The Essential Jacques Demy (1961-1982)

[Scottie]

The Essential Jacques Demy Blu-ray PRE-ORDER

French director Jacques Demy didn’t just make movies—he created an entire cinematic world. Demy launched his glorious feature filmmaking career in the sixties, a decade of astonishing invention in his national cinema. He stood out from the crowd of his fellow New Wavers, however, by filtering his self-conscious formalism through deeply emotional storytelling. Fate and coincidence, doomed love, and storybook romance surface throughout his films, many of which are further united by the intersecting lives of characters who either appear or are referenced across titles. Demy’s films—which range from musical to melodrama to fantasia—are triumphs of visual and sound design, camera work, and music, and they are galvanized by the great stars of French cinema at their centers, including Anouk Aimée, Catherine Deneuve, and Jeanne Moreau. The works collected here, made from the sixties to the eighties, touch the heart and mind in equal measure.

Disc Features
New 2K digital restorations of all six films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-rays of Lola and Bay of Angels/ and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 surround soundtracks on the Blu-rays of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The Young Girls of Rochefort, Donkey Skin, and Une chambre en ville
Two documentaries by filmmaker Agnès Varda: The World of Jacques Demy (1995) and The Young Girls Turn 25 (1993)
Four short films by director Jacques Demy: Les horizons morts (1951), Le sabotier du Val de Loire (1956), Ars (1959), and La luxure (1962)
Jacques Demy A to Z, a new visual essay by film critic James Quandt
Two archival interviews from French television with Demy and composer Michel Legrand, one on The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and the other on The Young Girls of Rochefort
French television interview from 1962 with actor Jeanne Moreau on the set of Bay of Angels
Once Upon a Time . . . “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” a 2008 documentary
French television program about the making of Donkey Skin
“Donkey Skin” Illustrated, a video program on the many versions of Charles Perrault’s fairy tale
“Donkey Skin” and the Thinkers, a video program on the themes of the film, featuring critic Camille Tabouley
New video conversation with Demy biographer Jean-Pierre Berthomé and costume designer Jacqueline Moreau
New interviews with author Marie Colmant and film scholar Rodney Hill
Q&A with Demy from the 1987 Midnight Sun Film Festival, as well as an audio Q&A with him from the American Film Institute in 1971
Archival audio recordings of interviews with Demy, Legrand, and actor Catherine Deneuve at the National Film Theatre in London
Interview with actor Anouk Aimée conducted by Varda in 2012
Interview from 2012 with Varda on the origin of Lola’s song
Video programs on the restorations of Lola, Bay of Angels, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and Une chambre en ville
Trailers
New English subtitle translations
PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by critics Ginette Vincendeau, Terrence Rafferty, Jim Ridley, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Anne Duggan, and Geoff Andrew, and a postscript by Berthomé

New covers by Jason Hardy

http://www.criterion.com/boxsets/105...l-jacques-demy

[brandon_260]

This looks insane. So glad I've held off on any international releases. I was not expecting all this. I would have been satisfied with just Cherbourg, which is one of my favorite films ever. The rest is just icing.

[James Luckard]

Very excited about this!!!! I'm slightly nervous about how cumbersome or awkward the packaging will need to be to include all the additional DVDs, which I don't want. However since I know these dual-format editions are the price we pay to continue getting these films in any physical format, I'm just glad to have the films in HD I have the Young Girls BD from France, but held off getting the Umbrellas BD because it was region-locked. Glad I did!

[pro-bassoonist]

PACKAGING







Pro-B

[MTRodaba2468]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

PACKAGING

[Show spoiler]

Pro-B

Looks in line with what I was expecting. I placed my B&N order for this already, now I'm just playing the waiting game...

[James Luckard]

I'm torn - it definitely looks gorgeous, but now that we know Criterion is going back to the normal packaging, I can't help wishing this had come out in September or later and been half the size on my shelf. I know, I know, I should be grateful we're getting it, and I most certainly am, but still...

It's not like I'm not going to order it, but boy am I glad this experiment in dual-format monstrosities is coming to an end. I'm sorry for Criterion that it went so badly for them, but the boxes were enormous (and will continue to be for the next couple of months).

[kidglov3s]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

PACKAGING

Pro-B

Any chance you have quick impressions of Cherbourg's transfer, particularly vs SC?

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

I'm torn - it definitely looks gorgeous, but now that we know Criterion is going back to the normal packaging, I can't help wishing this had come out in September or later and been half the size on my shelf. I know, I know, I should be grateful we're getting it, and I most certainly am, but still...

It's not like I'm not going to order it, but boy am I glad this experiment in dual-format monstrosities is coming to an end. I'm sorry for Criterion that it went so badly for them, but the boxes were enormous (and will continue to be for the next couple of months).

That box is like the ultimate monstrosity for those of us that hate shelving the digipacks and combo packs.

A box set, full of individual digipacks.

Of course there are some blu-ray only sets that also went with soft digipacks - but in a slimmer fashion. This is a perfect example of doubling the size for no reason, other than to (presumably) accommodate the DVD's.

Assuming these are all on Hulu+ (or will be), I think I'll be passing on this set.

[PowellPressburger]

The set looks a lot bigger than I expected it to be, but it is the style that they generally use for their box sets.

