The Young Girls Of Rochefort -1967- Criterion -...

: Part two of a 1966 six-part Belgian television series about the film's production. It includes rare footage of rehearsals, set construction, and production designer Bernard Evein discussing his vibrant pastel aesthetics. Archival Interview (1966)

The Criterion Collection has worked tirelessly to restore this film to its former glory. Given Criterion's mission to publish important classic and contemporary films with the highest technical quality, their edition of The Young Girls of Rochefort is widely considered the definitive way to experience the film. The restoration highlights: The Young Girls of Rochefort -1967- Criterion -...

The included booklet features an essay by critic Jonathan Rosenbaum, who argues that Rochefort is Demy’s most deeply American film—not despite its Frenchness, but because it borrows the Hollywood musical’s utopian promise and subverts it with existential absence. : Part two of a 1966 six-part Belgian

Sixty years on, The Young Girls of Rochefort has infiltrated pop culture in subtle ways. Damien Chazelle has cited it as a primary influence for La La Land (specifically the opening freeway sequence). Wes Anderson stole his color palette from Demy. Even the Barbie movie’s “plastic, fantastic” aesthetic owes a debt to the painted backdrops of Rochefort’s harbor. Given Criterion's mission to publish important classic and

Demy had already shattered hearts with The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), a sung-through tragedy where every note seemed rain-soaked. With Rochefort , he reversed the formula. Here, dialogue scenes are spoken, and songs erupt as joyous, diegetic interruptions—from street pianos to carnival stages. The plot, a carousel of missed connections, follows twin sisters (Deneuve and real-life sister Françoise Dorléac, in her final screen role) who dream of leaving their sleepy Atlantic port town for Paris. Meanwhile, a murder subplot (yes, a murder), a sailor on leave, and a visiting American composer named Andy (Gene Kelly, dancing like a god) all converge in a series of near-misses.