Parigi brucia?

One of the main reasons for the movie being filmed in black and white: the French authorities refused to allow red and black Nazi flags to fly in Paris, even for a movie. They agreed only to the use of black and gray Nazi flags.

Judging by Choltitz's own memoirs ('Soldat enter Soldaten", 1951) there never was an order to deliberately destroy Paris or its monuments. The orders concerned laming industrial plants, blowing bridges, crushing uprisings, and defending the town as a fortress, accepting collateral damage. Choltitz later found out these orders were addressed to his superiors, not to him. He does mention Hitler asking "Is Paris burning?" but says he was informed of this by others, whose names he does not give.

The end credit sequence is in color.

Featured in Il mago - L'incredibile vita di Orson Welles (2014)