Rating: 
Summary: Life goes on
Review: Subtle yet emotionally wrenching "movie in song" in glorious color about two young lovers torn apart by the Algerian War. Gorgeous Catherine Deneuve is breathtakingly luminous as the romantic yet mature seventeen-year old Genevieve Emery, who finds herself unmarried and pregnant after her lover has departed for the war. Handsome Nino Castelnuovo (who resembles a young Louis Jourdan) stars as Guy Foucher, a garage mechanic of humble means who is equally in love with Genevieve. Tells the simple yet effectively poignant tale in three parts as in an operetta--the separation, departure, and reunion, with such a great deal of emotional depth experienced by the characters that we are totally engulfed in their story. The supporting cast is wonderful as well, with Anne Vernon as Genevieve's mother, a realistic woman who only wants the best for her child; Marc Michel as Genevieve's wealthy and kind suitor who is obsessively lovestruck and marries her despite the fact she is carrying another man's child; and lovely Ellen Farner as Guy's friend who eventually becomes his wife, a gentle yet strong young woman who consoles an understandably bitter and disillusioned Guy when he comes back from the war to find his beloved guardian dying and Genevieve married and raising his child with another man. This movie is more than just a heartbreaking tale about two lovers, however; it is about how young love doesn't always last and that we have to make practical decisions in life.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful! You'll love it!
Review: This could be the most beautiful, unique, romantic movie ever made. Every bit of dialogue is sung (but there are no "musical" numbers), and it's filmed in VIVID pastels, beautifully restored in this print (the film was originally released in 1964, and was the Cannes Film Festival Grand Prize winner). In French, with English subtitles, Letterbox (1.66:1, so it looks fine even on a small TV). Young girl (Catherine Deneuve, radiant in her first film) who works for her mother in an umbrella shop, "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg" - hence the title - and young garage mechanic (Nino Castelnuovo) swear their undying love for one another, he goes off to war, she finds herself pregnant, and she must make some decisions which will forever affect the lives of at least four people. Underneath its beautiful and lighthearted look and feel is a very serious and moving story. The entire word-for-word/song-for-song soundtrack/dialogue is also available on 2 audio CDs - Les Parapluies de Cherbourg - Sony ISBN 7464626782. Directed by Jacques Demy, music by Michel Legrand. Several of the musical themes have entered into the cultural consciousness, and if you've never seen this movie before, when you watch it you may experience a pleasant sense of recognition, i.e., "So that's where that song came from!" You'll love it! END
Rating:
Summary: What Can I Say? I Love This Movie
Review: In theory, this should be a very annoying film--everything is sung, the characters are a bit thin, and the sets and costumes were so relentlessly Now and Mod that they became period pieces about six months after the film was released.But it isn't the slightest bit annoying--Chaterine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuevo may not do the singing, but they mime this story of missed chances and lost love with such simplicity and sincerity that they break your heart. And although the lyrics are a bit sappy at times, the music, by Michel Legrand, is some of the lovliest to grace a soundtrack. And that pastel-colored setting, though not exactly faithful to period covered by the story (the Deneuve of 1957 looks little different than the Deneuve of some seven years later, when the story ends), is quietly enchanting in and of itself. The secret to Jacques Demy's fantasies is that he didn't forget the real world that bred them--his stories soften some of the sadness of life's blows, but it doesn't forget that they happen . . .
Rating:
Summary: Wow! Just about as good as DVD gets
Review: If you love film, this is a DVD you must own, and if you already own the old version this is one case where upgrading is an absolute necessity, the difference is staggering. I've never seen a DVD that was more of an improvement over a previous release. The colors explode off the screen from this razor sharp anamorphic transfer, which finally presents the film in its original aspect ratio. If you have the old Fox Lorber disc, find the nearest bonfire or trash compactor, because that's the only place suitable for it. I took some comparison captures of the two discs on my computer and the results are astonishing. The old disc swears it's from the 1994 restored version, but I find that hard to believe. The colors are faded beyond belief and there's a deep blue tint to the whole film that's instantly visible when you compare it to this new Koch Lorber version. Koch Lorber deserves major, enormous, gigantic congratulations for finally doing right by this cinema classic and giving it the DVD it deserves. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful DVD version of a unique film
Review: There really isn't another film quite like THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG. For instance, every line of dialogue in the movie is sung, yet apart from the heartbreakingly beautiful "I Will Wait for You," there are no songs. So, is it a musical? In form it seems more like an operetta. Musically, the dialogue is loosely organized, though certain musical themes are repeated often, and it lightly sung, none of the performers coming across as highly trained professional singers. Overall, the music, despite the presence of only one song, is entrancing. As fine as the music is, I actually found the film to be more riveting on a purely visual level. For instance, inn scene after scene, I found myself focusing on the art design rather than the music. Demy frames most of his shots against backgrounds of more or less solid and striking colors--green walls, blue-stripped wallpaper, unusually painted building. Demy also employs a host of subtle camera angles and techniques. The film is unquestionably as much for the eyes as for the ears. Most members of the cast were unknown to me, except, of course, for the surreally beautiful Catherine Deneuve, who was nineteen during most of the production of the film. She exudes star quality throughout. But none of the performers fails at all in their roles, though none of the others was the budding star that she was. One thing that struck me about all of the characters was that while the tale told is essentially a tragic one--or at least a bittersweet one--there are really no bad guys. Marc Michel, for instance, who plays Deneuve's wealthy suitor Roland Cassard, is a thoroughly likable person, even admirable. She clearly doesn't love him, but in no conceivable sense is he a bad person. Nino Castelnuovo's character Guy Foucher, for whom Deneuve's Geneviève Emery has asserted she "wait forever" turns out to be an inconstant correspondent, but apart from that he does nothing actively unkind to Geneviève. Geneviève's mother might push her towards Roland and away from Guy, but she is clearly motivated by a love of her daughter. The movie could have been subtitled: "A Tragedy with No Villains." The film is about love, but it is sadly not a love story. In a way, it deconstructs the kind of romantic myths that dominates the musical genre. This is the anti-Disney version of the possibility of eternal love.
