The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) Les parapluies de Cherbourg (original title)

Director:

Jacques Demy

Writer:

Jacques Demy (scenario and dialogue)

Release Date:

16 December 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

FOR ALL THE YOUNG LOVERS OF THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD...

Plot:

An umbrella shop girl is separated from her mechanic boyfriend when he is called for military service. Alone, she faces a life altering decision.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Shop | Aunt | Mechanic | Umbrella

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Catherine Deneuve	...	Geneviève Emery
Nino Castelnuovo	...	Guy Foucher
Anne Vernon	...	Madame Emery
Marc Michel	...	Roland Cassard
Ellen Farner	...	Madeleine
Mireille Perrey	...	Tante Élise
Jean Champion	...	Aubin (as J. Champion)
Pierre Caden	...	Bernard (as P. Caden)
Jean-Pierre Dorat	...	Jean (as J.P. Dorat)
Bernard Fradet	...	Gas Station Apprentice (as B. Fradet)
Michel Benoist	...	Umbrella Buyer (as M. Benoist)
Philippe Dumat	...	Garage Customer in 1957 (as P. Dumat)
Dorothée Blanck	...	Girl in Cafe (as D. Blank)
Jane Carat	...	Ginny (as J. Carat)
Harald Wolff	...	Monsieur Dubourg
Danielle Licari	...	Geneviève Emery (singing voice) (as D. Licari)
José Bartel	...	Guy Foucher (singing voice) (as J. Bartel)
Christiane Legrand	...	Madame Emery (singing voice) (as C. Legrand)
Georges Blaness	...	Roland Cassard (singing voice) (as G. Blanes)
Claudine Meunier	...	Madeleine (singing voice) (as C. Meunier)
Claire Leclerc	...	Tante Élise (singing voice) (as C. Leclerc)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Patrick Bricard	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Jacques Camelinat	...	Garage Customer in 1959 (uncredited)
François Charet	...	Mechanic in 1959 (uncredited)
Jean-Pierre Chizat	...	Pierre - Mechanic (uncredited)
Jacques Demy	...	Le client égaré / Le serveur (singing voice) (uncredited)
Bernard Garnier	...	Mechanic in 1959 (uncredited)
Gisèle Grandpré	...	Madame Germaine (uncredited)
Hervé Legrand	...	François Foucher (uncredited)
Michel Legrand	...	Jean (singing voice) (uncredited)
Myriam Michelson	...	Girl in Cafe (uncredited)
Paul Pavel	...	First Removal Man (uncredited)
Roger Perrinoz	...	Cafe Owner (uncredited)
Rosalie Varda	...	Françoise Cassard (uncredited)

Directed by
Jacques Demy

Writing credits
Jacques Demy		(scenario and dialogue)

Produced by
Mag Bodard	....	producer

Original Music by
Michel Legrand

Cinematography by
Jean Rabier

Film Editing by
Anne-Marie Cotret		(as A.M. Cotret)
Monique Teisseire		(as M. Teisseire)

Production Design by
Bernard Evein

Costume Design by
Jacqueline Moreau		(as J. Moreau)

Makeup Department
Christine Fornelli	....	makeup artist (as C. Fornelli)

Production Management
Philippe Dussart	....	production manager
Maurice Urbain	....	unit manager (as M. Urbain)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
André Flédérick	....	second assistant director (as A. Flederick)
Klaus Müller-Laue	....	assistant director (as K. Muller-Laue)
Jean-Paul Savignac	....	assistant director (as J.P. Savignac)

Art Department
Maurice Bourbotte	....	upholsterer (uncredited)
Joseph Gerhard	....	props (uncredited)
Claude Pignot	....	assistant set decorator (uncredited)

Sound Department
François Musy	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby (1992 remastered version)

Camera and Electrical Department
Jean-Paul Lemaître	....	camera operator (as J.P. Lemaitre)
Leo Weisse	....	still photographer (as L. Weisse)
Pierre Willemin	....	camera operator (as P. Willemin)
Roger Delattre	....	chief electrician (uncredited)
Bernard Largemain	....	key grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Real	....	dresses: Catherine Deneuve
Agnès Soulet	....	costumer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Gisèle Chézeau	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Michel Legrand	....	conductor
Francis Lemarque	....	music publisher

Other crew
Annie Maurel	....	script (as A. Maurel)
Charles Chieusse	....	location manager (uncredited)
Jeanne Marie Olivier	....	production secretary (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Parc Film
• Madeleine Films
• Beta Film

Distributors

• Ciné Tamaris (1964) (France) (theatrical)
• Ciné Tamaris (1992) (France) (theatrical) (Dolby remix version)
• Les Films de ma Vie (2000) (France) (DVD)
• Arte Vidéo (201) (France) (DVD)
• Filmtrade (2011) (Greece) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Landau Releasing Organization (LRO) (1964) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Zeitgeist Films (1996) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release) (subtitled)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (USA) (laserdisc)
• Cult Filmes (Brazil) (VHS)
• Divisa Home Video (2006) (Spain) (DVD)
• Editora Jornal do Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• Koch Lorber Films (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Versátil Home Vídeo (2002) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Wellspring Media (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Carita  hair styling

Also Known As:

"Les parapluies de Cherbourg" - France (original title)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

France | West Germany

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR (restored version) (1992) | Mono

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (re-rating) (1997) | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:AL (re-rating) (2008) | South Korea:12 | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:S | France:U | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Cherbourg, Manche, France

Company:

Parc Film

Trivia:

All the dialogue in the film is sung.

Quotes:

Guy Foucher:Why didn't you tell me?
Aunt Élise:I didn't want to say anything. I thought you knew. You didn't suspect.
Guy Foucher:Of course, over the last few months. Her letters were not the same. She didn't answer my questions. She was writing without conviction. But marrying another man! I thought she was mad at me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Le soleil et la mort voyagent ensemble (2006)

Soundtrack:

I Will Wait For You

An offbeat but beautifully stylised and colourful piece of cinema

This must be amongst the most distinctive, idiosyncratic and exquisite films I have seen in a long while. There is nothing particularly new about the plot, which is a straightforward and uncomplicated love story divided into three acts, but the beauty of this film is in the telling of it.

All the dialogue in this film is sung, which at first is a little unsettling, but it actually takes very little time to adjust to. The verse/chorus format of popular music and the musical genre is eschewed for an approach more resembling a modern opera, as the characters croon their lines to each other over a continuous score. This gives the most banal of lines a rhythm and cadence of their own. Because of this I found the French a lot easier to understand than with more naturalistic films, which was fairly handy for me as the print I was watching was with Dutch subtitles! I must confess, I did find that the music (written by Michel Legrand) began to grate towards the end of the 87 minute running time but even so there is still much to admire here. Visually it's stunning, with a bold and vibrant colour palette of almost hallucinogenic intensity and sumptuous costume and set design (that wallpaper!). The opening credit sequence sets the mood perfectly: a birds eye view of the inhabitants of Cherbourg in the rain beneath their umbrellas as they walk across the frame is reduced to a colourful abstraction. Catherine Deneuve is predictably gorgeous and the first act of the young couples courtship is one of the most beautifully pure pieces of cinema I can think of. It reminded me a bit of 'Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris', a film which I saw in television a long time ago and would do absolutely anything to get hold of a copy. 'Les Parapluies de Cherbourg' is a wonderful, sincere and uplifting film that everyone should go and see at least once, and preferably on a big screen. Once seen, never forgotten.