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 Production: 5/5
Set over the course of six years in the port city of Cherbourg from 1957 to 1963, the love story of young auto mechanic Guy Foucher (Nino Castelnuovo) and Geneviève Émery (Catherine Deneuve) begins earnestly and passionately, despite the disapproval of Geneviève’s mother (Anne Vernon) and the silent yearning of Madeleine (Ellen Farner) – the young woman looking after Guy’s aunt Élise – for Guy. When Guy is drafted to serve in the Algerian War, he and Geneviève are separated, but not before the two engage in sex before he departs, resulting in Geneviève becoming pregnant with Guy’s child. However, young love can be fleeting, and the realities of life intrude on the young lovers, resulting in both finding different partners.
One of the most revered musicals of all time, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg takes a very unorthodox approach to telling its story compared to other musicals of the time. Jacques Demy, the director and screenwriter of the film, felt frustrated how most musicals followed this pattern: a story that would be interrupted by a combination of musical numbers involving singing and/or dancing; here, Demy makes a radical departure from that formula by having every line of dialogue sung to make the approach appear seamless in storytelling. Amazingly, it works, and that’s in no small part to Michel Legrand’s sublimely lilting music as well as eye-popping color cinematography by Jean Rabier to create a stylized Cherbourg that could’ve existed in the best of MGM musicals (this movie came only a handful of years after the last of the “Dream Factory” musicals from MGM’s Golden Age was released). And most importantly, the bittersweet love story is anchored by solid performances from the cast – even though none of them do their own singing – especially from Nino Castelnuovo and Catherine Deneuve at the heart of the story (with Anne Vernon, Marc Michel reprising his role from Demy’s Lola (1961), Ellen Farner, Mirielle Perrey and Harald Wolff giving memorable support); the latter was especially the major recipient of praise from the critics and the film would help launch her to stardom internationally. Through its unique approach to well-worn tropes of the musical genre, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg succeeds in creating a singular musical experience that still touches and captivates audiences more than 60 years later; its influence is still felt today, as it has been referenced by Damien Chazelle (La La Land) and Greta Gerwig (Barbie) as major influences on their respective works.
Video: 5/5
3D Rating: NA
For this UHD Blu-ray combo release, the film is presented in its original 1:85:1 aspect ratio, taken from a 2024 4K digital restoration done by Ciné-Tamaris – with the support of the CNC, Chanel and SACEM – from the original 35mm camera negative; on the UHD Blu-ray – which has the new restoration – the film is presented in native HDR while the accompanying Blu-ray – which features the previous 2013 restoration used for the 2017 standalone Blu-ray release and the 2013 The Essential Jacques Demy dual-format boxset – presents the film in SDR. Film grain, color palette and fine details are all presented and represented vividly and faithfully – skin tones appear more natural on the newer transfer compared to the previous HD transfer – with minimal instances of scratches, tears and dirt present on the transfer; it also appears that the yellowish tint that was present on the previous HD transfer used for the Criterion Blu-ray is gone here (although the Blu-ray disc included in this release uses said HD transfer). While it’s a bit puzzling why the newer transfer wasn’t used for the Blu-ray disc accompanying this release, this UHD Blu-ray combo is still likely the best the film will ever look on home video.
Audio: 5/5
There are two audio options on this UHD Blu-ray combo release: a 5.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio track created from a three-track mix made in 1963 for the film’s soundtrack album release – rather than the actual film’s soundtrack – and the original monaural soundtrack on a PCM audio track on the UHD Blu-ray disc; the Blu-ray disc utilizes the 5.0 track. The sung dialogue, sound mix and Michel Legrand’s beautiful Oscar-nominated score are all presented clearly and faithfully with minimal cases of distortion present like crackling, popping and hissing present on both tracks. This UHD Blu-ray combo release gets the edge over the previous Criterion Blu-ray edition for having the original monaural soundtrack as a bonus option – in addition to the already solid 5.0 surround track – and is now likely the best the film will ever sound on home video.
Special Features: 4/5
Once Upon a Time… “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”(54:24) – This 2008 documentary reflects on the making of and subsequent impact of the film following release; featuring new and archival interviews with Jacques Demy, Catherine Deneuve, Marc Michel, Michel Legrand and Agnès Varda.
2014 interview with film scholar Rodney Hill (22:43) – Hill explains why the film embraces troupes of both French New Wave and the mainstream French cinema of the time – called “cinema of quality” – in this archival interview carried over from previous Criterion Blu-ray editions.
Excerpt from a 1964 episode of Cinépanorama featuring interviews with director/writer Jacques Demy and composer Michel Legrand (11:15)
Audio Interview from 1991 with Legrand at the National Film Theatre in London (26:46) – Legrand talks about composing music for Demy in this archival interview.
Audio Interview with actress Catherine Deneuve from 1983 at the National Film Theatre in London (11:03) – Deneuve shares what it was like to work with Jacques Demy on not only Umbrellas, but also other Demy projects like The Young Girls of Rochefort and Donkey Skin.
2013 restoration demonstration (6:11)
2013 Re-release trailer (1:56)
Foldout feat. an essay by critic Jim Ridley
Overall: 4.5/5
A hit with both critics and audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg has maintained a timeless appeal through its unorthodox yet effective style of storytelling as well as the luminous presence of Catherine Deneuve. Criterion has likely delivered the definitive home video edition here with a stellar HDR transfer of the film on the UHD Blu-ray disc – even though the previous digital restoration of the film is carried over on the accompanying Blu-ray disc – the film’s original monaural soundtrack as an alternate audio option and carrying over the previous special features from past Criterion releases. Very highly recommended.
Mychal has been on the Home Theater Forum’s reviewing staff since 2018, with reviews numbering close to 300. During this time, he has also been working as an assistant manager at The Cotton Patch – his family’s fabric and quilting supplies business in Keizer, Oregon. When not working at reviewing movies or working at the family business, he enjoys exploring the Oregon Coast, playing video games and watching baseball in addition to his expansive collection of movies on DVD, Blu-ray and UHD, totalling over 3,000 movies.
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