Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9847 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-07-28
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Formats: Box set, PAL
• Original language: French
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 126 minutes

Synopsis
A joyous musical that outdoes its Hollywood predecessors with naive romance, decadent art direction and an appearance by the legendary Gene Kelly, THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT, a follow up to Demy's previous collaboration with Catherine Deneuve and composer Michel Legrand, is entirely sung. A pair of sisters (Deneuve and her real life sister Francoise Dorleac) who teach and compose music in the French town of Rochefort seek love and success in Paris. When two young men with a travelling carnival come to town, they help the sisters put on a song and dance number that gives them instant success, while simultaneously, a love struck sailor finds his ideal woman in Deneuve. To top it off, even the mother of the two women finds a long lost love.

Customer Reviews

A refreshing musical
Les Demoiselles de Rochefort is the most romantic musical ever! It's fresh, full of passion, youth, feelings, and emotions. Music and words are a great because they are of an utmost quality. Although Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac did not sing their part in real, it is a charming production, for which the town of Rochefort embarked on a complete repainting programme of its central square! hence the bright and vivid colours...

Another great, but overpriced, DVD from the British Film Institute
So good to see this title back in circulation as it's one of the most exuberant and colourful musicals ever made. Demy's Les Parapluies de Cherbourg always seems to get all the critical plaudits, however, for pure cinematic pleasure Les Demoiselles goes one step further. It's a paper-thin story, but who cares when the score is so ravishing and the performances so charming. It's rather like revisiting MGMs golden age - complete with Gene Kelly.

My only gripe is in the DVD production, or rather over-production. There's a great hour-long documentary about the film made by Demy's widow, Agnes Varda, and some interesting, but not exactly essential other extras. Unfortunately we have to pay for them as they run to 2 DVDs. As usual from this otherwise excellent label it costs way over the industry average, making BFI DVDs out of reach for many DVD buyers. You can buy Les Parapluies de Cherbourg for under £6!

Colourful, seductive and full of Gallic charm
Les Demoiselles De Rochefort [1967] [DVD]

This is a follow up to Jacques Demy major hit "Umbrellas of Cherbourg" and has the same wonderful use of front light bright clear colour seen to perfection in this outstanding transfer to DVD.

On first viewing I was completely seduced by the youthful vitality of the dancing, the interesting though obvious plot, the use of colour, held together by almost continuous music even dialogue is often sung. Also all the characters are believable and likeable.

The "demoiselles" twins Delhine and Solange and real life sisters Catherine Deneuve and Francoise Dorleac are seeking love and success, and their mother Yvonne (best performance in the film by Danielle Darrieux) is still lamenting leaving a a lover ten years ago because of his silly name.

However if one stands back from the film in a critical way (and this is not easy) there are shortcomings.

First to have an all dancing and singing musical with the two main characters being neither dancers nor singers undermines their performances. Secondly Gene Kelly is miscast, he looks frustrated and constrained by the limited dance opportunities (although it is said he did his own choreography) and looks uncomfortable acting in a foreign language.

However you watch the film once again and are immediately swept up into the music and any shortcomings are irrelevant.

One of a kind, please, please, please, doesn't miss watching this.