I’m going to Paris in a year and would like to see all of the movies that I can that are set in Paris.
An American in Paris
Charade
Funny Face
(Any genre is fine.)
“Paris, Texas”
Well, Is Paris Burning, Gigi, Irma La Douce, Gigot, A Shot in the Dark all jump quickly to mind. But let me think for a few minutes and we’ll see what else comes to mind.
Alright, sorry.
“The Red Balloon.”
“Jefferson in Paris”
An American Werewolf in Paris.
Probably not the sort of film you had in mind, was it? Okay, how about:
Armageddon
Last Tango in Paris you’d butter see that.
Groan…
That should cover Paris, Texas and the butter.
Earl, you redeemed yourself with The Red Balloon.
tv time, what is Gigot?
Bits of The Bourne Identity
Amelie among French films
Part of Night On Earth
The Train
What’s New Pussycat
Frantic
The Accidental Tourist last bit
Pret A Porter ?SP “Ready to Wear” the bad Altman movie.
Everyone Says I Love You some of Allen’s scenes
Ronin
A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries
Rififi for an unsentimental portrait of '50’s Paris. Another French film.
Sorry 'bout the butter.
And of course Killing Zoe
Alphaville (1965)
Bon Voyage! (1962)
Breathless (1960)
Darling (1965)
Diva (1981)
European Vacation (1985)
La Femme Nikita (1990)
The 400 Blows (1959)
Full Moon in Paris (1984)
Henry & June (1990)
How to Steal a Million (1966)
Jules and Jim (1962)
The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)
A Little Romance (1979)
Love in the Afternoon (1957)
Lovers on the Bridge (Les Amants du Pont-Neuf) (1991)
Madeline (1998)
A Man and a Woman (1966)
Le Million (1931)
Moulin Rouge (1952)
Orpheus (1949)
Paris Blues (1961)
Paris — When It Sizzles (1964)
Quatorze Juillet (1933)
'Round Midnight (1986)
Sabrina (1995)
Under the Roofs of Paris (Sous les toits de Paris) (1930)
What’s New, Pussycat (1965)
Zazie dans le métro (1960)
A large number of movies (including many of the ones listed above) use Paris as a backdrop, but don’t really give you any feel for life in the city. Two people (at least one of whom is usually an American) meet and fall in love, violins play, and the Eiffel Tower is seen in the background.
If you want to see the real Paris, lean very heavily towards French movies as opposed to Hollywood movies set in France. Since most of the ones you can rent in the US will be subtitled rather than dubbed, you’ll also get a chance to practice your language comprehension skills!
I’ll second Amélie and throw in two fairly recent, but very different favorites:
When the Cat’s Away (Chacun cherche son chat), 1996 --sweet tale set in the 11th arrondissement.
Hate (La haine), 1995 – racial alienation in the Paris “projects”, a total antithesis to the standard romantic Hollywood-Paris fare.
Zoe, how long will your stay in Paris be? Just a quick visit, or are you going there to study or work?
The IMDb is a handy tool for finding films that were shot in a certain location. Go to its filming locations browser and type in “Paris” and you’ll get more than 1500 results…
To add to what the others already mentioned.
What about Forget Paris? I’m not trying to be facetious; it is a nice little romantic comedy with Billy Crystal and Debra Winger, part of which is set in Paris. Though for preparation for a trip it probably shows too little of the city.
Belphegor, Phantom of the Louvre, shows a lot of sights, even if the movie is a bit silly.
Subway is a stylish movie of French youth sub-culture set mostly in the Paris underground.
The Tenant (Le Locataire) , by Roman Polanski, is also set in Paris and gives a view of how those Parisian houses actually look like inside.
I’m afraid that there are far too many movies set in Paris for you to all see before your trip. Do you have any preferences?
Jackie Gleason playing a mute. Really. Gene Kelly directed; it’s extremely sloppy and sentimental.
Add to the list:
Can Can
Playtime (though one of the jokes is that it never looks like Paris)
Casablanca (for a flashback – here’s looking at you, kid)
Gold Diggers in Paris
Forget Paris
Gay Purr-ee
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Three Musketeers
And to keep things straight: Is Paris Burning? is set in Paris, but Paris is Burning is not. 
The eerie 1915 serial Les Vampires (available on video) was shot in and around WWI-era Paris, and is quite an eyeful! Lots of sex, violence and dastardly criminal activity, too.
I would also apply the Nice Little Romantic Comedy tag to French Kiss with Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline, part of which is set in Paris.
Mrs. Pash and I leave for a week in Paris on Tuesday. I can’t wait!
Pash
Victor, Victoria.
Bourne Identity was already mentioned, but I thought it was particularly neat that they shot some of the Paris part in a very easy to find area, right on the famous bridge I can’t remember the name of. Twas neat.
Although it’s been mentioned, Paris Blues is pretty much forgotten today despite its all-star cast, a real oddity with Sidney Poitier and Paul Newman playing ex-pat jazz musicians. The story is straightforward, but there are nice scenes of lovers in Paris.
But the true attraction of the movie is when Louie Armstrong comes in and wails away to a score written by Duke Ellington. A must-see for jazz lovers and Paris is a great city for jazz.
This isn’t a movie, but I highly recommend Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik. The author, a writer for The New Yorker, moved his family to Paris for a number of years, and the book is a collection of stories about his observations living in Paris. It has some wonderful insights about life as an ex-pat in France.
See: http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=1-0375758232-23