CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

bfd21552 Fitzgerald's "Babylon Revisited," is a clean, clearly written indictment of the disaffection promulgated by sudden, unearned wealth upon morally "uncompassed," ex-patriot Americans, an immature group fled to the decadence of between-the-wars Paris. One of the best examples of post-WWI Modernism, the story that provides the basis for the film is "thinned" into a screenplay designed to promote the two-dimensional stars, and in the process, the magic and depth of Fitzgerald is diluted into a mishmash of shallow characterizations wandering about upon a Technicolor screen. "Babylon" (and its author) deserved a far, far better script and a more reasonable treatment. . . . And the literature merited actors whose dramatic abilities outweigh their makeup.

HotToastyRag The song "The Last Time I Saw Paris" actually wasn't written for this movie; the movie was written for the song. How often does that happen? It's a very famous song, and it's played countless times throughout the film, mostly to distract the audience from a mediocre story. Van Johnson is torn between traditional Donna Reed and impulsive Elizabeth Taylor. A very tough decision, made even tougher by the circumstances in which he meets Ol' Violet Eyes. She grabs him and kisses him on the street during the merriment of VE Day, then flees. No man would choose Donna Reed after that.The majority of the film isn't a will-they-or-won't-they romantic struggle, which is the movie's biggest mistake. After the two lovebirds get together, the audience stops caring. Pitfalls and contrived obstacles befall the couple, and eventually puts the audience to sleep. I know Liz Taylor is beautiful, but there are so many other movies you can watch if you want to see her beauty up on the big screen. Try A Place in the Sun, Cleopatra, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof—pretty much any movie besides Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? to look at her gorgeous mug. The Last Time I Saw Paris is really bad; I'd even go so far as to say it's one of the worst Liz Taylor movies out there. Trust me and save yourself.

TheLittleSongbird The Last Time I Saw Paris won't be everybody's cup of tea, but while it could have been much better I do not consider it a bad film. If anything it was an uneven but decent one. The ending did feel very forced and at odds with the mood of the rest of the film, there could have been more of a focus on the relationship between Helen and Charles, Van Johnson does start off a tad uncomfortable and his drunken argument with himself is pretty embarrassing and some of the film feels skimming the surface quality and lacking in depth with a dose of over-sentimentality. The film is also in serious need of a restoration, the faded, grainy print doesn't do it justice. But for all its flaws, The Last Time I Saw Paris has much to like and the good stuff is beautiful and charming indeed. The sets have a painterly charm and the Parisian location is irresistible(Paris has always been one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in the world, and couldn't have been a more perfect choice of location for this film) while the cinematography from Joseph Ruttenberg has a real intricacy, matching the mood and nostalgic atmosphere most fittingly, and Helen Rose's dresses are sumptuous in every sense of the word, especially Elizabeth Taylor's lavender dress which goes perfectly with her violet eyes. Conrad Salinger haunting and lush music score, a script despite the lack of depth that is intelligently, poignantly and wittily written- the car race is hilarious- and a story that has a fair amount of nostalgic charm and emotional resonance especially in the first half are also things to like. The direction is leisurely but not overly so, letting the film speak for itself, the characters are sympathetically drawn and likable although Charles is the only one who's really developed. And The Last Time I Saw Paris is also beautifully cast and beautifully played, especially by a luminous Elizabeth Taylor who brings sublime subtlety and nuances to her role an amusingly eccentric and endearingly roguish Walter Pidgeon. George Dolenz and Eva Gabor are also solid, Donna Reed is excellent in an atypical role and Sandy Descher proves herself to be an adorable child actress. Johnson may not start off well but the more interesting Charles gets the more comfortable and emotionally involved Johnson becomes, with his increasingly brooding, intense and affecting performance being one of the saving graces of the second half. Stylistically and tonally the film is true to F. Scott Fitzgerald's story Babylon Revisited despite the updating, but the story despite like the film having a weaker latter half had much more depth to the story and the characters more compelling in development and motivations. In conclusion, very flawed but also has a lot of charms, worth the watch. 6.5/10 Bethany Cox

gerdeen-1 This film is based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Babylon Revisited," and it follows much the same formula as the Hemingway-inspired "Snows of Kilimanjaro" a couple of years earlier. The filmmakers took an acclaimed, fairly grim short story by an almost legendary American writer. They made it bigger and smoother and more romantic. Then they threw in several incidents (and purported incidents) from the famous author's own life. And voilà! This one has a couple of advantage over "Snows": The title and the related title song. The original song "The Last Time I Saw Paris" was written for an earlier movie and was about the city's tragedy in World War II, not about the travails of a single couple in peacetime. But the tune is appropriately melancholy and Gallic-sounding, and it works beautifully here.Hemingway was alive when "Snows" was filmed, and he angrily objected to what Hollywood had done to his work. Fitzgerald had been dead for years when "Paris" was made, but I think he would have been more sad than angry. He was that kind of guy.If you've never read the short story, you'll enjoy this. If you have read the story, you'll still like the movie, even if you feel a bit guilty about it. Van Johnson is just so likable, and Elizabeth Taylor is just so lovely.