Back home

Notre-Dame on Fire

277 votes

Producing House

A film relating from the inside the Notre-Dame de Paris fire of April 2019.

movie

Status: Released

Released Date: 2022-03-16

Runtime: 109 mins

Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud

Writer: Jean-Jacques Annaud, Thomas Bidegain

Spoken language: Français

Genres: Drama, Thriller

Original title: Notre-Dame on Fire

Production Companies: Pathé, TF1 Films Production, TF1, Wildside, TMC, OCS, Reperage, Vendôme Production

Production Countries: France, Italy

Reviews

G

Geronimo1967
Just imagine. A builder on the roof of this ancient monument is having a fly cigarette. He throws the butt from the rooftop but instead of finding it's way to the ground, it is blown through one of the slitted windows whereupon it encounters some debris from a pigeon's nest and - well quite literally all hell breaks lose. Jean-Jacques Annaud intersperses real footage of this terrible conflagration with a drama offering us a plausible depiction of just how difficult it was for the Pompiers of Paris to not only tackle this blaze, but to get through the grid-locked streets of their city to the Île de la Cité in the first place. There is a palpable sense of the heat, the smoke - and the fear as the fire fighters tried to coax the water pressure into a meaningful tool to put out the fire whilst what seemed like gallons of molten lead slurped around the roof using the gargoyles as did Charles Laughton back in 1939. The dramatic elements are adequate, but to be honest they don't really matter - most of this is eye-watering. Certainly, you are pretty clearly aware of what is real and what has been staged - the intimate photography leaves us in little doubt of that, but again that doesn't really matter. This film demonstrates the courage and bravery of those tasked with stopping history burning down around them, whilst building on the response nightmare and the religiosity of those who can't quite believe God is allowing this to happen at all! It is all told pacily and effectively in just under two hours. What I really found irritating - exasperating, even, were all the spectators clogging everywhere up - so long as they had a vantage point then the emergency services could wait their turn... Fascinating to watch, and well worth it.
2022-07-28

Recommendations

12 Feet Deep
3

12 Feet Deep

2018-11-08

Two sisters are trapped under the fiberglass cover of an Olympic sized public pool and must brave th

Jarabo
2.9

Jarabo

1985-05-10

July 21, 1958. Madrid wakes up to the news that a pawnbroker has been murdered in his shop. Soon, po

Riding in Cars with Boys
3.4

Riding in Cars with Boys

2001-10-19

In 1965, a young woman with dreams of becoming a writer has a son at the age of 15 and struggles to

Tora! Tora! Tora!
3.6

Tora! Tora! Tora!

1970-01-26

In the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant embargos

Lucky Girl
2.9

Lucky Girl

2023-09-07

Nina is a successful TV star, but her life changes when she is diagnosed with cancer. Facing a perso

By Player
4

By Player

2000-12-02

The film is a series of vignettes from Taiji Tonoyama's life and film clips, interspersed with a dia

A-Hu
0

A-Hu

2019-05-03

A-Hu, who is born into a small family during an economic crisis. His mother works at recycling with

Angela Vode: Secret Memories
0

Angela Vode: Secret Memories

2009-01-01

The life and rather obscure hardships of a Slovenian feminist author and human rights activist Angel

Ein Leben
4

Ein Leben

2020-03-29

Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!
3

Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!

2006-03-16

Kenneth Williams was the star of the Carry Ons and Round the Horne. Despite his fame, he led a life

Sight
3

Sight

2024-05-24

Ming Wang is an impoverished Chinese prodigy who flees Communist China to become a pioneering eye su

They Were Actors
0

They Were Actors

1981-12-12

The plot of the film is based on real events of the Great Patriotic War. When the Nazis occupied Cr

The Keeper
3.7

The Keeper

2018-12-05

The story of a man whose love for football, for England and for the love of his life, Margaret, saw

Rose: Last Love
0.5

Rose: Last Love

2013-07-11

"Because I was your first love, let me be your last love." This film will show you the meaning of lo

Serpico
3.8

Serpico

1973-12-18

New York cop Frank Serpico blows the whistle on the rampant corruption in the force only to have his

Third Time
2.1

Third Time

1963-04-11

The film is based on the real fact — football «The Death Match» between the German team and a team o

Gridiron Gang
3.5

Gridiron Gang

2006-09-15

Under the leadership of their counselor, teenagers at a juvenile detention center gain self-esteem b

Lords of Dogtown
3.5

Lords of Dogtown

2005-06-03

The radical true story behind three teenage surfers from Venice Beach, California, who took skateboa

The Prince of Egypt
3.6

The Prince of Egypt

1998-12-16

The strong bond between two brothers is challenged when their chosen responsibilities set them at od

Two for the Money
3

Two for the Money

2005-10-07

A former college athlete joins forces with a sports consultant to handicap football games for high-r