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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka "The Young Girls of Rochefort" or "Les Demoiselles de Rochefort" )
directed by Jacques Demy
France 1967
Most musicals shift back
and forth between story (spoken dialogue) and song-and-dance
numbers--sometimes creating queasy transitions just before
or after these shifts, when we're uncertain where we are
stylistically. But The Young Girls of Rochefort often
daringly places story and musical numbers on the screen
simultaneously, mixing them in various ways and in different
proportions. One of the stars may be walking down the
street, for example, but the pedestrians around her are
suddenly dancing, and she slips momentarily in and out of
their choreography. This curious mix produces powerful,
deeply felt emotions--an exuberance combined with a sublime
sense of absurdity, shot through with an almost constant
sense of loss, yearning, and even tragedy. Yet the
coexistence of this strangeness and this intensity will
inevitably make some American viewers laugh in disbelief and
regard the whole spectacle as an esoteric piece of camp.
(The same problem exists to a lesser extent in two of my
favorite American freak musicals, Love Me Tonight and
Hallelujah, I'm a Bum, both of which display a related
metaphysical impulse to perceive the musical form as a
continuous state of delirious being rather than a
traditional story with musical eruptions.) [...]
Excerpts from Jonathan Rosenbaum's Review in the Chicago Reader HERE |
Posters
Theatrical Release: March 8th, 1967
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC vs. BFI - Region 2 - PAL vs. Criterion Collection (part of Essential Jacques Demy Boxset) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Big thanks to Stan Czarnecki for the Miramax DVD Screen Caps!
Box Covers |
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Reissued in September 2022: Coming out, individually, from Criterion on Blu-ray April 11th, 2017: |
Distribution |
Miramax Region 1 - NTSC |
BFI Region 2 - PAL |
Criterion
Collection - Spine # 714
Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 2:04:46 | 2:00:16 | 2:07:07.202 |
Video |
2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
2.35:! Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
2.40:1 / 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 47,317,341,883 bytesFeature: 27,870,689,280 bytes Video Bitrate: 23.99 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate:
Miramax
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Bitrate:
BFI
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Bitrate:
Blu-ray
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Audio | French (Dolby Digital 2.0) |
French (LPCM 2.0) |
DTS-HD Master Audio French 3680 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3680 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) |
Subtitles | English, None | English, None | English, None |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Miramax Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 21 |
Release Information: Studio: BFI Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD Release Date: July 28th,
2008 Chapters 20 |
Release Information: Studio: Criterion Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 / 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 47,317,341,883 bytesFeature: 27,870,689,280 bytes Video Bitrate: 23.99 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details: • New conversation between Demy biographer Jean-Pierre Berthomé and costume designer Jacqueline Moreau (26:01) • Episode from Behind the Screen, a 1966 series about the making of the film (34:59) • Filmmaker Agnès Varda’s 1993 documentary The Young Girls Turn 25, on the Blu-ray (for the DVD version, see Une chambre en ville (1:06:52) • Trailer (1:48) Blu-ray Release Date: July 22nd, 2014 Custom Blu-ray Case Chapters 19 |
Comments |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were obtained directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION: Criterion Collection (part of the Essential Jacques Demy boxset) - Region 'A' - Blu-rays (July 2014): Yes, this looks pretty good - much higher detail and some big swings in color (but supervised by Agnes Varda!). This is the opening screen about the restoration:
Sometimes colors look paler (blues and purples) - other times they are quite rich and deep (red and some pinks). This is in the 2.4:1 aspect ratio and shows quite a bit more information on all 4 edges, than both DVDs. Anyway, I will comment more on the image, extras and 5.1 audio, but I'd like to do a cursory review of some of the other discs in this set first. We will do a more complete review of the entire set once these individual reviews are done. Stay tuned. ***
ADDITION: BFI: March 2010: The two discs differ from one another in a number of key ways, but nowhere is it more obvious than in the picture quality. The BFI edition is definitely clearer than the Miramax release, but also has a completely different color palette! The Miramax disc has richer colors, but looks over saturated, with certain colors reaching unnatural levels. The colors on the BFI's disc, however, look almost washed out. So, which color scheme comes closet to Demy's original intent? The answer is the one used in the BFI transfer. After a bit of research, I found that the restoration used by the BFI was occurred in 1996 and was supervised by the great Angnes Varda, Demy's widow. If anyone would know what the pastels are supposed to look like in this film, it'd be her. The sound is likely a step up as well, with the BFI using a LPCM 2.0 audio mix that sounds remarkably clear, and does justice to the film's musical numbers. The extras on the BFI are obviously superior to the more or less bare bones Miramax edition. The most important addition is the Varda directed "Les Demoiselles ont eu 25 ans", which features footage shot on the set of the film, along with contemporary interviews from cast members. It's really a charming documentary and gives the viewer an intriguing view into the filmmaking process. Also included is a 2005 interview of Deneuve with the Guardian in which she discusses her involvement with two of Demy's musicals. Next, there's an audio recording of Kelly lecturing on the Hollywood musical that's accompanied by stills. Finally, there's a 22 page illustrated booklet with essays on the film and the participants. Overall the BFI disc wins on all counts and is a really lovely package. Recommended. - Brian Montgomery
ON THE MIRAMAX:
Miramax presents Jacques Demy's eternally beautiful "The Young
Girls of Rochefort" in the restored version that graced US movie
theatres in 1998.
As for the sound, the French Dolby Digital 2.0 track does
everything right. Both dialogue and Michel Legrand's fabulous
score are perfectly audible. |
Menus
(Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT
vs. BFI - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)
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Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Screen Captures
1) Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC TOP 2) BFI - Region 2 - PAL MIDDLE 3) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC TOP 2) BFI - Region 2 - PAL MIDDLE 3) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC TOP 2) BFI - Region 2 - PAL MIDDLE 3) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC TOP 2) BFI - Region 2 - PAL MIDDLE 3) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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(Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. BFI - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
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