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StudioCanal has revealed that it plans to bring to Blu-ray acclaimed director Jacques Demy's romantic musical Les Parapluies de Cherbourg a.k.a The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), starring Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Marc Michel, and Anne Vernon. The release will be available for purchase in the United Kingdom on February 10th.
A story of lost love, with all the dialogue sung rather than spoken. In the French seaside town of Cherbourg, Genevieve (Catherine Deneuve, in her first screen role) discovers that she is pregnant by her boyfriend, Guy (Nino Castelnuovo). When Guy is drafted into the army, Genevieve marries diamond merchant Roland Cassard (Marc Michel), even though she still loves Guy. She is destined for one last encounter with her true love, in a frosty Esso gas station.
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg was recently restored by Ciné Tamaris. Below is a video highlighting the many improvements that were made during the restoration with comments by renowned director Agnes Varda, Rosalie Varda-Demy, Thierry Delannoy from Digimage, and director Mathieu Demy.
http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=12556
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I'll buy this in an INSTANT!!!!! I'm sure that many who discovered this when it first came out can tell their own "Umbrellas" stories. As soon as I saw it, I just HAD to buy its beautifully packaged LP, and years later would re-buy it after I had played the first one too many times. And of course I was overjoyed when it was released on CD, and would later buy a double CD that restored a few songs that had been skipped or shortened on the album, plus they added different versions of some of the songs done by others. But a funny thing happened. I was SO used to the flow of the album that I found the additions intrusive (although they've always worked just fine when watching the film), so I eventually re-did my playlist to restore it to the original album order. I've long had it on both VHS and DVD, but what was written above tells me that I MUST buy the Blu-ray! A simply wonderful movie.
I recently bought an OPPO BDP-103 Universal Disc Player (SACD / DVD-Audio / 3D Blu-ray), and I assume that it will decode the different region Blu-rays. Right? Now where's my manual for it….
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It really is the Blu-ray of the year for me - I have seen no finer transfer of a film from that era.
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haineshisway: Re: "It really is the Blu-ray of the year for me - I have seen no finer transfer of a film from that era."
You made that quite clear in your rather, ahem, ecstatic review!
But I think I'm going to force myself to wait a little for a domestic release. Too many times I've impulsively bought such things as a Canadian release of the Blu-ray of "Shakespeare In Love," which had NO special features, only to re-buy it several months later in the American release with the special features -- and, alas, I had done similar things in the past with other movies I just couldn't wait to get on Blu-ray. But I do hope they don't drag it out for years, because while my love for this movie doesn't quite match yours, I certainly do love it and want it on Blu-ray.
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To haineshisway: Re your "Yes, there are English subtitles on the film. None on the extras, but it's all about the film" from the site with your very effusive review of the movie. As much as I adore this movie, I'd like to be able to understand the special features, so even though I have a universal Blu-ray player that should be able to decode Region B, I'll wait a little longer for the UK Region B copy of it -- but hope I don't have to wait toooooooooooooooooooooo long for it!
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I could watch this film for ever more, with an ending that touches my soul as strong as being hit by a bulldozer, but in a good melancholy way. As a person once said to me years ago, the God's will straighten this whole thing out for us in the end.
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I just noticed that Amazon has the Criterion "The Essential Jacques Demy" for $87.47. It is to be released on July 22nd and includes both Blu-rays and DVDs for the following:
Lola
Bay of Angels
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
The Young Girls of Rochefort
Donkey Skin
Une chambre en ville
All, presumably, with English subtitles for the films AND the special features. And each will likely, in due course, be released separately.
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I much prefer THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT, which has a French release on Blu-ray. It says it is region B locked, but I've also read (somewhere), that the disc is region free. Anyone know for sure?
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I just noticed that Amazon has the Criterion "The Essential Jacques Demy" for $87.47. It is to be released on July 22nd and includes both Blu-rays and DVDs for the following:
Lola
Bay of Angels
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
The Young Girls of Rochefort
Donkey Skin
Une chambre en ville
All, presumably, with English subtitles for the films AND the special features. And each will likely, in due course, be released separately.
Maybe - but Criterion usually doesn't break up their sets. Try and wait for a "half off all Criterion" sale at Barnes and Noble.
For once the word "essential" is used correctly. I can't think of any other Demy movie I want to own aside from these.
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ROCHEFORT is fun, while CHERBOUGH is sort of maudlin. Not that I dislike it, just not something I want to revisit very often.
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PSon:
We're of different generations. I remember going to a small movie theatre (back when "small" didn't mean one of those multiplex closets) to see the brand new "Umbrellas of Cherbourg," and, for many of us, it was pure magic from beginning to end. I immediately bought the blue fold-out Philips LP set and practically wore it out, eventually re-buying it. Years later I bought the movie on VHS, then DVD, and then special edition DVD. And the same for the CD, getting an expanded recording several years later with music not included on the familiar soundtrack recording. As you may have noticed when there was a lot of discussion here about this film a few months ago, there are some here at FSM who are passionate about this film and won't hesitate to buy it on Blu-ray (notice how some refer to it as their favorite film of all time). But the magic just isn't there for you, which you can't change. In a way it's like those who adore certain genre of instrumental soundtracks and others who are left cold by them, which isn't something one has much power to change, and I completely understand. Incidentally, I enjoyed "Rochefort" when it was first released, though there wasn't any of the magic I felt with "Cherbourg," and decades later, after I bought it on DVD, could barely get through it.
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Pretty sure we're not of different generations. I saw the film in its original run.
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PS: I guess the photo made me think you were more like 40-something.
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That photo is from last year! I'm 20 years older than 40 something.
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And I'm 30 years older than 40 something.
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I'm sure the Criterion will use the Rochefort and Cherbourg transfers from France, both of which are stunning. I have a Blu-ray of Lola that I'm not thrilled with, so am hoping that the Criterion will look better.
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