Jacques Demy on DVD

Discuss North American DVDs and Blu-rays or other DVD and Blu-ray-related topics.
Message
Author
User avatar
MichaelB
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
Location: Worthing
Contact:

#26 Post by MichaelB » Sat Mar 08, 2008 3:37 pm

domino harvey wrote:Because it's one of the most joyous, superbly realized crystallizations of everything that makes a musical great-- it is unquestionably Demy's best film, and one of the greatest musicals of all time. I like Umbrellas just fine but nearly everything that could be said in favor of that film is done much better here. Repetitive?!? The repeated refrains and musical elements helps to cement the film as one piece, and lulls you into the rhythms of Demy's vision. Silly? How so? The film seems light but that's deceiving-- it takes a true master to make a film this complicated and intricate seem breezy. Too long? I wish it was twice as long.
Don't tell kevyip1, but my copy's still shrink-wrapped, and I bought it in 2001!

(But I will get round to watching it soon - especially after that breathless eulogy)

Jack Phillips
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2007 2:33 am

#27 Post by Jack Phillips » Sat Mar 08, 2008 5:59 pm

domino harvey wrote:
Michael wrote:All that brings me to question this: some of you find Young Girls to be superior to Umbrellas or even Demy's best film. I'm immeasurably perplexed by that. Please explain why.
Because it's one of the most joyous, superbly realized crystallizations of everything that makes a musical great-- it is unquestionably Demy's best film, and one of the greatest musicals of all time. I like Umbrellas just fine but nearly everything that could be said in favor of that film is done much better here. Repetitive?!? The repeated refrains and musical elements helps to cement the film as one piece, and lulls you into the rhythms of Demy's vision. Silly? How so? The film seems light but that's deceiving-- it takes a true master to make a film this complicated and intricate seem breezy. Too long? I wish it was twice as long.
Hear, hear.

User avatar
MichaelB
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
Location: Worthing
Contact:

#28 Post by MichaelB » Sat Mar 08, 2008 6:19 pm

davidhare wrote:Micahel, Demy's first four films are the a whole universe of their own - Lola, La Baie des Anges, and the two musicals. So is his episode - La Luxure - in the Omnibus film Les Sept Peches Capitaux (characteristic of the innocent charm of this one of the characters orders a coffee and has the little pun "Un demi, s'il vous plait.") The Chabrol ("L'Avarcie") and Godard ("La Paresse") eps are also wondeful, if not the Molinaro and the Ionesco.

You are herewith ordered to unwrap Parapluies and put it on under pain of forfeiting it to that idiot on the other thread.
Actually, I've seen Parapluies many times, and Lola and La Baie des Anges more than once (and all three on the big screen) - it's Les Demoiselles de Rochefort that I've somehow managed to ignore so far.

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

#29 Post by domino harvey » Sat Mar 08, 2008 6:24 pm

davidhare wrote: So is his episode - La Luxure - in the Omnibus film Les Sept Peches Capitaux (characteristic of the innocent charm of this one of the characters orders a coffee and has the little pun "Un demi, s'il vous plait.") The Chabrol ("L'Avarcie") and Godard ("La Paresse") eps are also wondeful, if not the Molinaro and the Ionesco.
I made a thread about this a couple years ago that no one posted in, where were you!?! But I agree with the first three segments you mention, but the rest is forgettable and the Ionesco-scripted one is HORRIBLE.

User avatar
Dylan
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:28 pm

#30 Post by Dylan » Sat Mar 08, 2008 7:15 pm

To me, Young Girls of Rochefort feels completely different than Cherbourg (or any other Demy I've seen) in just about every way, so I won't offer comparisons, but I don't think it's a great film. I loved the dancing, and it certainly looks gorgeous (Ghislain Cloquet seriously hits it out of the park here), and I'm a tremendous advocate of Michel Legrand so I like the music quite a lot (and I own the soundtrack...I wouldn't place it among his very best work, though), but I also thought it was at least 30 minutes too long, and although I was constantly amused and dazzled I was never very engaged. It's good, but not as good as other Demy, and certainly not in the same league as Cherbourg (my favorite musical by a galaxy, Legrand's melodies being some of the finest of the last fifty years).

Meanwhile, I'm absolutely dying to see Model Shop. I hope the DVD release is underway as we speak.

User avatar
Via_Chicago
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 12:03 pm

#31 Post by Via_Chicago » Sat Mar 08, 2008 8:19 pm

Dylan wrote:Meanwhile, I'm absolutely dying to see Model Shop. I hope the DVD release is underway as we speak.
I can't reinforce how utterly banal Model Shop is. It truly is one of the worst movies I've seen in some time. Lockwood and Anouk are both totally vapid, lifeless, and generally boring. The only redeeming aspect of the film were the Los Angeles street shots, but I'd already seen that footage highlighted in Anderson's Los Angeles Plays Itself, so there was literally nothing here. For Demy completists only.

