The Young Girls Of Rochefort -1967- Criterion -... -
Jacques Demy’s The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967) is a vibrant, jazz-infused tribute to Hollywood musicals, available in a 2K digital restoration from The Criterion Collection
Set over a single weekend in the seaside town of Rochefort, the plot follows twin sisters Delphine (Catherine Deneuve) and Solange (Françoise Dorléac)—sisters in real life as well—who dream of finding big-city love and artistic success. The town is transformed into a literal stage: Demy had hundreds of shutters painted pink and blue to ensure the real-world location matched his stylized palette. The Michel Legrand Score
Released in 1967, this film is the sunlit counterweight to Demy’s own heartbreaking The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964). While Umbrellas used sung-through dialogue to explore the tragedy of lost love, Rochefort explodes onto the screen with the vibrancy of a freshly opened box of crayons. For decades, accessing this masterpiece in its full, intended glory was a challenge. That changed definitively with the release of The Young Girls of Rochefort -1967- Criterion edition. The Young Girls of Rochefort -1967- Criterion -...
Whether you are a lifelong cinephile or a newcomer to French New Wave, Demy’s masterpiece—available on the Criterion Channel and in physical formats—is an essential watch that proves happiness can be just as profound as sorrow. General | FAQ | The Criterion Collection
The Criterion edition (Spine #717) also includes several visual "pieces" that complement the essay: Learn More - Sounding Cinema Jacques Demy’s The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)
But if you need a reminder that cinema can be pure, unironic pleasure—that a camera can spin, that colors can sing, that two sisters in matching sundresses can dance through a French square to a jazz sextet—then there is nothing better.
The film's cinematography, handled by Raoul Coutard, captures the beauty of Rochefort and its surroundings, turning the town into a character in its own right. The camera work is marked by a sense of freedom and experimentation, reflecting the improvisational spirit of the French New Wave. While Umbrellas used sung-through dialogue to explore the
Lyrical Complexity: Characters sing about mundane missed connections with operatic intensity.
