the umbrellas of cherbourg ( french : les parapluies de cherbourg ) is a 1964 french-german romantic musical film directed by jacques demy , starring catherine deneuve and nino castelnuovo .

the film dialogue is all sung as recitative , including casual conversation ( similar in style to an opera ) .

it was styled full of color .

umbrellas is the middle film in an informal " romantic trilogy " of demy films that share some of the same actors , characters and overall look ; it comes after lola ( 1961 ) and before the young girls of rochefort ( 1967 ) .

the film was very successful in france with a total of 1,275,00 - admissions .

it was also shown internationally , introducing deneuve to a larger audience , and was nominated for several academy awards , including for best foreign film , best song , best soundtrack , and best original screenplay .

it won three awards at the 1964 cannes film festival , including its top prize , the palme d'or .

the film critic jim ridley has called cherbourg " the most affecting of movie musicals , and perhaps the fullest expression of [ demy 's ] career-long fascination with the entwining of real life , chance , and the bewitching artifice of cinematic illusion . "

the umbrellas of cherbourg

the art of love … kneehigh ' s the umbrellas of cherbourg . photograph : tristram kenton
once upon a time . . . “the umbrellas of cherbourg , ” a 2008 documentary
once upon a time . . . the umbrellas of cherbourg ,
a 2008 documentary
jacques demy’s film , more than the umbrellas of cherbourg , elevates the banal vicissitudes of lives spent dreaming .
french films like the umbrellas of cherbourg may have showed chazelle a path to avoiding traditional happy endings .
nino castelnuovo and catherine deneuve navigate the stormy channels of romance in jacques demy ' s proletariat opera
the umbrellas of cherbourg .
barbra meets french composer michel legrand (
the umbrellas of cherbourg
) and they discuss collaborating on an album .
looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing the umbrellas of cherbourg near you .
the summer theme in la la land is called
madeline .
madeline is one of the more melancholy main characters in the umbrellas of cherbourg . chazelle also borrowed the names of two the umbrellas of cherbourg characters for his first film , guy and madeline on a park bench .
i’ll never forget the first time i saw jacques demy’s the umbrellas of cherbourg while i was still in university in the early ’90s .
now let ' s move on to the more subtle references a true the umbrellas of cherbourg fan like me may read into .
in her play , mia ' s main character is named geneviève , the name of catherine deneuve ' s character in the umbrellas of cherbourg .
jacques demy and michel legrand’s pop art operatic masterpiece , ‘the umbrellas of cherbourg , ’ stars a young catherine deneuve in the role that made her an international star – the beautiful cherbourg shopgirl swept up in the delirium of doomed first love .
what ' s so overpoweringly beautiful about the umbrellas of cherbourg is that it matches human - scaled feelings of regret with the color and intensity of the movies demy loved as a boy .
i ' m writing a play that ' s inspired by the movie called the umbrellas of cherbourg . it ' s called las tortillas de los angeles .
the kneehigh theatre company ' s stage adaptation of the umbrellas of cherbourg will play its final performance on may 21 at the west end ' s gielgud theatre . the musical opened on march 22 and originally planned to run through october 1 . in the umbrellas of cherbourg , based on the 1964 jacques demy film of the same title , young french auto mechanic guy . . .
the umbrellas of cherbourg and la la land use jazz music , saturated colors , and the eschewing of a neat , happy ending to bring to life a rich and realist presentation of young love .
weather comes into play in the intro scene for both movies . in the umbrellas of cherbourg , constant rain comes down on the city of cherbourg . in la la land , we see the unrelenting sun . in both instances , the rain or sun is unyielding and indifferent to the moods of the characters .
one of the storefronts on the studio lot where mia works has a
parapluies
sign on it . much of the umbrellas of cherbourg takes place in the parapluies ( umbrella ) shop where geneviève works with her mother .
the film was part of demy ' s romantic trilogy , which included ' ' lola ' ' ( 1961 ) and ' ' the umbrellas of cherbourg ' ' ( 1964 ) . its restoration was undertaken mostly because of the determination of agnes varda , the filmmaker and demy ' s widow . ' ' the umbrellas of cherbourg , ' ' which made ms . deneuve a star , was also re - released , in 1995 .
if you have not seen the umbrellas of cherbourg but loved la la land , i suggest you stream the french film asap . ( feel free to come back to this post after . )
seasoned a . p . c . collaborator vanessa seward reinvents mod french chic in her costume designs for a stage version of * * catherine deneuve’ * * s sixties breakout film the umbrellas of cherbourg .
