NOTE: The below Blu-ray and 4K UHD captures were taken directly from the respective discs.

ADDITION: Criterion 4K UHD (May 2025): Criterion has transferred Jacques Demy's The Umbrellas of Cherbourg to 4K UHD. It is cited as being from a "New 4K digital restoration, undertaken by Ciné-Tamaris (in 2024) and approved by Mathieu Demy, director Jacques Demy’s son". The package has one 4K UHD disc of the film and the 2014 Criterion Blu-ray with the film (2K digital restoration) and special features. We've compared 5 DVDs and 2 Blu-rays of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg HERE.

Like 4K UHD transfers of The Long Wait, I, the Jury, and many others below, Criterion's 2160P transfer of Winchester '73 does not have HDR applied (no HDR10, HDR10+, nor Dolby Vision.) We have seen many other 4K UHD transfers without HDR; Mondo Macabro's Dr. Jekyll and the Werewolf, Cult Film's Django 4K UHD, Umbrella's 4K UHD transfer of Peter Weir's The Last Wave and Criterion's 4K UHD transfers of Chungking Express, Winchester '73, The Mother and the Whore, I Am Cuba, The Others, Rules of the Game, Branded to Kill, In the Mood For Love, Night of the Living Dead, and further examples like Masters of Cinema's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Kino's 4K UHDs of Bob le Flambeur, Last Year at Marienbad, Nostalghia, The Apartment, For a Few Dollars More, A Fistful of Dollars, In the Heat of the Night, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, as well as Koch Media's Neon Demon + one of the 4K UHD transfers of Dario Argento's Suspiria.

The new 4K UHD is a wonderful upgrade, even over Criterion's 10-year old Blu-ray as it has richer color depth and balance, stronger detail, and it shows significantly more information in the frame. Shot by Jean Rabier (Elevator to the Gallows, The 400 Blows, Cléo from 5 to 7) in Eastmancolor, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a visual symphony, characterized by fluid, dynamic camerawork that complements the film’s entirely sung dialogue and Michel Legrand’s score. The cinematography’s fluidity and emotional responsiveness align with the New Wave’s experimental ethos, yet its polish evokes classic Hollywood musicals, like Singin’ in the Rain, making it both innovative and accessible. The 4K restoration, even without HDR, is a stunning achievement, delivering vibrant colors, sharp details, and a pristine image that honors Demy’s vision as Mathieu Demy’s approval ensures. I noted a shade of teal in Guy's shirt but found it minor. The 4K UHD is a significant margin of superiority and the best the film has ever looked for home theater systems. Gorgeous.

NOTE: We have added 66 more large resolution 4K UHD captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE.

On their 4K UHD and Blu-ray, Criterion uses a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround track (24-bit) in the original French language. The new 4K UHD also offers an alternate uncompressed monaural soundtrack (linear PCM) that wasn't present on Criterion's 2014 Blu-ray edition. Purists will appreciate this inclusion. These tracks preserve the film’s operatic soundscape, dominated by Michel Legrand’s (Impossible Object, Eve, Cleo From 5 to 7, Castle Keep, La Piscine, The Young Girls of Rochefort, America as Seen By a Frenchman, A Woman is a Woman, Ice Station Zebra) jazz-inflected score and entirely sung dialogue. Soaring brass, playful piano, lush strings with “I Will Wait for You” rendered with emotional clarity. The dubbed vocals (Danielle Licari as Geneviève, José Bartel as Guy, Christiane Legrand as Madame Emery) are crisp with no distortion, maintaining the naturalistic cadence of the sung dialogue. Surround channels are used sparingly, primarily for ambient score elements (e.g., strings in romantic scenes, piano in the epilogue), keeping most audio in the center and front channels. It's clear and resonant with the authentic mono being flat and true preserving the original soundscape’s warmth. Criterion offers optional English subtitles on their Region FREE 4K UHD.

