The Young Girls Of Rochefort -1967- Criterion -... [repack] -

The Criterion Collection's Blu-ray release of The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967) features a 2K digital restoration of Jacques Demy’s musical, starring Catherine Deneuve, Françoise Dorléac, and Gene Kelly. This edition includes special features such as the 1993 documentary "The Young Girls Turn 25" and archival interviews with Demy and composer Michel Legrand. For more details, visit Criterion Collection.

The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967) - The Criterion Collection

Jacques Demy’s The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967) is the ultimate cinematic dessert—a candy-colored, jazz-infused masterpiece that stands as one of the most joyful expressions of the French New Wave. While its predecessor, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, was a "sung-through" tragedy of lost love, Rochefort is its exuberant, optimistic twin.

The Criterion Collection edition preserves this spectacle with the reverence it deserves. Here is an exploration of why this film remains a pillar of world cinema. The Vision: Hollywood Glamour meets French Chic

Demy conceived the film as a tribute to the classic MGM musicals he loved as a child (Singin' in the Rain, On the Town). To bridge the gap between Hollywood and France, he even cast the legendary Gene Kelly.

Set over a single weekend in the seaside town of Rochefort, the plot follows twin sisters Delphine (Catherine Deneuve) and Solange (Françoise Dorléac)—sisters in real life as well—who dream of finding big-city love and artistic success. The town is transformed into a literal stage: Demy had hundreds of shutters painted pink and blue to ensure the real-world location matched his stylized palette. The Michel Legrand Score

The film’s soul is the score by Michel Legrand. Moving away from the operatic style of Cherbourg, Legrand leaned into jazz-pop fusion. The melodies are complex, rhythmic, and relentlessly catchy. From the soaring "Chanson des Jumelles" (The Twin Song) to the recurring "Arrivée des Camionneurs," the music doesn't just support the story; it drives the physical movement of every extra on screen. The Criterion Restoration The Criterion release is essential for several reasons:

The Visuals: The 2K digital restoration restores the vibrant primaries (the "Demy Palette") that often looked washed out on older home video releases.

The Sibling Connection: This was the only time Deneuve and Dorléac starred together before Dorléac’s tragic death in a car accident shortly after filming. The Criterion supplements provide a moving look at their relationship. The Young Girls of Rochefort -1967- Criterion -...

The Documentary Work: It includes Agnès Varda’s 1993 documentary The Young Girls Turn 25, which captures the town of Rochefort reuniting to celebrate the film's legacy, proving how deeply the production impacted the local community. Why It Matters Today

The Young Girls of Rochefort is a film about missed connections. Characters constantly walk past their soulmates by a matter of seconds, separated only by a door or a street corner. It suggests that while life is a series of "almosts," the dance itself is worth the effort. In an era of cynical cinema, its unapologetic sincerity and technical perfection make it a "feel-good" movie of the highest intellectual order.

The Criterion Collection edition of Jacques Demy's The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)

features a variety of supplemental materials and technical upgrades. Special Edition Features

2K Digital Restoration: Features a high-definition transfer with a 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack.

The Young Girls Turn 25: A 1993 documentary by Agnès Varda that revisits the town of Rochefort 25 years after the original production.

Archival Interviews: A 1966 French television interview with director Jacques Demy and composer Michel Legrand discussing the film's music.

Behind the Screen: An episode from a 1966 Belgian television series documenting the making of the film, including behind-the-scenes footage of choreography and sets. The Criterion Collection's Blu-ray release of The Young

Costume Design Conversation: A 2014 discussion between Demy biographer Jean-Pierre Berthomé and costume designer Jacqueline Moreau.

Jonathan Rosenbaum Essay: A printed essay by the film critic, included in the accompanying booklet.

Original Trailer: The theatrical trailer for the film's restoration. Sounding Cinema - Apple Podcasts

Performances and Characters

Catherine Deneuve (Delphine) and Françoise Dorléac (Solange) are luminous and complementary. Deneuve’s restrained melancholy contrasts with Dorléac’s brighter vivacity, giving the film a central emotional axis. Their chemistry—both sisterly and distinct—grounds the film’s more fanciful elements. Supporting turns (Jacques Perrin, George Chakiris, and Michel Piccoli among them) add charm and poignancy, while Gene Kelly’s role as a worldly American choreographer provides a playful bridge to classic Hollywood musicals.

A Postcard from a France That Never Was (But Should Have Been)

To understand the film, one must first understand the context. In the mid-1960s, France was changing. The stifled conservatism of the post-war era was giving way to the revolutionary fervor that would explode in May 1968. Yet, in the port town of Rochefort (filmed on location), Demy saw not politics, but possibility.

