5/5 Amazing-
  by Bob Fake Name (Divided States)
Words like "dreamlike" and "magic" do come to mind. I simply want to give my praise along with the rest of this film's very appreciative audience. Clearly one of Criterion Collection's most essential releases. With this release by Criterion Collection this sumptuous film looks as fantastic as it did the night it opened in Paris shortly after the liberation. You'll probably understand why "Children of Paradise" has consistently been considered the greatest French film by that country's film critic community even if your an American and not very sophisticated like me. You don't need to be at all, seems to me! You needn't be able to chat anybody up on "poetic realism" or know anything about French cinema in general. Don't bother yourself, unless you want to, because that stuff is interesting. And it should be noted that the making of "Children of Paradise" is surely one of the most remarkable stories in film history. It was shot in secrecy during the Nazi occupation of France. Many involved in the production were active in the Resistance and would have been arrested if discovered by the Nazis. How romantic! Exciting background that only adds to one's appreciation of the film. The story, well, it's about love and so of course about pain and things that go along with both and it's beautiful.

5/5 The best french film ever.
  by Raoul M. Kosti (Santiago, Chile)
Children of Paradise - Criterion Collection
Superb remastering.Image as well as audio. I understand French, even the English subtitles are great, nothing is lost by the translation. A classic: whenever I see it again, I find new details. Unlike most films that you watch only once.
All actors excellent. Jean Louis Barrault superb.
I watched this film when I was 13. My mother took me to the cinema, it was my first serious movie. I am now 76, and was so impressed that I still remember it. So I decided I wanted to see it again. Amazon had it. No wonder.
Not for all public. If you look for violence and sex it definitely is not for you.
Raul Kostin
Santiago, Chile

5/5 A masterpiece!
  by Catherine M. Gonzalez (Los Angeles, CA United States)
Not only is this film a mastepiece of French classical movie making, especially during the hard times of the German occupation, but also the remastered edition is absolutely well done, much better than the old editions I saw in the cinema in France. They have really enhanced image and sound to levels never observed before.

5/5 One of my favorite films!
  by Geoff Puterbaugh (Chiang Mai, T. Suthep, A. Muang Thailand)
This movie is a gigantic, successful production on the order of "Gone with the Wind" --- but completely, totally different. There's no Clark Gable, and no Vivien Leigh. But there is a story here, which in the end strikes me as much more compelling, much more revealing of the nature of human love.

The entrancing story of "The Children of Paradise" is filmed in the theaters --- and, especially "Crime Boulevard" in front of the theaters. The main female character is Garance (Arletty), a former "courtesan" --- actually hard to describe her, except that she is beautiful and very kind. The main male character is the mime Baptiste, played by Jean-Louis Barrault, who is madly in love with Garance.

By the end of this film, Baptiste's cries of "Garance! Garance!" may remind you of Scarlett's cries of "Ashley! Ashley!"

Both of them unforgettable screen classics. I think the French one has a little more depth of character, but it's up to you!

DO NOT MISS THIS FILM!!! IT IS GREAT!!!

1/5 Most overrated film in history?
  by Jose Sinclair (Georgia)
I'm sorry, but this film has little to recommend: it's way too long, terribly over-acted, has French mimes, and one especially can't care at all for the fate of the self-centered characters. I kept hoping someone would simply murder all the main characters in a fit of bored rage! and bad mimes bring out the homicidal rage in nearly all Americans, with good reason.

It's gets a star for the crowd scenes, very well faked, not staged looking like the comparable Gone with the Wind (also a terribly overblown and boring soap opera.) Good reviews rave about "the trouble it had being filmed in occupied France" -- so, does that make every film made in occupied countries better? The only good actor in the film is Arletty, and even she seems to smirk at the inane "dialogue of love", which is totally unbelievable at all times. If the French are truly like this, no wonder they lost every modern war! The only other plus goes to the fine Criterion print: I hear that it's a major improvement over the theatrical or VHS versions, but that still won't fix the boring plot, the length, the cutesy mimes, or the over-acting. It's too bad they just did't film a Dickens novel with the same crew.