Les Demoiselles de Rochefort [1967] [DVD]

This is a review of the November 2019 Region B2 Blu-ray from BFI, which comes with oodles of extras. An excellent product, it is in 1080p, with both 2.0 and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. The English subtitles are fine, but as they are largely translating song lyrics, and have been designed to replicate lyrics by rhyming and scanning, they do not mirror the French soundtrack exactly.I had read several reviews of this 1967 film. They vary from "a fond Hollywood tribute" but with "undistinguished choreography" in the ‘Radio Times Guide to Film’, to "a tone of unmitigated joy" and "a magical land" in ‘1001 Films to See Before You Die’. And that it is ‘less good’ AND ‘better’ than director Jacques Demy’s more famous ‘The Umbrellas of Cherbourg’(1964). So, where does the truth lie?‘Demoiselles’ is quite long ~ at 126 minutes, nearly 40 minutes longer than ‘Umbrellas’. It has a strong, starry cast, with the great Gene Kelly appearing, in one of his later films, and choreographing his own numbers. He is joined by another successful Hollywood dancer, George Chakiris, an OSCAR and Golden Globe-winner for his role as Bernardo, leader of the ‘Sharks’ in ‘West Side Story’(1961). The French star Catherine Deneuve, and her older sister Françoise Dorléac, also star as twin sisters. Tragically, Dorléac was killed in a car crash shortly afterwards. Amongst the quite large cast of French and American actors, Danielle Darrieux is notable as the twins’ mother. A major French star, Darrieux’s eight decade film career is amongst the longest in cinema history! Here, at 50, she is as lovely as her film daughters.The entire filming took place in the pretty French naval town of Rochefort-sur-Mer. Picturesquely situated on the estuary of the River Charente, on the south west (Atlantic) coast, the town was painted in gallons of white, pink, blue and pale yellow paint for the film. The colour and the sunshine are further enhanced by the beautifully colourful costumes: loads of pastel mini skirts, white uniformed sailors with red pom-poms on their berets, and the most extravagant selection of huge hats ever seen. The pretty buildings, the generous town square, the pavement café, it all looks evocatively French. There are also a couple of nice interior sets. The music shop, in white, is particularly memorable.The story is great fun, a gentle set of parallel love stories, prettily told, with some nicely farcical elements. The choreography by Northern Irishman Norman Maen is very good ~ varied, energetic and attractive. He later produced medal-winning dances for skater John Curry. The music was by French composer Michel Legrand, who also composed the music for ‘Umbrellas’, and was OSCAR-nominated for both films. Oddly, the music was, to our mind, the weakest element of this film, a little repetitive and lacking in variety. There are no real toe-tapping numbers to recall.But overall, a mood-lifting, smile-inducing, happy, colourful musical. Très belle!

Les Demoiselles de Rochefort gets off to a leisurely start, and it takes a while to get into it, but once it takes off its exuberance does take hold of the viewer and it becomes a camp delight. Rochefort looks freshly painted as the carnies arrive for the fair and set up on the main square, where the lovely Solange and Delphine teach music and dance respectively. Played by real-life sisters Francoise Dorleac and Catherine Deneuve, they sing and dance their way through a number of scenes with great charm, as do the two carnies, one of whom (George Chakiris) had starred in West Side Story ... At the same time, a story of missed chances, fate, and people meeting or not in a small town is woven into the fabric of the film with much subtlety, being both true to life and artificial. The painter Maxence, who has a superb number early on explaining the girl of his dreams to the assembled characters in a cafe on the square, is amazing as a naif finishing his military service. He has painted this figure who is the very image of Deneuve, but nobody tells him, either for perverse reasons of their own, or because they don't think of it. Meanwhile, the composer Andy Miller, played with his customary debonair ease by Gene Kelly, breezes into town and bumps into Solange to spark one of the most delightful 'love at first sight' moments in any film! Dorleac plays it to the hilt - really she could hardly be camper, as her Concerto in F sharp minor, third movement, falls onto the pavement with crayons and paper and he dashingly helps her to pick it all up, and their hands touch ... The film also stars Michel Piccoli and Danielle Darrieux in a not very convincing subplot, but it adds to the overall jigsaw so who cares? The music, by Michel Legrand, is very suitable, and there are some good tunes that become associated with one or other of the three romantic threads you hope will make the connection ... But the real guiding light behind the project is, of course, Jacques Demy, who pulls off one of his finest films here. The story and music blend beautifully with the colours and dance moves, in what is a priceless period piece. The extras, including a 64-minute documentary shot 25 years later by Agnes Varda, are well worth having, as is the wonderful booklet.

I first saw this movie broadcast on Brazillian television in english when i was 8. I loved it and was curious to see it once again to determine whether it really was that good! I never managed to find it again, and hesitantly purchased the french version (the movie was shot in english and french simultaneously).The movie concerns twins who are a music and dance teacher who want more from life than rochefort has to offer. They decide to go to paris. Love is the central theme though it is looked at in different ways. The hope of love, finding love, unrequited love, love lost; are all briefly delt with.It is an atypical musical in the sense that a lot of the music reprises and often with slightly different lyrics. The jazz score is increadible. Even though I can't sing the french your humming the music long after you saw the movie.I think the most characteristic thing is they way that the music and dance are integrated into the movie. The songs are not always carried out in a secluded spot but in the middle of a street with the passers by joining in. For example, on of the twins is walking down the street while all the extras are dancing around and then seemlessly she joins in. Gene Kelly, George Chakiris and Glover Dale provide the more energetic dance numbers.Overall it is just as enchanting as I remembered and well worth the price as I am certain I will watch it again and again