The Young Girls Of Rochefort -1967- Criterion -... May 2026

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 edition.

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 ). The Young Girls of Rochefort -1967- Criterion -...

The edition’s liner notes (a sumptuous booklet featuring essays by critic Imogen Sara Smith) argue that the darkness is the point. The Young Girls of Rochefort is not naivety; it is willful optimism. The twins ignore the police, ignore the sordid reality of the missing man, because to acknowledge it would shatter the dream. Demy is showing that joy is a political act. In a world of murder and loneliness (represented by the cynical cafe owner), the choice to dance is heroic. How to Watch: The Criterion Experience If you are searching for The Young Girls of Rochefort -1967- Criterion edition, you have options. It is available on the Criterion Channel (streaming), on Blu-ray, and as a 4K UHD disc. Released in 1967, this film is the sunlit

The Criterion Collection has done more than preserve a film; they have preserved a specific frequency of happiness. To watch this restored version is to understand why Jacques Demy is a saint to directors from Damien Chazelle ( La La Land owes this film its entire color palette) to Wes Anderson. That changed definitively with the release of 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. 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.