A heavy influence on major recent Hollywood musicals such as La La Land, Barbie, and even, perhaps most blatantly, Joker: Folie à Deux, Jacques Demy’s musical masterpiece The Umbrellas of Cherbourg has been restored in 4K for its 60th anniversary. Starring Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo with music by Michel Legrand, the restoration will now roll out at NYC’s Film Forum starting on December 6 and at LA’s Laemmle Royal a week later, followed by a larger release.
Here’s the synopsis: “An angelically beautiful Catherine Deneuve was launched to stardom by this dazzling musical heart-tugger from Jacques Demy. She plays an umbrella-shop owner’s delicate daughter, glowing with first love for a handsome garage mechanic, played by Nino Castelnuovo. When the boy is shipped off to fight in Algeria, the two lovers must grow up quickly. Exquisitely designed in a kaleidoscope of colors, and told entirely through the lilting songs of the great composer Michel Legrand, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is one of the most revered and unorthodox movie musicals of all time.”
The film was restored by Ciné-Tamaris by Éclair Classics and L.E. Diapason labs, Paris, supervised by Rosalie Varda & Mathieu Demy, with support from the CNC, CHANEL, SACEM, and the George Fasel Memorial Fund for Classic French Cinema.
See the trailer below.