Rating:
Summary: NTSC transfer at last
Review: A little bit of additional info that the system won't let me paste into my existing review: In addition to the faults detailed below, the old Fox Lorber DVD suffered from a problem common to European films. In Europe they use the PAL color system for their televisions rather than NTSC, which we use here. PAL has higher resolution, but runs at a different speed and requires films to be sped up by 4% to match it. There's a long technical explanation, but basically they found a way around this for NTSC. The end result is that films in PAL are about five minutes shorter than they should be. There's nothing missing they're just moving faster. The old DVD was from a PAL master, so it was 1hr 27 mins long and had the flicker in the image that usually results from a PAL to NTSC conversion. The new DVD is a true NTSC version, so you finally get to see Umbrellas at its proper length of 1hr 32mins. Again, there are no restored scenes or anything, it's merely being run at the correct speed at last. Still, that means five extra minutes of eye-popping color, glorious music and Catherine Deneuve
Rating:
Summary: A great new addition to any DVD collection.
Review: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a fantastic film with a deceptively simple story, outrageous colors, and beautiful music (especially the tune "I Will Wait For You" played during the opening and ending). Fine performances from the cast as well, and all the dialogue is sung. As far as DVD transfers are concerned this looks better and as flawless as you can expect and DVD collectors shouldn't pass up the new Koch Lorber edition of this wonderful movie.
Rating:
Summary: Life goes on
Review: Subtle yet emotionally wrenching "movie in song" in glorious color about two young lovers torn apart by the Algerian War. Gorgeous Catherine Deneuve is breathtakingly luminous as the romantic yet mature seventeen-year old Genevieve Emery, who finds herself unmarried and pregnant after her lover has departed for the war. Handsome Nino Castelnuovo (who resembles a young Louis Jourdan) stars as Guy Foucher, a garage mechanic of humble means who is equally in love with Genevieve. Tells the simple yet effectively poignant tale in three parts as in an operetta--the separation, departure, and reunion, with such a great deal of emotional depth experienced by the characters that we are totally engulfed in their story. The supporting cast is wonderful as well, with Anne Vernon as Genevieve's mother, a realistic woman who only wants the best for her child; Marc Michel as Genevieve's wealthy and kind suitor who is obsessively lovestruck and marries her despite the fact she is carrying another man's child; and lovely Ellen Farner as Guy's friend who eventually becomes his wife, a gentle yet strong young woman who consoles an understandably bitter and disillusioned Guy when he comes back from the war to find his beloved guardian dying and Genevieve married and raising his child with another man. This movie is more than just a heartbreaking tale about two lovers, however; it is about how young love doesn't always last and that we have to make practical decisions in life.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful! You'll love it!
Review: This could be the most beautiful, unique, romantic movie ever made. Every bit of dialogue is sung (but there are no "musical" numbers), and it's filmed in VIVID pastels, beautifully restored in this print (the film was originally released in 1964, and was the Cannes Film Festival Grand Prize winner). In French, with English subtitles, Letterbox (1.66:1, so it looks fine even on a small TV). Young girl (Catherine Deneuve, radiant in her first film) who works for her mother in an umbrella shop, "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg" - hence the title - and young garage mechanic (Nino Castelnuovo) swear their undying love for one another, he goes off to war, she finds herself pregnant, and she must make some decisions which will forever affect the lives of at least four people. Underneath its beautiful and lighthearted look and feel is a very serious and moving story. The entire word-for-word/song-for-song soundtrack/dialogue is also available on 2 audio CDs - Les Parapluies de Cherbourg - Sony ISBN 7464626782. Directed by Jacques Demy, music by Michel Legrand. Several of the musical themes have entered into the cultural consciousness, and if you've never seen this movie before, when you watch it you may experience a pleasant sense of recognition, i.e., "So that's where that song came from!" You'll love it! END
Rating:
Summary: Lovely film making! Unique!
Review: There is no other film like this one! Shot in the early 60s, it is still a favorite among film lovers. It's no wonder that it recently celebrated its 40th anniversary! Catherine Deneuve plays a young girl who is faced with an important life decision in her tender youth that affects her life and the man she loves who must leave for military service. Nino Castelnuovo plays the young man who returns form war to the news of his love married to another man. THE most beautiful film ever shot! Beautiful music that will staya with you forever!
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