User avatar
Lino
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 6:18 am
Location: Sitting End
Contact:

#32 Post by Lino » Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:33 pm

For anyone who's interested, I bought the spanish edition of Lady Oscar because I've been curious about it for a long time. First things first: the image is in its correct AR but is clearly not restored. That is not to say that it looks bad (it doesn't) but a restoration would make it look like a jewel-incrusted necklace. Yes, it's that pretty.

As for the movie itself, well, it's nothing to write home about but it's not the abomination that some people over at the imdb boards would make you believe it is. The central character is interesting enough to hold the movie on its slender shoulders but I missed the music the most. Yes, the score is lovely as ever but there are no songs. Maybe it's silly of me to expect that every Demy movie should have songs but I'm sure I'm not the only one to think this way, right?

Still, it's one movie worthy of reevaluation - and restoration. Which leads me to this pertinent question: why hasn't any major Demy retrospective/restoration of his other movies happened yet? The world needs more of his musicals on DVD, wouldn't you agree? Besides, I want to see his version of Pied Piper now!

User avatar
jguitar
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2006 2:46 pm

#33 Post by jguitar » Mon Mar 10, 2008 1:55 pm

Lino wrote:For anyone who's interested, I bought the spanish edition of Lady Oscar because I've been curious about it for a long time. First things first: the image is in its correct AR but is clearly not restored. That is not to say that it looks bad (it doesn't) but a restoration would make it look like a jewel-incrusted necklace. Yes, it's that pretty.

As for the movie itself, well, it's nothing to write home about but it's not the abomination that some people over at the imdb boards would make you believe it is. The central character is interesting enough to hold the movie on its slender shoulders but I missed the music the most. Yes, the score is lovely as ever but there are no songs. Maybe it's silly of me to expect that every Demy movie should have songs but I'm sure I'm not the only one to think this way, right?

Still, it's one movie worthy of reevaluation - and restoration. Which leads me to this pertinent question: why hasn't any major Demy retrospective/restoration of his other movies happened yet? The world needs more of his musicals on DVD, wouldn't you agree? Besides, I want to see his version of Pied Piper now!
Fascinating--I wasn't aware that Lady Oscar was available on DVD at all--I've got an nth-generation VHS that some Chilean fan of Berusaiyu no bara sent to me years ago. The DVD has to look better than what I've got. In case anyone is interested, VSOM has (or used to have) a copy of Pied Piper available--it's not bad as far as those things go.

As to the original question about Umbrellas vs. Young Girls--the way I've tended to think about it is that Umbrellas is possibly a better film in the sense that it's so tightly constructed, so economical, and kind of perfect in its way, but that Young Girls is the film I love the most. It's as if Demy was able to distill pure essence of happy into that film. I quite literally cried tears of joy the first time I saw Young Girls--and this despite the hipster doofuses sitting in front of me who howled with derisive laughter throughout the screening at the Music Box in Chicago. But I digress.

By the way, David Bordwell has expressed his love of Young Girls of Rochefort a couple of times. Here, he talks about the old days of the film scene in Madison, which includes this bit:
Members of the Union Film Committee, overseeing the only campus 35mm venue, were passionately debating whether to show Godard, or Jancso, or a John Ford retrospective. I convinced them to show The Young Girls of Rochefort, which hurt my reputation,and Play Time, which I think helped it.
And in another post, he talks about what's on his iPod, filmwise; one thing is Young Girls.

User avatar
dadaistnun
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 8:31 am

#34 Post by dadaistnun » Mon Mar 10, 2008 3:14 pm

Pied Piper had a theatrical reissue last year via Paramount and the Eastman House, so hopefully a dvd will be coming soon. I asked Criterion/Turrell about it & never got a response.

User avatar
martin
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 8:16 am
Contact:

#35 Post by martin » Sat Mar 22, 2008 1:45 pm

Re. Cherbourg vs. Rochefort discussed earlier in the thread: I prefer the former. The music is more to my liking, and I like the sentimental mood. Jonathan Rosenbaum gives both a 4-star rating, but prefers Rochefort (nice essays btw!): The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - The Young Girls of Rochefort

Som screencaptures from the R1 and R4 editions of Rochefort were just posted in the capture-thread. The Australian screenshots looks exactly like the French disc often on sale at amazon.fr and other French sites (I can post screen captures if anyone wants them). The French disc has English subs and a nice bonus (although unsubbed): Agnes Varda's documentary Les Demoiselles ont eu 25 ans.

