SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

jotix100 Rene Clair, a distinguished French director, was part of a group of artists that captured the atmosphere of the times they worked into film. "Sous le toits de Paris", was a silent movie to which sound was added. Mr. Clair didn't quite appreciate this new technique of the cinema. Like in most of his films, music dominates the background, as seen in other films he directed, most notably, "Le million" and what might be considered his masterpiece "A nous la liberte", which was shown recently at New York's Film Forum.The film is simple and sweet. It shows a slice of life in a Paris that doesn't exists anymore. This demimonde of pickpockets and petty criminals get a great treatment from Mr. Clair and his collaborators. This movie shows a bygone Paris neighborhood with its inhabitants that enriched the popular culture with the songs they sang and the places they met.Albert Prejean, Pola Illery, Edward Greville, and Gaston Modot, who was "the man" in Bunuel's "L'age d'or" give their characters authenticity and bring great charm to our enjoyment of the film. The song in the film is like an anthem dedicated to the Paris Rene Clair and his contemporaries adored.

jonr-3 ***POSSIBLE SPOILER WITHIN***Once again I find myself better off withholding my vote. I feel that my reaction to this acknowledged cinematic masterpiece must be too biased for me to vote fairly. I was unable to muster any empathy for the characters: two-bit criminals vying for the affection of a coy, flirtatious and fickle young woman in the top layer of the Paris underworld. What eventually made me give up on watching the film, though, after a little more than an hour of it, was the music, which, no matter how low I turned the volume, grated relentlessly against my nerves. I realize full well that the dance-hall and amateur music is necessary to the story, and I don't want to appear a total curmudgeon, nor do I intend in any way to condemn this film--it just isn't to my taste.On the positive side, the opening shot, the camera languidly descending literally from the Paris rooftops to street level, with slight, sinuous detours along the way, must be one of the miracles of film. How this sight must have taken away the breath of audiences in 1930 or '31! It still has the power to do so today. Indeed, throughout the film (or the first hour or so that I endured), the photography was exquisite, in some cases unmatched by anything I've ever seen.Maybe I'll give this one another try on another day. But there are so many films to see...

zetes 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.

Pedro-37 "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 personal6/10