Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #193982 in DVD
• Released on: 1997-11-26
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Colour, Dolby, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, PAL
• Original language: French
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 91 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Jacques Demy's haunting romantic musical is an enchanting, one-of-a-kind musical experience. It's basically a movie operetta, in which the characters sing all the dialogue (or, rather, lyrics--by director Demy) to Michel Legrand's lovely score. The story spans five years (1957-1962) in the life of Geneviéve (the ethereally beautiful Catherine Deneuve in the role that launched her to international stardom), the teenage daughter of a woman who owns a Cherbourg umbrella shop. After Geneviéve's boyfriend Guy (Nino Castelnuovo) is drafted and sent off to Algeria, she discovers she's pregnant and complications ensue. With its dazzling candy-coloured palette, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg looks sweet and dreamy. Restored and re-released in 1995 to rapturous acclaim and the renewed delight of all who got the chance to see it. The video release is taken from the restored version. --Jim Emerson, Amazon.com

Customer Reviews

Probably the greatest, saddest and most romatic film ever
This film is one of those rare movies that will stay with you forever. Not only will you find yourself humming the soundtrack to yourself for months afterwards, but the beautiful sets, costumes and casting with never cease to amaze. When I first saw this film it brought me to tears (not just because of the bitter/sweet portrayal of love, but also beacuse of the sheer romance)

Any one who is failed to be moved by the awesome railway scene must be lacking of all emotion.

This is a must see movie if ever there was one. And you want to see it, share it and remeber it forever.

The most beautiful film ever made.
The first 10 minutes of this film seem very bizarre-everyone is singing in french, singing about ordinary things (there is no spoken dialogue throughout). This makes it seem very funny, but within 10 minutes you become sucked into the beautiful, colourful film about a teenage romance. The relationships between the characters are detailed clearly through the songs, which vary from jazzy numbers to heartbreaking songs of loss and love. I won't spoil any of the story for you, because it is so perfect. Watch it without any pre-concieved ideas and enjoy. The best musical,romance or foreign film ever made.

Lovely and unusual
This is a lovely film. I've yet to work out whether this is a film about the difficulty of maintaining the ideals of romantic love or about the need to compromise. I guess it is neither or both. Like a lot of quality cinema, it leaves it to the viewer to decide.

The film's story is simple. Boy meets girl. Boy goes away and loses girl. Will boy and girl get back together? But the simplicity of the story leaves you to concentrate on the film's strengths.....the film looks incredible. Vibrant pinks and yellows blend perfectly with the rain and snow. In some ways it feels uniquely French. It blends an appreciation of romance, art and beauty with a healthy cyncism and appreciation of the way things really are.

The score is a real gem, moving effortlessly from jazz to full blown orchestra and choir: and on this viewing I found myself watching the railway scene over and over: it is an absolute classic.

This is a 5* movie, but loses a star, as the sound transfer on the DVD is odd. The visuals are great, but the pitch on the sound is very high, leaving Catherine Deneuve sounding almost Chipmunk like at times!