This is a day one purchase for sure. Anxiously awaiting Pro B's review for LOLA :-)

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by kidglov3s

Any chance you have quick impressions of Cherbourg's transfer, particularly vs SC?

Hello kidglov3s,

Our first two reviews were already posted on the site:

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg Blu-ray REVIEW




The Young Girls of Rochefort Blu-ray REVIEW



Pro-B

[kidglov3s]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Hello kidglov3s,

Our first two reviews were already posted on the site:

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg Blu-ray REVIEW




The Young Girls of Rochefort Blu-ray REVIEW



Pro-B

Thanks! Happy to read that you found no issues with it, especially after the SC disc review. It's my tied-for-favorite movie and I have never seen it presented well (a half unplayable JP LD and the two US DVDs). This set sounds amazing.

[AaronJ]

How the #&$% am I supposed to afford this?! *weep*

Umbrellas is one of the greatest pictures ever made, EVER. Demy was a genius. I HAVE TO have this.

[PowellPressburger]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

How the #&$% am I supposed to afford this?! *weep*

Umbrellas is one of the greatest pictures ever made, EVER. Demy was a genius. I HAVE TO have this.

It should be easier to get this set thru Barnes & Noble's current 50% off (retail price) sale. If you can get it in store I would suggest you go that route then online. If you have a store location that sales BLUs etc Call them and speak to someone in that DEPT and ask them to do an in store reserve for you (If you do an in store reserve usually they have to hold those for you approx 1-2 weeks) and that way you should be able to get one on release day saved for you. Hope this info helps.

[Meek12345]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

How the #&$% am I supposed to afford this?! *weep*

Umbrellas is one of the greatest pictures ever made, EVER. Demy was a genius. I HAVE TO have this.

I will hopefully be able to pick this up during the next 50% off Criterion flash sale that is usually on a Tuesday in September. I won't be able to take advantage of the B&N sale that is going on until July the 28th I believe, since I still need to save up for this set. Also, there will probably be another B&N 50% off sale that starts at the end of October.

P.S.
I agree with you that the TUOC is one of the greatest films ever.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by PowellPressburger

It should be easier to get this set thru Barnes & Noble's current 50% off (retail price) sale. If you can get it in store I would suggest you go that route then online. If you have a store location that sales BLUs etc Call them and speak to someone in that DEPT and ask them to do an in store reserve for you (If you do an in store reserve usually they have to hold those for you approx 1-2 weeks) and that way you should be able to get one on release day saved for you. Hope this info helps.

Originally Posted by Meek12345

I will hopefully be able to pick this up during the next 50% off Criterion flash sale that is usually on a Tuesday in September. I won't be able to take advantage of the B&N sale that is going on until July the 28th I believe, since I still need to save up for this set. Also, there will probably be another B&N 50% off sale that starts at the end of October.

P.S.
I agree with you that the TUOC is one of the greatest films ever.

Thank you both. I love this place sometimes.

[Meek12345]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

Thank you both. I love this place sometimes.

You're Welcome! I'm guessing that most forum members know about all of the 50% off sales, but I thought I should post about it just in case someone didn't. I was only able to buy the Zatoichi set recently because of the Criterion flash sale in February. The Zatoichi set actually looks like it is smaller than the Demy set or not that much bigger? I still think that the Demy set package is beautiful. Although, I'm one of those weirdos that likes digipaks and my collection is quite small compared to most members here, so shelf space isn't an issue yet.

Also, has anyone here seen all of the films in the Demy set yet? I have only seen The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Lola and enjoyed both. The only film in this set that I have seen any negative views on is Une chambre en ville.

[GenPion]

Thank you, Pro-B, for sharing pics of the set. It looks stunning. This seems to be one of the most beautifully produced release out of Criterion's Blu-ray sets to date.

[kidglov3s]

Originally Posted by Meek12345

Also, has anyone here seen all of the films in the Demy set yet? I have only seen The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Lola and enjoyed both. The only film in this set that I have seen any negative views on is Une chambre en ville.

I've seen Cherbourg, Lola, Rochefort and Donkey Skin. I'm hoping that I will enjoy the latter two more upon revisiting them (I didn't like Rochefort because I was basically hoping it would be stylistically similar to Cherbourg, which it totally wasn't, and I don't even really remember why I didn't like Donkey Skin).

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

How the #&$% am I supposed to afford this?! *weep*

Umbrellas is one of the greatest pictures ever made, EVER. Demy was a genius. I HAVE TO have this.

Umbrellas was great - but I personally love Rochefort a little bit more.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by GenPion

Thank you, Pro-B, for sharing pics of the set. It looks stunning. This seems to be one of the most beautifully produced release out of Criterion's Blu-ray sets to date.

You are welcome, GenPion. It is a very nice looking set, indeed. I actually think that it is quite similar to Criterion's old Eric Rohmer DVD set.

I also wanted to point out that Jacques Demy's 3 Tickets for the 26th was also restored and it is part of Pathe's Classics collection now. It is not included in Criterion's set (I assume because the 2K restoration was completed by Pathe). It is an excellent package

3 Tickets for the 26th Blu-ray REVIEW







Pro-B