UHD Review The Umbrellas of Cherbourg – Criterion UHD Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[t1g3r5fan]

Today, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. One of the key figures of the French New Wave, Jacques Demy made his entrance into feature filmmaking with Lola in 1961 after directing a handful of short features during the 1950’s. His singular style drew upon various influences, like Hollywood musicals, Japanese manga, jazz, opera, fairy tales, and even his own colleagues’ plein-air realism. Following his sophomore feature film effort Bay of Angels (1963), Demy made his presence known on the international stage with The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Previously released on Blu-ray by Criterion, the label has given the movie its UHD Blu-ray debut.



The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)



Released: 16 Dec 1964
Rated: UNRATED
Runtime: 91 min




Director: Jacques Demy
Genre: Drama, Musical, Romance



Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon, Marc Michel...

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[Jeff Fearnside]

Thanks for the excellent comprehensive review, Mychal! Odd that they included the old Blu-ray with this set. Perhaps they're positioning themselves to release a standalone Blu-ray featuring the new restoration in the future?

 

[Indy Guy]

I didn't find the new 4K to be an obvious improvement over the previous Criterian BR release included in the Demy boxed set.

 

[haineshisway]

It's absolutely shameful of them not to have the Blu-ray with the new transfer.

 

[mskaye]

Nice review. This film is just so magical. The 4k looks and sounds astonishing. I may have to get an original poster from it because the creativity displayed in this film is so life affirming that I want to be reminded of it all day.

 

[bulmabriefs144]

That film is a classic. I think the only three films that I have found more moving are one of the versions of the Mahabharata (I spent hours watching, but didn't get a good grade because the teacher was a snob, and thought that I should have read the book versus sit for four or six hours), Painted Veil (2006), and Not One Less (1999). Not One Less in particular starts off painfully slow, and nowadays I don't stay awake well. But it sets up all these tiny details which build up to a big (if slightly cheesy) finish. They talk about her reusing the nubs of chalk, so I tear up at the end over stupid chalk... This is how Umbrellas of Cherbourg makes me feel with its meeting scene at the end. All that buildup, for a pretty nice finish.

 

[mskaye]

That film is a classic. I think the only three films that I have found more moving are one of the versions of the Mahabharata (I spent hours watching, but didn't get a good grade because the teacher was a snob, and thought that I should have read the book versus sit for four or six hours), Painted Veil (2006), and Not One Less (1999). Not One Less in particular starts off painfully slow, and nowadays I don't stay awake well. But it sets up all these tiny details which build up to a big (if slightly cheesy) finish. They talk about her reusing the nubs of chalk, so I tear up at the end over stupid chalk... This is how Umbrellas of Cherbourg makes me feel with its meeting scene at the end. All that buildup, for a pretty nice finish.

I will check out the other "moving" pictures (ha) you mentioned. Yeah, this film gets me right in the heart. The only other musical that does this for me is West Side Story. I think it's the unrequited love thing. Umbrellas is perfect and of course like any great work of art, there are lots of layers to it. It's also from the French New Wave and with that are the meta cinema and the sociological/political aspects to it, which are important to me.

 

[Garysb]

Thanks for the great review. Looks like I will be picking this up at the next B&N Criterion Sale.

 

[Indy Guy]

I didn't find the new 4K to be an obvious improvement over the previous Criterian BR release included in the Demy boxed set.

The "just in" blu-ray.com 4K review of Umbrellas goes into details regarding what I observed above. The reviewer concludes that the older BR transfer included with the new 4K is a superior viewing experience.
While I didn't do a comparison of the 2 discs directly as this reviewer has done, this was my feeling as well.

 

[Jeff Fearnside]

The "just in" blu-ray.com 4K review of Umbrellas goes into details regarding what I observed above. The reviewer concludes that the older BR transfer included with the new 4K is a superior viewing experience.
While I didn't do a comparison of the 2 discs directly as this reviewer has done, this was my feeling as well.

Interesting. That reviewer is known for being picky about colors in particular, and is sometimes pooh-poohed for it, but since I'm sensitive to color as well, I generally find him to be reliable. I know the review covers other areas as well. That you saw the same thing, Indy Guy, seems to back up the view. So it sounds like the new 4K restoration is lovely, just perhaps not necessarily better than the earlier 2K restoration.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Opinions do vary!

 

[Douglas R]

Disappointing to read these negative reviews. I was hoping for a good 4K upgrade to the Blu-ray. I recall the remarkably vibrant colors on seeing the film when it was first released but cannot say how accurate the Blu-ray is.

 

[mskaye]

The "just in" blu-ray.com 4K review of Umbrellas goes into details regarding what I observed above. The reviewer concludes that the older BR transfer included with the new 4K is a superior viewing experience.
While I didn't do a comparison of the 2 discs directly as this reviewer has done, this was my feeling as well.

Interesting. That reviewer is known for being picky about colors in particular, and is sometimes pooh-poohed for it, but since I'm sensitive to color as well, I generally find him to be reliable. I know the review covers other areas as well. That you saw the same thing, Indy Guy, seems to back up the view. So it sounds like the new 4K restoration is lovely, just perhaps not necessarily better than the earlier 2K restoration.

I disagree with the br.com reviewers opinion. Apart from some nitpicking about the density of color in the titles I feel the 4k is a more vibrant and detailed (and not overly so.) 10.5 minutes in is a shot where CD is running to NC and she is a bit of a grainy mess in the blu ray. However, the blu ray is also pleasing - a dot softer, more grain and more pastel-like. You get to choose your preference. I'll give it a closer listen later to see if I prefer the stereo or the mono mix. If you have your blu ray and are content, you have your answer but it’s worth it in my opinion.

 

[mskaye]

Disappointing to read these negative reviews. I was hoping for a good 4K upgrade to the Blu-ray. I recall the remarkably vibrant colors on seeing the film when it was first released but cannot say how accurate the Blu-ray is.

If you want more vibrancy, the 4k is the more vibrant of the two transfers. The blu ray is a 2k from an interpositive and this is a 4k from the original negative. I have no regrets. That is just one reviewer's opinion. They are both very film-like and beautiful.

 

[Konstantinos]

Are the colors identical in general, in the blu-ray and 4k? (besides the vibrancy)

 

[titch]

The "just in" blu-ray.com 4K review of Umbrellas goes into details regarding what I observed above. The reviewer concludes that the older BR transfer included with the new 4K is a superior viewing experience.
While I didn't do a comparison of the 2 discs directly as this reviewer has done, this was my feeling as well.

Of course, every single person has their own systems, set-ups and calibrations. Projected, I saw a substantial difference between the new 4K UHD and old blu-ray. And all four guests, who watched it with me at the weekend, noticed exactly the same, when we tested a few scenes after the 4K UHD was over. The skin tones are much more accurate on the 4K UHD and there is much less noisy grain. It looks far more filmic, on a large screen.

The blu-ray com reviewer in question is a notorious buffoon. He is the one who keeps saying over and over again that all the colour gradings are wrong, because they aren't what he remembered they looked from the cinema 30 years ago, or match his 20 year old DVD. Said the same about The Grifters, which Robert Harris, one of the producers, vouched for.

 

[mskaye]

Of course, every single person has their own systems, set-ups and calibrations. Projected, I saw a substantial difference between the new 4K UHD and old blu-ray. And all four guests, who watched it with me at the weekend, noticed exactly the same, when we tested a few scenes after the 4K UHD was over. The skin tones are much more accurate on the 4K UHD and there is much less noisy grain. It looks far more filmic, on a large screen.

The blu-ray com reviewer in question is a notorious buffoon. He is the one who keeps saying over and over again that all the colour gradings are wrong, because they aren't what he remembered they looked from the cinema 30 years ago, or match his 20 year old DVD. Said the same about The Grifters, which Robert Harris, one of the producers, vouched for.

Thank you for saying that. I mean this film was given a great review by Mychal, a wonderful and sane HTF reviewer. Why are people not believing what he wrote over the br.com guy's opinion? Sorry for not stating that earlier.

 

[Indy Guy]

It's all a range of opinions and hardware capabilities on which the film is viewed.
I think Criterion tends to be conservative and both their BR & 4K have plusses and minuses.
If you have their BR, you will not experience a revelation in upgrading to 4K.
Nothing is decidedly wrong with either version, but I side with Bluray.com's review...slightly disappointed. It was a calculated reinvestment in this hauntingly beautiful film. The included printed essay is a plus, but the BR Box set includes a more detailed Demy booklet.

 

[Jeff Fearnside]

The blu-ray com reviewer in question is a notorious buffoon. He is the one who keeps saying over and over again that all the colour gradings are wrong, because they aren't what he remembered they looked from the cinema 30 years ago, or match his 20 year old DVD. Said the same about The Grifters, which Robert Harris, one of the producers, vouched for.

To be fair to that reviewer, he doesn't say ALL color grades are wrong. He does harp a lot on the L'immagine Ritrovata color grading, and frankly I'm in total agreement with him on that. I have no idea why companies keep sending films to that lab for "restoration" (i.e., "complete color revision").

That said, we all have have different systems/set-ups, preferences/tastes, and memories of what certain films looked like, and we're naturally all going to have different opinions on things. I actually find it fun, rooting through various reviews knowing the biases of the different reviewers and trying to decode it all and compare it to what I'm looking for.

 

[Jeff Fearnside]

Thank you for saying that. I mean this film was given a great review by Mychal, a wonderful and sane HTF reviewer. Why are people not believing what he wrote over the br.com guy's opinion? Sorry for not stating that earlier.

I agree with you about Mychal. He's an excellent reviewer who has steered me right on many releases. I trust him on his review of TUoC. I still enjoy reading what other reviewers (including those on this forum speaking more informally in threads like this) have to say.