The Young Girls of Rochefort [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Jacques Demy Jacques Demy

Overview

Jacques Demy directed this frothy tribute to the Hollywood musicals of the 1940s, a follow-up to his earlier success The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964). Twin sisters Delphine and Solange (played by real-life sisters Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorleac) live in the small coastal town of Rochefort, where they run a school teaching dancing and music. Both feel frustrated in Rochefort, and they dream of travelling to Paris, where they believe romance and opportunity awaits them. Meanwhile, their single mother, Yvonne (Danielle Darrieux), who runs a cafe in town, pines for her lost love, Simon (Michel Piccoli). One day, one of Yvonne's regular customers, a sailor with an artistic bent named Maxence (Jacques Perrin), shows her a painting of the imaginary girl of his dreams, and she looks just like Delphine, whom he's never met. Meanwhile, Simon has returned to Rochefort, bringing with him a close friend, American pianist Andy Miller (Gene Kelly); Simon has made friends with Solange and introduces her to Andy, who immediately falls in love with her. Sadly, Les Demoiselles de Rochefort was Françoise Dorleac's last film; she died in an auto accident shortly after completing the picture.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/11/2017
UPC:	0715515197014
Original Release:	1967
Rating:	G
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:06:00
Sales rank:	11,175

Special Features

French television interview from 1966 featuring director Jacques Demy and composer Michel Legrand discussing the music for the film; Conversation from 2014 between Demy biographer Jean-Pierre Berthomé and costume designer Jacqueline Moreau; Episode from a multipart 1966 Belgian television series on the making of the film; Agnès Varda's 1993 documentary The Young Girls Turn 25; Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Catherine Deneuve	Delphine Garnier
Francoise Dorleac	Solange Garnier
Gene Kelly	Andy Miller
Danielle Darrieux	Yvonne Garnier
George Chakiris	Etienne
Grover Dale	Bill
Jacques Perrin	Maxence
Michel Piccoli	Simon Dame
Pamela Hart	Judith
Leslie North	Esther
Jacques Riberolles	Guillaume Lancien
Henri Cremieux	Dutrouz
Patrick Jeantet	Boubou
Genevieve Thenier	Josette
Rene Bazart	Pepe
Dorothy Blanck	Passerby
Agnès Varda	Nun
Daniel Mocquay	Sailor
Peter Ardran	Dancer
Wendy Barry	Dancer
Sarah Butler	Dancer
Ann Chapman	Dancer
Jane Darling	Dancer
Tudor Davies	Dancer
Lindsay Dolan	Dancer
John MacDonald	Dancer
Keith Drummond	Dancer
Maureen Evans	Dancer
Tara Fernando	Dancer
Sara Flemington	Dancer
Johnny Greenland	Dancer
Leo Guerard	Dancer
David Hepburn	Dancer
Bob Howe	Dancer
Alix Kirsta	Dancer
Jerry Manley	Dancer
Tony Manning	Dancer
Tom Merrifield	Dancer
Connel Miles	Dancer
Albin Pahernik	Dancer
Nicky Temperton	Dancer
Barrie Wilkinson	Dancer
Maureen Willsher	Dancer
Sue Allen	Singer
George E. Becker	Singer
Ronald D. Hicklin	Singer
Frank Allen Howren	Singer
Thomas D. Kenny	Singer
Judith E. Lawler	Singer
Bill Lee	Singer,Singer
Gilda Maiken	Singer
Gene Merlino	Singer
Joseph A. Pryor	Singer
Ronald T. Reeve	Singer
Sally Stevens	Singer
Sara Jane Tallman	Singer
Robert Tebow	Singer
Jackie Ward	Singer
Bernard Fradet	Second Agent
Remy Brozeck	Third Agent
Daniel Gall	Second Sailor
Veronique Duval	A Woman
Pierre Caden	First Man
Romuald	Etienne
Jose Bartel	Bill
Jacques Revaux	Maxence
Georges Blaness	Simon Dame
Christiane Legrand	Judith,Composer
Claudine Meunier	Esther
Jean Stout	Guillaume Lancien
Olivier Bonnett	Boubou
Alice Gerald	Josette
Dorothée Blank	Passerby
Earl Brown	Actor
Jacques Demy	Composer

Technical Credits

Jacques Demy

Mag Bodard	Producer
Gilbert de Goldschmidt	Producer
Jacques Demy	Director,Screenwriter
Louis Seurat	Casting

Editorial Reviews

When originally released, Jacques Demy's The Young Girls of Rochefort suffered in comparison with his earlier The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, but its reputation has grown in the intervening years. Although not without flaws, Rochefort is a tremendously appealing and utterly engaging musical trifle. Breezy and light, Rochefort is also gorgeous and a delight to the eye; Demy's sense and use of color is practically overwhelming, and is as important to the success of the film as any other element. Much of Michel Legrand's music is buoyant, bubbly and lively, with a distinct jazz bent that pays homage to the Swingle Singers style of vocal harmony. Legrand's more dramatic music is less successful, coming off too often as melodrama. At least in translation, the lyrics are rather too prosaic and don't move the story along as much as could be desired; this is unfortunate, but the film engenders such cheery goodwill in the viewer that he is happy to overlook this and other flaws -- such as the fact that the singing voices of almost all of the leads (including Gene Kelly) are dubbed. Kelly dances wonderfully, as do the marvelous George Chakiris and Grover Dale, and as does the chorus. The choreography itself is too lightweight and forgettable, but the danced basketball segment is impressive. Catherine Deneuve and Francoise Dorleac are sheer delights, and Danielle Darrieux is a treat. Demy followed the frothy Rochefort with the far different, American-made The Model Shop.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler