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.
In THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT, the follow up to the revolutionary UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (1963), director Jacques Demy continues his experiments with narrative and the musical form, as well as his collaboration with composer Michel Legrand. Characters meet, story lines cross, families expand and all is expressed in booming song, exploding color, and elegant choreography. Catherine Deneuve and her real life sister, Francoise Dorleac play sisters who run a music and ballet school and in their spare time seek love and adventure. Their Mother runs a café in the Town Square which is the eye of the romantic and dramatic storm that runs through the film. A young sailor mopes at the café dreaming of an ideal love, a local music merchant regrets his lost love, a carnival enters town and two of its members convince the sisters to put on a spectacle. Gene Kelley makes an appearance, as do elements from many Hollywood musicals, added in pastiche. As the film reaches a hysterical and breakneck pace, lovers are lost and found, separated and reunited and the glittering, pastel glamour of the town of Rochefort plays a starring role. Love's endurance and the persistence of chance reign as the ridiculous and the sublime combine to create a cinematic experience unlike any other.
Entertainment Weekly named THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT one of the top ten videos of 2000.
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.35
Letterbox - 2.35
Audio:
Mono - French
Subtitles - English - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Trailers
Distributor Notes: The Young Girls Of Rochefort
A wonderfully entertaining musical fantasy, THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT features big-screen legend Gene Kelly (THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT) and international star Catherine Deneuve (BELLE DE JOUR) in a delightfully lighthearted story about two charming sisters waiting for their perfect love to arrive! In the picturesque seaside village of Rochefort, Delphine (Deneuve) teaches dance while her twin Solange (Francoise Dorleac) composes and gives piano lessons. As the girls dream of success and romance in the far-off big city, they don't realize that true love may be just around the corner! An exuberant musical treat that earned rave reviews from critics everywhere, this beloved classic has been beautifully restored to its original magnificence!
Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
Director of Photography
Ghislain Cloquet:
Production Designer
Bernard Evein:
Review 1:
"...Gorgeously mounted..."
Source: USA Today
p.13E 10/02/1998
Review 2:
"...Demy's candy-colored cult musical....A ripe romanticism is made palatable by a game cast and intelligent filmmaking..." -- Rating: A-
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.56 09/22/2000
Review 3:
"...With candy-store colors and a script that combines a storybook romance with the pursuit of a serial killer....Among the most beautiful-looking films of the '60s..."
Source: USA Today
p.10E 09/22/2000
Review 4:
Ranked #8 in Entertainment Weekly's "BEST VIDEOS OF 2000"
Source: Entertainment Weekly
pp.120-3 12/22/2000
Shopping Cart:
