The Young Girls of Rochefort

Starring:RenÃ© Bazart, DorothÃ©e Blank, George Chakiris, Henri CrÃ©mieux, Grover Dale, Danielle Darrieux, Catherine Deneuve, FranÃ§oise DorlÃ©ac, Daniel Gall, Pamela Hart, Patrick Jeantet, Gene Kelly, Daniel Moquay, Leslie North, Jacques Perrin, Michel Piccoli, Jacques Riberolles, GeneviÃ¨ve ThÃ©nier
Director: Jacques Demy
Studio: Miramax
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

The French director Jacques Demy scored a worldwide hit in 1964 with The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, a bittersweet candy-colored romance in which all the dialogue was set to music. Equally enchanting is the musical that reunited Demy with the star and composer of Umbrellas, Catherine Deneuve and Michel Legrand. The film is The Young Girls of Rochefort, an effervescent concoction about traveling players and dreamy-headed demoiselles in a seaside town. Deneuve and her real-life sister, Françoise Dorléac (who died in a car accident not long after the movie was made), play twins who fantasize about life in Paris. But before they leave town, they are distracted by the weekend fair and its colorful singers and dancers. They're also destined to meet an American composer--gloriously, it's Gene Kelly, carrying the aura of classic MGM musicals in his lighter-than-air wake. He was 55 at the time, but much younger in movie years. (Another American, George Chakiris, also dances his way through the film.) Legrand's music isn't as powerful as his Cherbourg score, and some of the choreography would fit right into an Austin Powers discotheque sequence. And the costumes--well, the excesses of '60s mod designs have not aged well. Yet the crazy hairstyles and vinyl boots fit right into the film's sense of gleeful fun. There is a sunny, daffy spirit to this movie that becomes positively infectious. It deserves to be better known. (Try to catch a widescreen version, if possible.) --Robert Horton

Description

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!

Customer Reviews:

South of Cherbourg.......2007-06-04

If you're coming to THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT by way of THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG, metaphorically, Rochefort is quite a bit south of Cherbourg (and cartographically, as well).

Whereas CHERBOURG was inspired by -- but consciously counterpoint to American musicals, ROCHEFORT seems a giant ripoff. Not only did they import Gene Kelly and George Chakiris but huge chunks seem to have been pilfered. For instance, Deneuve's and Dorleac's performance at the carnaval kept conjuring up in me memories of Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell singing "Two Girls from Little Rock". This film could have been an American-made B-musical.

I hate to say it, but I found Michel Legrand's music bland - the pastel design and cinematography overwhelming - the acting uninspired - and the plot silly.

I really wanted to like this film. But, I stifled yawns most of the way thru.

If you haven't yet seen THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG, don't let this one by the same team put you off. Up at Cherbourg, everything came together brilliantly. Down here at Rochefort, non.

The Young Girls of Rochefort.......2007-01-05

Amazon was the only place I could find this DVD

Charming fun, if a tad too long.......2006-07-31

Every now and then it's fun to pick up a video you know nothing about--to not even read the back of it--and just experience it without any preconceptions or media hype.

That's what I did with this movie and I was very pleasantly surprised. It's a very spritely, optimistic, creative piece, about the glories and traumas of youth, of love lost and found, of small-town life, of longing for something beyond what one has.

Not at all realistic-that is one of its attractive points. The bright colors used, the stylized clothing worn, the clean, white-washed look of the town itself all tell you that this is not a story to be taken literally or seriously(lordy help us if it were!), but a fantasy of sorts.The music is fun, as is the dancing (and I'm not really a huge musicals fan, so for me to be saying this is something), and the sixties look pervades.

My only complaint is that it's too long. They could have cut a couple of the numbers to good effect. My theory is that just about everything--be it book, movie, play, whatever--is 20% too long and this one fits that bill.

Still--you'll enjoy it. Sit back, relax, and let this film take you to a more innocent, carefree placewhere the sky is always blue and the people you meet on the street are always happy, or if they're not at the moment, they soon will be.

An Overstuffed Pastiche of Hollywood Musicals Has Charms But Wears Thin.......2006-04-04

Three years after his gracefully audacious film, "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg", filmmaker Jacques Demy made a follow-up of even broader scope, a pastel-colored Gallic pastiche of Hollywood musicals. While the format of "Cherbourg" is a series of bold recitatives that build on the emotionalism of the simple love story at the movie's core, "Rochefort" is a more standard musical within an elaborate tableau of activity set in the seaside town of Rochefort. The featherweight plot centers on beautiful twin sisters, both with a passion for music and romance, and what happens to them when a variety troupe sweeps into town one weekend.

Demy fills the 1967 movie with so many references and tributes to Hollywood musical classics that it all feels overstuffed and overlong with our attention darting constantly among a gallery of superficial characters in various predicaments of less-than-earthshaking consequence. This would all be more acceptable if the musical sequences could transcend the paper-thin storyline. It is in this area that Demy provides a decidedly mixed bag of pleasure and contrivance. Norman Maen's ensemble choreography seems to mimic Jerome Robbins' acrobatic style quite a bit, obviously a conscious nod to the presence of George Chakiris as one of the main characters. However, the numbers look and feel less like "West Side Story" and unfortunately more like a sixties-era TV variety show. Michel Legrand, who wrote the music for "Cherbourg", composes a light jazz score here that is catchy but more transient in nature. There are no memorable set pieces like "I Will Wait for You" or "Watch What Happens" here but rather a series of pop tunes with inane lyrics that motor the story along like a sputtering Vespa.

Catherine Deneuve and her real-life sister Francoise Dorleac (who died tragically in a car accident right after completing this movie) play the twins, Delphine and Solange Garnier, with aplomb. They have a relaxed air with each other that gives the film its one element of realism. Their opening song, "The Twins Song", provides a charmingly silly introduction as they perform to the camera in matching outfits. Running a glass-encased cafe in the town square, their mother Yvonne is played by French screen legend Danielle Darrieux, the only one who actually sings her own songs in the film. Chakiris and Grover Dale dance with skillful dexterity as the girl-chasing carnies Etienne and Bill, though as both are Americans, their voices are obviously dubbed.

Dubbing is a less intrusive ploy with Chakiris and Dale than having Gene Kelly lip-sync to someone else's voice, which Demy does here in recruiting the screen legend to play Andy Miller, an American composer who comes to visit an old schoolmate in town. Looking fit and youthful for 55 and dancing like he never left the MGM lot, Kelly provides a wonderful albeit brief spark to the film, and one instantly recalls "An American in Paris" and "On the Town" as he dances so lithely on the streets. However, it's jarring to hear someone else's voice come out of his face regardless of the language barrier. Having Andy fall in love with the thirty years-younger Solange is also a bit of a stretch, but it provides a nice excuse for Kelly and Dorleac to have a graceful, valedictory pas-de-deux in the music shop.

Although musical numbers are plentiful, there are dialogue scenes that slow the movie down considerably, and the musical chairs aspect - which includes an artistic sailor (Jacques Perrin), a volatile gallery owner (Jacques Riberolles) and Andy's modest friend Guillaume (Michel Piccoli) - gets exhausting to track. There is even a pointless subplot about an axe murderer. Still, the movie has certain charms that will draw a specific audience inclined toward this genre. Ghislain Cloquet's colorful cinematography has been vividly captured in the 1998 restoration which is what the 2002 DVD contains, though the outdoor shots sometimes bleach out the intended colors. Other than a few trailers, there are no other extras with the DVD package.

Young, Warm & Wonderful.......2005-11-30

Rarely have I seen a movie that's main purpose is simply to delight us. Jacques Demy's "The Young Girls of Rochefort" is such a movie. It merely wants to put a smile on our face and light up our hearts, and it succeeds in spades.

Upon its initial release in the United States in 1968 the movie was met with much criticism. How sad this is. Was the 1960s too cynical a time for movie audiences to appreciate a movie as sweet and gentle as this? I doubt it because Demy's "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg", released three years earlier, was a smash worldwide hit. It also starred Catherine Deneuve and featured a score by Michel LeGrand, including "Watch What Happens" and "I Will Wait for You", two of the greatest songs ever written. But in 1968 audiences had felt Demy was going to the well once too often. They felt the movie did not retain the magic of the earlier film. Resentment was so strong against this film that Demy's career never fully recovered. Except for "The Donkey Skin" (also with Deneuve) what other film by this director has garnered an audience?

Well believe it or not but I enjoy this film more than "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg". Don't misunderstand me, both films are worth seeing. In fact, if you're in the mood I suggest a double feature night. But the reason I prefer "The Young Girls of Rochefort" is because I felt "Umbrellas" took its story a little too serious. It was about an innocent first love that turns tragic. But "Girls" doesn't take itself serious. It is lighthearted. The joy of the film comes in the music, the costumes, the lavish bright colors, the beautiful women, and the Rochefort landscape. The movie is pure eye candy of the highest order.

Catherine Deneuve and Francoise Dorleac (real life sisters) star as the Garnier sisters. Delphine (Deneuve) is a ballet teacher and Solange (Dorleac) is a piano teacher. Each is looking for true love. But in the meantime sing songs to occupy the time.

Michel Piccoli plays Simon Dame a man who was the be married to a woman who was going to have have his baby but decided she could not marry a man with the last name Dame so she left him. He has return back to Rochefort 10 years after they seperate just so he can keep the memories of their love affair and who knows, maybe he'll run into her. Then there's a young painter named Maxence (Jacques Perrin) who has painted the portrait of a girl he has never met but claims she is his ideal woman. Next there is Yvonne Garnier (Danielle Darrieux) Delphine and Solange's mother who thinks about the man who got away. All of these people will find their lives intersect as they journey for true love.

While the story may sound trite or predictable to think such things I feel is to miss the point. The movie isn't so much about it's story but about how we feel as we watch the movie. To watch these people sing and dance and entertain is what makes the movie work. Its story is just an excuse for these people to get together. I think once you view the movie with that mind set it shouldn't disappoint. Perhaps that's what went wrong in 68. People just didn't know what to make of the movie. But whatever other may say about this film I think it's a masterpiece. A sheer joy to watch.

Movies such as this are also a pleasure to watch because of the world they encompass. "The Young Girls of Rochefort" wants to be an old-fashioned Hollywood musical and it transports us to the world of those films with a modern setting. The only thing I didn't like about the film was the choreographer. It reminded me of West Side Story and the work of Jerome Robbins. I also disliked the performances given by Genevieve Thenier and Grover Dale. I felt the movie worked best when it focused on the girls and their song and dance. I also enjoyed Gene Kelly's performance as Andy Miller. A man who comes to Paris to visit an old friend and bumps into the girl he thinks will turn out to be the love of his life. And Kelly knows a thing or two about Paris romances.

Now that "The Young Girls of Rochefort" is available on DVD and vhs I hope people take advantage of seeing this musical masterpiece.

Bottom-line: A Visual knockout. Demy surpasses his work on "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg". This is a movie that primarily exist to put a smile on our face and bring joy to our hearts. I love this movie!

Average customer rating:

The Young Girls of Rochefort [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

( Y ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

I'll Never Forget What's 'is Name

Dawn of the Dead

Fairy Tale Princess Collection: Sleeping Beauty [With Toy]

DVD: Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 11, Episodes 21 &

Saiyuki DVD-Box Vol. 3, Staffel 2