What did you think of the film?


Wow, so I guess a lot of people haven't seen this film because barely anyone is on these boards. So what did you think of the film? I loved it, but I wish the songs and dances were a little more memorable. I loved the bright colors and the old-Hollywood feel (although it was made in France). I gave it an 8 out of 10.

"Damn, I've seen ugly, but even I wasn't prepared for that."

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I thought it was absolutely charming, I loved it. I saw Umbrellas of Cherbourg first and loved that one too, and I was able to see a lot of similarities and techniques Demy uses(such as the pastel clothing). I really like it and I can't wait to see Lola...or any other films of his.

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I love it. Amazingly, it gets better every single time I watch it.

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I think Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a better film, but so sad and Rochefort so happy that I can watch it more often. Love the colours. Just a joy to watch both of them.

Borderline obsessive

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I loved it too .. watched it 2 times on TV and yesterday ordered the DVD. I can't keep the tunes out of my head!! (but that's a good thing).

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Well, here I am, posting in 12/07...so the board is alive and well. I've seen *most* of Rochefort, but not the beginning. And so, I vote for Umbrellas of Cherbourg being better. Prefer that bittersweet storyline. Loved the colors in both but again, slightly better in Cherbourg.


























sparky4eva

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<<I've seen *most* of Rochefort, but not the beginning>>

Then you haven't seen the wonderful "pont transbordeur" dance during the opening credits! One of the best things in the whole movie. Great piece of music, too.

I prefer Rochefort for the same reason you prefer Cherbourg. All that moody "tristesse" gets old very quickly for me, but Rochefort always puts a big smile on my face.


"The back of my neck told me. The part that I talk out of."

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I have held this film close to me since 1969. It is the perfect example of what a movie musical is all about.I think that Legrand's score is underappreciated. It is brillaint. What a pleasure to see a 55 year old Gene Kelly dance effortlessly.
Try to track down "The Young Girls at 25", a documentary by Demy's widow. A snippet is on YouTube.

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I fully agree: Michel Legrand's score is worth 12 points out of 10. I am still stunned by the richness - both in terms of melody and arrangement. I liked his "Umbrellas of Cherbourg" score too, of course. But whereas that - in a nutshell - may be condensed to two notable main themes ("I will wait for you" and "Watch what happens"), the Rochefort score is full of extraordinary musical themes (and, in particular, one of the most beautiful themes ever, the "Chanson de Maxence" ("You must believe in spring")). This score is an amazing piece of art, I wouldn't hesitate to rank it next to a classical opera in terms of greatness.

By the way, it seems to me that Gene Kelly wasn't dubbed in his dialogue scenes (i.e. apart from the musical numbers). This means that he must have spoken some French. Does anyone know?

In any case, Gene Kelly is superb in his scenes, too. A really adorable man, even in his mid-fifties.

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<<By the way, it seems to me that Gene Kelly wasn't dubbed in his dialogue scenes (i.e. apart from the musical numbers). This means that he must have spoken some French. Does anyone know? >>

Gene Kelly lived in France during part of the 1950s due to tax reasons. In fact, the Arthur Freed Huckleberry Finn musical at M-G-M starring Gene Kelly with a score by Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner was abandoned after some shooting due to Kelly's abrupt departure from the USA.


"Footman...shine my shoe. Shine my shoe."

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Thanks a lot for that information. Didn't know that so far. It makes Mr. Kelly all the more interesting for me.

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Really?
The songs were wonderful.
I especially love Chanson Des Jumelles.

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[deleted]

It may sound childish & girly, but to me it's like a lovely MACARON !:):):)

Lovely. Memorable. Engaging. A dreamy and romantic film about DREAMING. I like the cinetography particularly, I love how it has elaborating and decorative purpose, *AND*, a role of enhancing the content too. Like the scene when the younger sister finally meets the musician. the white costume & the white piano shop! omggggggg loveeee it<3.

and yeah also i'm obsessed with the songs! don't think they are not memorable, indeed i find the melody very catching and conspicuous:)

and yeah not to mention THE CLOTHES! omg i frigging love the costume & production design in this film, and how JD arranges the dance. it's just so visually impressive:)

It's like every details have been dealt with exquisitely. The film does have depth too.

I am even inspired by this movie to study more about art. This movie absolutely arouses my interest in art & cinematography!

I love this movie, and I am new to IMDB! I hope more people can engaged in the discussion of this movie :) Pls feel free to respond to my reply<3

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I'm not a particular fan of Demy's musicals but I do prefer this to Cherbourg where the decision to have all the dialogue sung effectively put it into the category of operetta of which I am not a fan and found extremely irritating. The ending in Rochefort is also fitting.

None of the music in Rochefort is memorable in my view (is anyone seriously humming these tunes for days after a viewing???) although the piano concerto piece is beautiful though I don't know if it was original.

The songs are sometimes poetic but reading the subtitles for most of the songs, they just didn't make sense. Visually both this and Cherbourg deliver but this is merely a homage to any number of Hollywood musicals in Technicolour.

Demy was obviously not a stickler for choreographic detail because I noticed some of the sequences are not synchronised and there is quite a bit of repetition in the steps. I don't think that would have been the case if Kelly himself or a Fosse had directed.

I've seen this and Cherbourg and would take any number of Hollywood musicals over both though Demy's musicals are certainly brave. I would personally much prefer to watch Demy's Lola.

All my opinion of course and no doubt I am missing something for the likes of Kelly and Chakiris, big musical stars, to want to appear in Rochefort after the success of Cherbourg.

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"None of the music in Rochefort is memorable in my view (is anyone seriously humming these tunes for days after a viewing???)."

Oh, I find myself humming the "Chanson des jumelles" quite often, actually. Does anyone think it sounds similar to Toots Thielemans' classic jazz piece "Bluesette"?

"The songs are sometimes poetic but reading the subtitles for most of the songs, they just didn't make sense."

I think it depends on the translation. Some releases of the film have the subtitled English lyrics written to fit the melody and rhyme scheme of the songs, which of course means a much looser translation. I prefer a more accurate translation, even if it doesn't scan or rhyme. After all, we KNOW the film is in another language, right?


All the universe . . . or nothingness. Which shall it be, Passworthy? Which shall it be?

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Does anyone think it sounds similar to Toots Thielemans' classic jazz piece "Bluesette"?

1) I see what you mean. Some passages yes.
2) Thank you for mentioning this music piece ; I've been looking for it for ages but didn't know who composed it.

Yes the film is in English too.
Imagine : all the scenes had to be filmed twice : in French and in English.
They also had to translate every song and make them rhyme without losing the sense.
And they had to find French and English singers for each of them.
And that's not only for the songs ; for the dialogues too !

Unfortunately this film didn't appeal to American audiences due to very bad timing : Hollywood musicals were things of the past and the U.S. were fighting in the Vietnam war....

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I really enjoyed it. The dancing was very much old Hollywood and I liked seeing Gene Kelly do his thing. I like Catherine Deneuve and she's the primary reason I saw it but on the whole, I love movies with a lot of dancing in them.

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