AllMovie

Producer Pierre Braunberger offers a nostalgic journey into "Fin de Siecle" Paris in this diverting documentary. Probing into the Pathe stock footage labs, Braunberger assembles precious filmclips of the City of Light in the 14 years prior to World War I. Among the famous personages pictured in this feature-length effort are Leon Blum, Edmond Rostand (the author of Cyrano de Bergerac) and even Buffalo Bill. The film is wryly narrated by actor Claude Dauphin. Generous portions of Paris 1900 resurfaced in a 1961 episode of the American TV series 20th Century.