues and enjoy it. If you shoot an arrow and it goes real high, hooray for you."

Pop icon Madonna launched voguing as a brief dance trend in 1990 with her hit record, "Vogue."

Feature-film debut for director Jennie Livingston.

Named Best Documentary of 1990 by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Named Best Documentary of 1991 by the New York Film Critics Circle, the National Society of Film Critics, and the Boston Society of Film Critics. Received the Grand Jury Prize at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival.

Livingston received the Open Palm Award from the first Independent Feature Project Gotham Awards in 1991. The prize consists of $10,000 worth of donated services from General Camera and TVC Labs to be used on her next project.

Video version runs 76 minutes, while the theatrical version runs 71 minutes. Video features an epilogue that tells what has happened to some of the subjects after production stopped. A 58-minute version was screened at a New York City festival in 1990.

Definitely not to be confused with "Is Paris Burning?", the 1966 French-American co-production about the liberation of France in World War II. Film starred Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, Leslie Caron, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Claude Dauphin, Alain Delon, Kirk Douglas, Glenn Ford, Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Robert Stack, and Orson Welles. "Is Paris Burning?" was written by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola from the Larry Collins-Dominique Lapierre book and was directed by Rene Clemens.

Title is taken from one of the larger drag balls, also titled "Paris Is Burning" and hosted by Paris Dupree.

Estimated budget $375,000.

Filmed in Harlem, New York City. Filming began in 1987 and was completed in 1989. Color by DuArt. Shot in 16mm. Titles by Borden Elniff and opticals by Eastern Optical EFX.

Screened at New York's New Festival of Gay and Lesbian Film (as 58-minute video), Los Angeles International Gay & Lesbian Film & Video Festival, Toronto Festival of Festivals, Margaret Mead Film Festival, Independent Feature Film Market in 1990. Screened at Sundance Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, Biennial Exhibition and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, Deauville Film Festival, and Birmingham International Film & Television in 1991.

Broadcast in a shorter version over the BBC television network on the program "Arena" in the UK April, 1990.

Released in New York City at the Film Forum March 13, 1991, where it ran for a record-breaking 17 weeks. Benefit premiere in Los Angeles for AIDS Project August 7, 1991. Released in USA August 9, 1991. Released on video September 23, 1992.

In its initial theatrical release, the film had no MPAA rating. In January of 1992, it was given an "R" rating.

Reviewed in New York Times March 13, 1991, and in Los Angeles Times August 9, 1991.

Product Quotation/Excerpt

"I remember my dad - he'd say you have three strikes against you in this world. Every black man has two - that they are black and they are male. But you're a black and you're a male and you're gay.... If you're gonna do this, you're gonna have to be stronger than you ever imagined." -- unidentified

"A ball to us is as close to reality as we're gonna get to all of that fame and fortune and stardom and spotlight." -- unidentified

"If everybody went to balls, and did less drugs, it would be a fun world, wouldn't it?" -- Dorian Corey

"When I grew up, you wanted to look like Marlene Dietrich, Betty Grable. Fortunately, I didn't know that I really wanted to look like Lena Horne. When I grew up... black stars were stigmatized. Nobody wanted to look like Lena Horne." -- Dorian Corey

"New York City is wrapped up in being Labeija." -- Pepper Labeija

"In real life, you can't get a job as an executive unless you have the educational background and the opportunity. Now the fact that you are not an executive is merely because of the social standing of life... Black people have a hard time getting anywhere. And those that do, are usually straight. In a ballroom, you can be anything you want." -- Dorian Corey

Release Note

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33

Product Notes

An unblinking, behind-the-scenes story of the young men of Harlem who originated "voguing" and turned these stylized dance competitions into a glittering expression of fierce personal pride.

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