Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.5

The World of Jacques Demy Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 31, 2020

Note: This film is available as part of The Complete Films of Agnès Varda.

In the wake (figurative or otherwise) of Agnès Varda’s death last year at the age of 90, quite a bit has rightfully been written about this iconic force in both French and global cinema. Varda’s output includes well over fifty credits as a director (including some television entries as detailed by the IMDb), and aside from listing some of her better known triumphs, many obituaries and/or eulogies about Varda mentioned any number of other biographical data points, including her rather unique position as a woman in France’s nouvelle vague movement, her own feminism which was featured none too subtly in some of her films, and her frequently provocative experimental style. But you know what one of the things that kind of fascinates me personally most about Varda? That she was married for 28 years to Jacques Demy, from 1962 until Demy’s death in 1990. That Varda, often a purveyor of verité infused “realism”, whether that be in outright documentaries or at least ostensibly more “fictional” outings, and Demy, a director whose candy colored, dreamlike and at least relatively "Hollywoodized" musicals with Michel Legrand brought a new luster and gloss to French cinema, managed to make a marital go of it for so long is certainly testament to the maxim that “opposites attract”, even if those oppositional forces in this instance played out at least in part in terms of what kinds of films the two were often best remembered for. If Varda's long marriage to Demy is more than enough reason to celebrate her personal life, her professional life is beautifully feted in this rather astounding new set from Criterion, which aggregates an amazing 39 films (albeit some running as short as a few minutes) to provide what is arguably one of the most insightful overviews of Varda's cinematic oeuvre. Perhaps unavoidably, but also undeniably movingly, these personal and professional sides of Varda merge in at least some of the films in this set, including The Young Girls Turn 25, The World of Jacques Demy, Jacquot de Nantes, and The Beaches of Agnès.

If Jacquot de Nantes was Agnès Varda’s cinematic "love letter" to Jacques Demy bringing memories of his childhood to life, The World of Jacques Demy provides what Paul Harvey used to call "the rest of the story", at least in terms of offering a look at Demy's adult career, and some of the challenges he faces to get his films made. This tribute to Demy's life and work is a pretty straightforward effort from Varda, who utilizes a broad swath of film clips from Demy's oeuvre, along with a lot of often extremely interesting interviews, including some archival video of Demy himself discussing everything from financing hurdles to how he had to almost fight to get a musical made in France, where such films were not thought of as being commercially viable for some reason.

There are tons of little production tidbits dropped by a number of notables in this piece, and while the film rightly offers long, loving looks at such unabashed Demy classics as The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort, there are numerous other productions that are covered, at least some of which haven't become that well known on this side of the pond for one reason or another. What amount to "home movies" presumably shot by Varda on set offer some odd but fascinating vignettes, as in Jim Morrison dropping by for a visit one day.

The World of Jacques Demy was previously released by The Criterion Collection as one of the supplements on Demy's film Une Chambre en Ville, and there's a longish segment in the documentary covering that production, including a short but sweet interview with its composer, the "other" Michel that Demy collaborated with on a musical, the late Michel Colombier. For those who have already read the Jane B. par Agnès V. Blu-ray review, you may recall I confessed to having grown up with a rather strong (and arguably unhealthy) obsession with Je t'aime moi non plus, the famously provocative song Jane Birkin recorded with Serge Gainsbourg. In that review I mentioned how some fans may know there was a previously recorded and then later withdrawn version of the song with Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot, and truly inveterate trivia hounds may be interested to know that Colombier arranged that version, which is quite different from the Arthur Greenslade arrangement for Birkin and Gainsbourg that has become much better known than the original.

The World of Jacques Demy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The World of Jacques Demy is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer (often) in 1.67:1 (as can be seen in some of the screenshots accompanying this review, the ubiquity of archival video and clips from various films means aspect ratios can widen or narrow at times). Some prefatory text discloses that this was shot on 16mm silver color stock in 1.66:1 panoramic format, and restored in 2013 by DIG Image, with a 2K restoration from a 2K scan of the 35mm internegative. Agnès Varda supervised the color grading. This features rather nicely and tightly resolved grain for a 16mm source and good, accurate colors and densities throughout the presentation. There is some probably some unavoidable heterogeneity due to film clips, with clarity and grain structure fairly widely variable as a result. Some of this looks sourced from old video, and there's some minor ghosting in an interview with Demy. Some of the clips from the color films pop unbelievably well, but the color interview sequences can't quite achieve the same level of luster.

The World of Jacques Demy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The World of Jacques Demy features an LPCM Mono mix in the original French. Prefatory text states that the original mono sound was restored from the 35mm magnetic mix. This is largely a talking head enterprise, and while there are certain ambient differences on display due to different environments and eras of the various interview segments, everything comes through clearly and cleanly without any damage. All of the musical moments sound full bodied. Optional English subtitles are available.

The World of Jacques Demy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction from 2012 (1080i; 1:07) offers Varda's thoughts. In French with English subtitles.

The World of Jacques Demy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is a bit more of a "business savvy" take on Demy's life and work than either Jacquot de Nantes or The Young Girls Turn 25, with an emphasis on the actual making part of the term filmmaking. Filled with great interviews and a loving assortment of clips from Demy's films, this should be enjoyed by fans of Demy in particular but maybe any fan of film in general. Technical merits are generally solid, and The World of Jacques Demy comes Highly recommended.