The Criterion supplements are all on the second disc Blu-ray ported from the 2014 Essential Jacques Demy box set and 2017 standalone Blu-ray. Once Upon a Time... “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” was directed by Marie Genin and Serge July. This almost hour long, 2008 documentary is a comprehensive exploration of the film’s creation, featuring archival footage of Demy, interviews with Legrand, Agnès Varda, Catherine Deneuve, Marc Michel, and costumer Jacqueline Moreau, and clips analyzing key scenes. It covers the sung-dialogue innovation, financing hurdles (e.g., budget constraints), Deneuve’s casting at 19, and the Algerian War’s influence, contextualized within 1960s France (women’s rights, pop culture). In English and French with subtitles, it’s a “gold standard” extra for its depth, charm, and insider insights, essential for understanding the film’s impact. From 2014, a 22-minute interview with film scholar Rodney Hill (The Encyclopedia of Stanley Kubrick) was conducted for Criterion. Hill examines Demy’s role in the French New Wave and “tradition of quality” cinema, analyzing the film’s blend of experimental (all-sung format) and classical (musical structure) elements. He situates it within Demy’s oeuvre (Lola, The Young Girls of Rochefort) and 1960s socio-political shifts. There is a dozen-minute archival French Television Cinépanorama segment that features Demy and Legrand discussing the film’s all-musical format with Legrand playing piano snippets and Demy humorously defending the sung-dialogue choice. Included are audio recordings of interviews at the National Film Theatre in London: Catherine Deneuve from 1983. This brief audio-only interview captures Deneuve reflecting on her career and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg as her breakout role. Michel Legrand participated in a 21-minute interview from 1995. It is a longer audio-only interview where Legrand discusses his musical career, collaboration with Demy, and the film’s score, detailing the jazz-pop influences behind “I Will Wait for You.” There is a restoration demonstration from 2013, running 6-minutes. Narrated by Agnès Varda and Mathieu Demy, this featurette explains the 2013 restoration process, using three-strip separation masters and the original negative to revive the faded Eastman stock’s vibrant pastels. Before-and-after clips showcase the restored colors’ brilliance, making it a concise, fascinating technical supplement, though not updated for the 2025 4K process. Lastly, a trailer and the package has a liner-notes booklet with an essay by critic Jim Ridley (“A Finite Forever,”) who examines the film’s emotional resonance, Demy’s stylistic blend of New Wave and musical traditions, and its 1960s context. This lengthy, eloquent piece combines personal reflection with critical analysis, deepening appreciation for fans and scholars. The 2008 documentary is the standout, providing deep production and cultural insights, while Ridley’s essay and the Cinépanorama interview add historical value.

Jacques Demy's The Umbrellas of Cherbourg unfolds in three acts, each marked by distinct emotional and visual shifts: The Departure, The Absence, and The Return. The structure is linear with each act tied to a season, reflecting the passage of time and emotional evolution. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg explores themes of love, sacrifice, societal pressure, and the inevitability of change, set against the backdrop of 1950s France - romantic love vs. pragmatism / time and loss / class and social mobility / and War’s lasting impact. The umbrellas symbolize shelter from emotional and societal storms, while Cherbourg’s colorful facades mask the characters’ inner turmoil. The train station, a recurring motif, represents departure and irreversible change. Legrand’s score, with its leitmotifs, mirrors emotional states - joyful for love, melancholic for loss. The dynamics shift from romantic idealism to pragmatic compromise with each character navigating love within societal constraints. The epilogue’s restrained reunion underscores their acceptance of separate paths, a hallmark of Demy’s bittersweet humanism. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a masterful blend of visual artistry, musical brilliance, and emotional storytelling. Its strengths are Demy’s aesthetic vision, Legrand’s iconic score, Deneuve’s radiant performance, and its resonant themes. A cornerstone of the French New Wave and global cinema, it’s a must-see for fans of musicals, romances, or arthouse films, cementing Demy’s legacy as a humanist visionary. The Criterion 4K UHD is a brilliant upgrade in a/v (vibrant pastels, mono addition, etc.) and we give this our highest recommendation.

Gary Tooze