The plot is deceptively simple: Twin sisters Delphine (Catherine Deneuve) and Solange (Françoise Dorléac, Deneuve’s real-life sister) dream of leaving their provincial lives for the glittering promise of Paris. Delphine seeks romantic love; Solange seeks musical fame. Meanwhile, a murder is being investigated (yes, really), a sailor is looking for his long-lost love, and a traveling fair arrives. The plot is a merry-go-round of missed connections and serendipity.

But plot is secondary to vibe. Demy, working with composer Michel Legrand (who scored Umbrellas and later The Thomas Crown Affair), crafted a town where the sidewalks are washed in pastels, the jazz orchestras play on flatbed trucks, and everyone spontaneously breaks into intricate choreography.

The Gene Kelly Factor

No discussion of Rochefort is complete without the elephant in the soundstage: Gene Kelly. 4K Digital Restoration: The transfer was supervised by

By 1967, Kelly’s star in Hollywood had waned. Demy, an obsessive fan of Singin’ in the Rain, wrote a role specifically for him: Andy, the American composer passing through Rochefort. Kelly, fluent in French, performs his own dubbing and choreographs his own solo number.

Watching Kelly—then 55 years old—tap dance through a French square while wooing a French waitress is surreal and joyful. The Criterion transfer captures the sweat and effort of his dance; you see the master at work, not a digitized ghost. It acts as a bridge between MGM’s golden era and the European art film, a handshake between Hollywood and the Left Bank.

The Criterion Collection Treatment

The Criterion Collection edition is the definitive way to experience the film. Key features usually included in their releases are:

• 4K Digital Restoration: The transfer was supervised by director Jacques Demy’s widow, filmmaker Agnès Varda, ensuring the colors remain true to the original artistic vision.
• Audio: An uncompressed monaural soundtrack that preserves the clarity of Legrand’s score.
• Supplements: Insightful interviews with Demy, composer Michel Legrand, and Catherine Deneuve, offering a look behind the scenes at the choreography and production design.

The Extras: A Film School in a Box

Criterion is famous for its “extras,” and the The Young Girls of Rochefort -1967- Criterion disc is a treasure trove.

1. The Agnès Varda Connection: Demy’s wife, the legendary director Agnès Varda, created a documentary titled The Young Girls Turn 25 (1993). This 60-minute feature is included in full. It revisits the town of Rochefort 25 years later, exploring how the film changed the town’s identity and mourning Dorléac. It is essential viewing.
2. Michel Legrand’s Workshop: A 30-minute archival feature that isolates the recording sessions. You watch Legrand conduct a 100-piece orchestra, explaining how he fused classical ballet with American jazz.
3. The Video Essay: Film scholar Jonathan Rosenbaum delivers a commentary track that contextualizes the film within the French New Wave. While Demy was dismissed by some Cahiers du Cinéma purists as too "commercial," Rosenbaum argues that Rochefort is the most radical of all New Wave films—a refusal to be miserable.

The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967): Why Criterion’s Restoration is the Definitive Way to Experience Jacques Demy’s Masterpiece

In the pantheon of movie musicals, there are the stone-cold classics of the Golden Age (Singin’ in the Rain), the gritty rock operas of the 1970s (Tommy), and then—suspended in a bubble of pure, phosphorescent joy—there is Jacques Demy’s The Young Girls of Rochefort (Les Demoiselles de Rochefort).

Released in 1967, this film is the sunlit counterweight to Demy’s own heartbreaking The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964). While Umbrellas used sung-through dialogue to explore the tragedy of lost love, Rochefort explodes onto the screen with the vibrancy of a freshly opened box of crayons. For decades, accessing this masterpiece in its full, intended glory was a challenge. That changed definitively with the release of The Young Girls of Rochefort -1967- Criterion edition.

The Criterion Collection, known for its laser-focused restoration and scholarly extras, has not merely released a film; they have resurrected a world. Here is why the 1967 Criterion release is the gold standard and why The Young Girls of Rochefort remains a vital, necessary work of art.

Gene Kelly in France: The Bridge to Hollywood

One of the film’s greatest curiosities is the presence of Gene Kelly. By 1967, Kelly was a god of MGM musicals. His casting was a strategic move by Demy, who wanted to pay homage to Singin’ in the Rain and An American in Paris. Kelly plays Andy Miller, a frustrated composer who drives a boat-shaped Cadillac.

Critics in 1967 were divided. Some found Kelly’s presence jarring—a slab of American beefsteak in a delicate French soufflé. But viewed today, his role is the film’s thesis statement. Demy isn’t just making a French musical; he is arguing that joy is a universal language. When Kelly dances with Dorléac on a soundstage designed to look like a traveling carnival, the artifice is the point. They are not in Rochefort; they are in the shared dream of cinema.