la la land ' s song
madeline
also sounds very similar to a song from the umbrellas of cherbourg . judge for yourself : listen to la la land ' s
summer montage
/
madeline
and the umbrella of cherbourg ' s
la terrasse du café
.
the film , starring ryan gosling and emma stone as a pair of star - crossed dreamers muddling through life in the city of angels , is also something of a crypto - remake of french new wave director jacques demy’s 1964 masterpiece the umbrellas of cherbourg —a fact chazelle himself was only too eager to admit at a special film independent at lacma screening of umbrellas on january 5 .
the umbrellas of cherbourg is inspired as much by rené clair ' s innovative french classic of 1930 , sous les toits de paris , and the prewar pagnol marseilles trilogy ( marius / fanny / césar ) as by hollywood .
to demonstrate how it follows in the footsteps of the umbrellas of cherbourg , let ' s start with la la land ' s explicit references to the french classic , perhaps added by chazelle as a homage to his apparent favorite movie .
watching la la land , i couldn ' t help but notice references to the umbrellas of cherbourg , whether they were intentional easter eggs , stylistic choices , or plot points that left me with the same overwhelming emotions . the films may be of a different time and place , but both the umbrellas of cherbourg and la la land use jazz music , saturated colors , and the eschewing of a neat , happy ending to bring to life a rich and realist presentation of young love .
as spun - sugar holiday treats go ,
umbrellas
is hard to resist .
it ' s hard for me to talk about the umbrellas of cherbourg
because i think it is one if the most romantic , bittersweet movies ever made . denueve looked so ethereally beautiful it ' s almost laughable .
as in the umbrellas of cherbourg , the young lovers of la la land don ' t end up together . chazelle uses a similar device as demy — a flash forward to the future , allowing the audience to see how much has changed . before time and distance brought an end to the relationships , the couples in the umbrellas of cherbourg and la la land told each other they would always love each other . and that may be true — but life gets in the way of them being together forever . french films like the umbrellas of cherbourg may have showed chazelle a path to avoiding traditional happy endings . professor joshua blaylock , who teaches courses on french cinema at texas christian university , explains that
filmmakers in france have tended to focus more on psychology and really play with the inherent ambiguities of human relationships .
i have already said that i love jacques demy’s the umbrellas of cherbourg , but i must admit : before i re - watched it recently as part of the criterion collection’s new the essential jacques demy boxset , i was a bit worried i wouldn’t like it as much as i once did . from what i remembered , it was a relatively simple story and i don’t like musicals as much these days as i used to ( the umbrellas of cherbourg is , famously , entirely sung ) . was i merely vulnerable when i last saw it over a decade ago ? no . if anything , i underrated it . the umbrellas of cherbourg has expanded . i see now that it is ever expanding . the film’s edges are porous ; it cannot contain all of the ghosts — ghosts that materialize due to absence , due to chance , due to choices not taken , due to the intractability of time — that roam the streets of cherbourg .
the umbrellas of cherbourg has been described as a
love tragedy .
and despite all the similarities , la la land chooses a more positive ending . professor phil powrie , who teaches cinema studies at the university of surrey and has authored many books on french cinema , explains how the films depart :
although seb and mia don ' t end up together , they both realize their dream .
the characters in the umbrellas of cherbourg , on the other hand , seem indifferent to each other at the end of the film . powrie continues ,
seb and mia smile knowingly to each other after he plays ' their ' theme . the umbrellas of cherbourg is melancholy ; la la land plays into the american dream .
la la land may take inspiration from french film , but its optimism is all american .
years later chazelle showed umbrellas to composer justin hurwitz as they began to develop the idea for la la land . soon , hurwitz “became even more obsessed , ” than chazelle himself . chazelle then recalled bringing would - be financiers to hurwitz’s spartan apartment , which was completely empty except for a piano and a single umbrellas of cherbourg poster .
directors influence each other with their work . sometimes that influence is overt — “ la la land ” clearly evokes “singin’ in the rain” and “umbrellas of cherbourg” — but other times it is more unexpected , hinging on storytelling choices or structure .
without doubt one of the west end ' s most imaginatively staged shows