User avatar
salad
Joined: Mon Jul 17, 2006 9:20 pm

#36 Post by salad » Tue Apr 01, 2008 9:08 pm

dadaistnun wrote:Pied Piper had a theatrical reissue last year via Paramount and the Eastman House, so hopefully a dvd will be coming soon. I asked Criterion/Turrell about it & never got a response.
Now available from Legend Films...

User avatar
Lino
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 6:18 am
Location: Sitting End
Contact:

#37 Post by Lino » Tue Apr 01, 2008 9:58 pm

Took a little bit of searching but found it! Thanks a lot! And yes, you can order it now!

User avatar
Barmy
Joined: Mon May 16, 2005 3:59 pm

#38 Post by Barmy » Wed Apr 02, 2008 1:26 pm

If only amazon was as user-friendly as the legend webstore... :x :wink: :|

User avatar
Barmy
Joined: Mon May 16, 2005 3:59 pm

#39 Post by Barmy » Wed Apr 02, 2008 11:27 pm

I'm not a sourpuss, just a realist. Demy's later work (including Piper but, if you are drunk, high and retarded, excluding Parking) is, largely, awful.

User avatar
J Wilson
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 11:26 am
Contact:

#40 Post by J Wilson » Sat Apr 05, 2008 12:31 pm

Received PIED PIPER from Legend Films, arrived very fast, so kudos to them for quick service. The disc is anamorphic 1.78:1, and looks pretty good, with nice colors. Sound is okay. The film itself is interesting and I liked it, though the vacant space that is Donovan and the character of the Pied Piper is the film's biggest weakness.

User avatar
Lino
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 6:18 am
Location: Sitting End
Contact:

#41 Post by Lino » Sat Apr 05, 2008 11:20 pm

Has it got any extras?

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

#42 Post by domino harvey » Sat Apr 05, 2008 11:25 pm

Post caps in this thread plz

User avatar
J Wilson
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 11:26 am
Contact:

#43 Post by J Wilson » Sun Apr 06, 2008 11:27 pm

The disc is bare bones. Will get screencaps posted once I can upload them to my server.

Edit: PIED PIPER screencaps below; I have not done any screencaps for literally years, but these were done with VLC on my Mac, for what it's worth.

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

User avatar
Knappen
Joined: Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:14 am
Location: Oslo/Paris

#44 Post by Knappen » Mon Apr 07, 2008 12:14 am

Looks very good.

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

#45 Post by domino harvey » Mon Apr 07, 2008 12:28 am

Thanks for the caps, looks good but I think I'll wait for it show up on Netflix first based on the uneven reception to the film

User avatar
Lino
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 6:18 am
Location: Sitting End
Contact:

#46 Post by Lino » Mon Apr 07, 2008 1:53 am

Glad to see that the girl from Louis Malle's Black Moon is in it. That with the combination of it being a Demy movie, makes it a no-brainer for me.

DVDDrive-In reviews Pied Piper.

User avatar
martin
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 8:16 am
Contact:

Re: Jacques Demy on DVD

#47 Post by martin » Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:26 am

Michael wrote:Does anyone know what's up with Bay of Angels? If I'm not mistaken, the DVD is out of print and I'm desparate looking for it. Help?
I recently got an email from axelmusic.com saying Bay of Angels was back in stock! I suspect they have very limited quantities...

User avatar
Arn777
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 6:10 am
Location: London

#48 Post by Arn777 » Sat Aug 02, 2008 7:10 pm

Cine-Tamaris (Varda's prod company) will release the complete films (including shorts) of Jacques Demy in November in France, a 12 DVD box. Likely to have English subs, although no confirmation at this stage.

User avatar
Lino
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 6:18 am
Location: Sitting End
Contact:

#49 Post by Lino » Sat Aug 02, 2008 9:03 pm

Arn777 wrote:Cine-Tamaris (Varda's prod company) will release the complete films (including shorts) of Jacques Demy in November in France, a 12 DVD box. Likely to have English subs, although no confirmation at this stage.
The news I've been waiting for all my DVD-collecting life! Link?

Edit: never mind. Already went to the Cine Tamaris site and also to the DVDClassik forum and in fact, all his features are confirmed, as well as the shorts and even the TV movie, La naissance du jour! Brilliant!

Here's a closer look at the Boxset. Also to be included is a CD and a book(let?). Still no confirmation on those english subs, though.

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

#50 Post by domino harvey » Tue Sep 16, 2008 9:23 pm

I can't imagine it having subs, but if it did, it would be one of the most necessary DVD releases of all time

Post Reply