Paris Is Burning (1991)
94%RT Audience Score: 89%
Awards & Nominations: 17 wins & 1 nomination
Paris Is Burning dives into ’80s transgender subculture, with the understated camera allowing this world to flourish and the people to speak (and dance) for themselves.
Paris is Burning is the perfect mix of heart and humor, showcasing the fierce competition and high-glamour fantasies of New York City’s ball culture. The characters are so stunningly etched that you’ll feel like you’re watching a real-life version of The Chelsea Girls. And while the outfits are mind-boggling, it’s the personal, humanizing moments that truly linger in your mind. This documentary is a scintillating example of how art can serve life without compromising its objective of adding meaning to our journey.
Production Company(ies)
Art Matters Inc., BBC Television, Edelman Family Fund,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language and sexuality
Year of Release
1991
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.33 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Mar 13, 1990 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 6, 2005
Genre(s)
Documentary/LGBTQ+
Keyword(s)
Paris Is Burning, documentary, LGBTQ+, New York City, drag queens, house culture, community, support, flamboyant, socially shunned performers, balls, fashion, racism, poverty, renowned drag queens, Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, R rating, English language, directed by Jennie Livingston, produced by Jennie Livingston, Barry Swimar, box office gross of $122.8K, reviewed by Christine Dolen, Geoff Brown, Gene Siskel, Vincent Canby, Kenneth Turan, Louise Gray, Elizabeth C Donahoe, Nick Levine, David Harris, David Lamble, Warren Sonbert, Tulsa World, starring André Christian, Freddie Pendavis, Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Junior Labeija, Shari Headley
Worldwide gross: $3,905,297
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $8,620,518
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,017
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 940,078
US/Canada gross: $3,905,297
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $8,620,518
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,663
US/Canada opening weekend: $310,127
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $684,572
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,327
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $500,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $1,103,696
Production budget ranking: 2,084
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $594,340
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $6,922,482
ROI to date (est.): 408%
ROI ranking: 337
Freddie Pendavis – Self
Willi Ninja – Self
Pepper LaBeija – Self
Junior Labeija – Self
Shari Headley – Self
Jennie Livingston – Director, Producer
Barry Swimar – Producer
Director(s)
Jennie Livingston
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Jennie Livingston, Barry Swimar
Film Festivals
Sundance
Awards & Nominations
17 wins & 1 nomination
Academy Awards
All Critics (58) | Top Critics (23) | Fresh (57) | Rotten (1)
It is strong, sardonically funny, sometimes shattering stuff.
August 17, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Christine Dolen
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
Half sad, half exuberant.
May 19, 2020
Geoff Brown
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The earnestness of the competition is what holds this film together.
May 19, 2020 | Rating: 3/4
Gene Siskel
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
There is a lot of common sense and natural wit behind the role-playing. Yet there is also a terrible sadness in the testimony.
May 19, 2020
Vincent Canby
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
[The film intercuts] ball scenes with interviews with the participants in less hectic, more reflective moments. It is those personal, humanizing moments, much more than the hectic, eye-catching hubbub of performance, that truly linger in the mind.
May 19, 2020
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
If the wit, glamour and mind-boggling outfits of Paris Is Burning are disarming, not far beneath the film’s surface is an immensely moving quality.
May 19, 2020
Louise Gray
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
In this gritty but celebratory documentary produced and directed by Lesbian filmmaker Jennie Livingston, it is not the fashions but the characters that stay with the viewer.
May 23, 2022
Elizabeth C. Donahoe
Washington Blade
Jennie Livingston’s seminal documentary film shines a spotlight on New York City’s ball culture, a place where African-American and Latino LGBTQ people could live out their high-glamour fantasies.
May 10, 2021
Nick Levine
NME
Paris is Burning is still an important film 30 years after its release – a snapshot of a specific time and place that humanizes its subjects and allows those of us in a place of privilege to understand them better.
November 11, 2020
David Harris
Spectrum Culture
A scintillating example of how art can serve life without compromising its objective of adding meaning to our journey.
May 28, 2020
David Lamble
Bay Area Reporter
Not since Andy Warhol’s The Chelsea Girls have I been so taken and fascinated by such a gallery of real-life, stunningly etched characters.
May 19, 2020
Warren Sonbert
Bay Area Reporter
Although the film has its dark moments, Paris Is Burning is mostly upbeat, and the overall message of the movie is heartening and humane.
May 19, 2020 | Rating: 3/4
Dennis King
Tulsa World…
Plot
A documentary of New York’s LGBT scene in the 1980s, showing the real life of poor Black and Latin LGBT people, introduce the ballrooms, the categories, the houses, the voguing, and the dreams and ambitions of these people who are systematically excluded from society, they fight to conquer the right to be and to reinvent themselves in a world starring straight and white people. They use the balls to show their creativity, have fun with their community and family, shining, and having their names recognized in the ballroom scene.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The documentary features interviews with renowned drag queens, including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, and Dorian Corey.
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