Customer Reviews

Les Parapluies De Cherbourg: Highlights (1964 Film)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The real find is the double album released to coincide with the film's re-release. Amazon has it classified under "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" without a link to Legrand so it's hard to find. This remastered album has some very special additions such as Legrand and friends improvising on some of the principal themes - great fun! Also participation from Tony Bennett.

Another version to look out for - sadly not available on CD is the LP which has Legrand's orchestral suite on music from the film. This one is up there with Gershwin's "An American in Paris" suite. This LP also has a dazzling suite for two pianos and orchestra on Legrand's music for "The Go Between" (Julie Christie stars).

Beautiful film. But for the folks who thought Catherine Deneuve sang in the film: it was the heavenly voice of Danielle Licari, the popular French singer of the time. It's hard to find any recording by Danielle for sale now.

Having listen to more than hundreds soundtracks, thousands of songs. One of my most beloved pieces was "I will wait for you". It captured my heart since the first I heard it when I was a little boy at the age of 13. I have this song in more than 20 version. However, the best was the original one. You don't have to be able to understand French to listen to this, because I don't either. The melody itself, was great enough to make me cry when I hear it. Some said that "I will wait for you" was the theme that "brought tears to the eyes of the entire French nation", and I do agree with that.

And how could anyone live without this sublime work in their collection? M.Legrand justifiably earns the title of musical genius in the experimental sung tragi-comedy that combined his musicial originality with Jacques Demy's artistic visual brilliance. BUT if you love this, then you simply MUST find the expanded remastered version released in France in 1996. And don't forget to hunt down the comparably melodic 'Demoiselles de Rochefort', which developed Michel Legrand's notion of sung dialogue and coordinated visuals, once again in partnership with Jacques Demy.

They both get better every time they're played!

Someone once pointed out to me that the French almost never raise their voices. But this does not mean that they don't express their passion.

Michel Legrand has created one of the most gentle and hauntingly beautiful scores in all of moviedom. And, ironically, it is delivered in a quiet, almost flat, but perfectly idiomatic manner by a cast of some of the most beautiful people ever seen in the movies. That it leaves us with such an emotional punch to both the heart and the head is its genius. But trust me, it does! See it and listen to it -- you won't forget it.

I first heard this soundtrack as a young 12 year old student who was falling in love with France and her language. I immediately memorized the captivating lyrics, and was able to see the film some years later while in college. It struck a deep emotional chord in my heart. Deneuve and Castelnuovo are superb in their roles, and Michel Legrand has outdone himself in the tearjerker department. Although the voices are dubbed in by professional singers, for years I thought that Catherine Deneuve was one heck of a singer! This is a not-to-be-missed film, a jewel in the morass of fare that we see so often today. NE ME LAISSE PAS will resonate in your heart and soul long after you have seen this film.

Michel Legrand could aptly be described as the French Burt Bacharach because of his preoccupation with melodic structure and harmonic charm. This movie is really an OPERA in that not a spoken word of dialogue is heard and everything is wrought in song and luxurious orchestral commentary. The success of the music in conveying the full meaning and pathos of the story is without question. To hear Deneuve - who could easily have gone on to a career as a singer - in the full flower of youthful vocal passion is a rare and emotional treat. Castelnuovo is superbly urbane in the manner of young French guys of the period and the whole thing is one of the least common and musically inspired hour-and-a-halfs you will ever spend.

The real find is the double album released to coincide with the film's re-release. Amazon has it classified under "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" without a link to Legrand so it's hard to find. This remastered album has some very special additions such as Legrand and friends improvising on some of the principal themes - great fun! Also participation from Tony Bennett.

Another version to look out for - sadly not available on CD is the LP which has Legrand's orchestral suite on music from the film. This one is up there with Gershwin's "An American in Paris" suite. This LP also has a dazzling suite for two pianos and orchestra on Legrand's music for "The Go Between" (Julie Christie stars).

What music!! What passion!! In the bodies of Deneuve and Castelnuovo, what beauty!! This timeless musical is everything a viewer could ask for. The songs resonate with feeling, and one would have to be an unfeeling boor not to be moved by the music. A definite, unqualified TWO THUMBS UP!!!

Although I only knew some french, the songs deeply move me. Especailly the main theme, "Je t'attendrai" is very beautiful. The movie is still a surprise even from today's view.