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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com essential video:
Paris Is Burning closes with two neon-lit boys holding each other on the streets of Harlem. One looks into the camera and asks, 'So this is New York City and what the gay lifestyle is all about--right?' This documentary takes an honest, humorous, and surprisingly poignant peek into one of America's overlooked subcultures: the world of the urban drag queen. It's a parallel dimension of bizarre beauty, where 'houses' vie like gangs for turf and reputation ... only instead of street-fighting, they vogue their way down makeshift catwalks in competitive 'balls.' The only rule of the ballroom: be real.
In surprisingly candid interviews, you discover the grace, strength, and humor it takes to be gay, black, and poor in a straight, rich, white world. You'll meet young transsexual 'cover girls,' street hustlers saving up for the big operation, and aging drag divas reminiscing about the bygone days of sequins, feathers, and Marilyn Monroe.
Made in the late 1980s, this fashion-conscious film shows its age less than you'd expect. It's still a great watch for anyone interested in the whole range of humanity, or anyone who's ever been an outsider, desperately wanting something the world hides out of reach. --Grant Balfour
Amazon.com:
Fascinating, discomfiting, and poignant (sometimes all at once), Paris Is Burning documents New York City's recherché 'ball' circuit, where members of the black and Latino gay, transvestite, and transsexual communities compete to see who can wear the most outlandish outfits and dance, pose, and generally show off to most outrageous effect. These are folks who live with a double whammy of discrimination, as they are minorities both sexually and racially. But while their tales of rejection by both society and their own families are woeful and bitter, the participants come alive when they hit the 'runway' (actually the floor of some old gymnasium) to strut their stuff, liberated from the pressure of blending in with the mainstream. 'Whatever you want to be, you be,' says one, whether it's a school kid, a country club polo player, a high-rent executive, a character from television's Dynasty (which for some represents the dernier cri in elegance and wealth)… anything goes. Along the way, we meet characters with names like Pepper Labeija, Venus Xtravaganza, and Willi Ninja; we also learn about 'reading' (i.e., dissing your competitors), 'shading' (a more subtle, non-verbal version of the same thing), and 'voguing' (later adopted by Madonna, it combines the poses and haughty looks of your average supermodel). Critics at the time of the film's original 1990 release tended to focus on the sadness and not-so-quiet desperation of these people's efforts to transcend their circumstances and become one-night legends, but overall, Paris Is Burning comes across as simply a damn good time. --Sam Graham
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - For sure 70's
I found it entertaining and interesting from a historical prospective, with a few interviews that allowed a glimpse of the real person, otherwise not much substance. My feel was that the way they approached was from a voyeuristic angle rather than one looking to gain insight.
Rating:  - Colors of the Rainbow
"Paris is Burning" is a fascinating 1990 documentary depicting the fabulous underside of gritty '80s NYC. The Big Apple was still rough around the edges. At the time, Times Square was seamy. In "Paris is Burning",the down-and-out (of the closet) have made a paradise of their own in the clubs.
"Paris is Burning" chronicles the lives of African-American and Latino gays, and defines their terms like "shade","reading" and of course,"voguing",the dance style they perfected. Their balls (usually ... Read More
Rating:  - paris is burning
I loved it. reminds me so much of growing up on the streets of downtown L.A. i wish they had a part 2 10yrs later but most of them are no longer with us its sad... i have seen this vedio 20 times since i got it i give it a A+ LOVE IT
Rating: - A Time that Was
"Paris is Burning"
A Time that Was
Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride
One of the best reviewed documentaries about gay life has finally found its way to DVD, "Is Paris Burning" by Jenny Livingston. This documentary about gay, black and Hispanic men who are transsexuals or transvestites is absolutely riveting. The beauty of the film is that director Livingston takes a subject that could very easily become a laughing matter and freak show and shows the true humanity of the ... Read More
Rating: - Fascinating and disturbing.
I saw this in 1990 in the theatre and rewatch it every year because of the unique people and infectious quotes. Love it!
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