( tweet from lyn gardner , guardian writer ) the innovative theatrical creative force kneehigh return to the west end with their exciting new adaptation of cult french musical film the umbrellas of cherbourg by jacques demy . featuring the beautiful songs of michel legrand including
watch what happens
and
i will wait for you
, and directed by award - winning director emma rice , the umbrellas of cherbourg is making the west end fall in love until the 21st may 2011 . find out more at urltoken video produced by matthew titterton , advision tv ltd
koch lorber ' s dvd of the umbrellas of cherbourg is good news all around . criterion ' s old laserdisc and the earlier fox - lorber dvd were both time compressed ( pal conversion ? ) and slightly cropped at the sides , and this release solves those problems ( i think ! ) .
the quote resonated with me , as i ' ve seen the umbrellas of cherbourg at least a dozen times and can remember the emotional impact of the first time i saw it as a teenager . the film is a colorful masterpiece that will leave you heartbroken . you could say the same thing about chazelle ' s la la land .
it’s the anniversary of the release of jacques demy’s the umbrellas of cherbourg and you can imagine what the birthday cake should look like : icing and candles of bright blue , pink , green and yellow . for if ever a film pops out of the screen with vibrant colour it’s this 1964 musical classic , in which every dress , every shop front , every vividly wallpapered room seems freshly minted from a rainbow .
la la land ' s first lyrics , and therefore the first words of the movie , in the song
another day of sun
could describe the plot of the umbrellas of cherbourg :
i think about that day / i left him at a greyhound station / west of santa fe / we were 17 , but he was sweet and it was true / still i did what i had to do / ' cause i just knew .
in the umbrellas of cherbourg , geneviève is 17 when she has to leave her love , guy , at the train station . he is sweet and their love is true , but she soon makes the calculation that they can ' t be together .
splurge on criterion ' s 2014 jacques demy box set if possible , but if money ' s tight or you ' re just looking to step into a rain shower before diving headfirst into demy ' s cinematic pool , this wonderful release of the umbrellas of cherbourg is likely the best place to start .
the umbrellas of cherbourg begins a two - week run at ut ' s hogg auditorium beginning friday , july 19 - thursday , august 1 . shows run daily every evening except mondays ; consult listings for daily show times or call 475 - 6666 for recorded info .
kneehigh theatre company , the imaginative british group behind broadway’s recent multimedia romance brief encounter , has a new creation hitting the london stage : a musical reimagining of that classic of french cinema , the umbrellas of cherbourg . catherine deneuve starred in the 1964 jacques demy film , and olivier award winner joanna riding and cabaret artist meow meow star in this stage version . . .
( 2012 ) , the umbrellas of cherbourg is director jacques demy’s third feature , a controversial palme d’or winner , more for its groundbreaking technique than its own substance , nevertheless it instantly launched the starlet catherine deneuve into stardom and has initiated her extended and illustrious career not only limited in the french cinema .
no movie has ever hit me more . i remember seeing it for the first time as a kid and going from annoyed — ' are they really going to do this much singing ? ' — to utterly overwhelmed by the end . it was the combination of fantasy and realism that got me .
speaking to the hollywood reporter , la la land director damien chazelle described his reaction to jacques demy ' s 1964 romantic musical the umbrellas of cherbourg ( les parapluies de cherbourg ) .
in terms of films released in the uk , 2005 was not that strong a year , with the exception of some wonderful revivals , ranging from nashville ( robert altman , 1975 ) and the ‘director’s cut’ of the big red one ( samuel fuller , 1980 and 2004 ) to les parapluies de cherbourg ( the umbrellas of cherbourg , jacques demy , 1964 ) and l’eclisse ( michelangelo antonioni , 1962 ) . but in terms of films i saw premiered at festivals during 2005 , it was actually pretty good . because of this unusually clear split , i offer two separate lists and a note concerning two pieces of work by abbas kiarostami .
directors influence each other with their work . sometimes that influence is overt — “la la land” clearly evokes “singin’ in the rain” and “umbrellas of cherbourg” — but other times it is more unexpected , hinging on storytelling choices or structure . variety asked this year’s directing nominees to help us trace the dna of their movies , [ … ]
soothing , mournful , and delightful exhilaration from the first frame to the last . didn ' t know that the umbrellas of cherbourg was actually a non - stop musical , but after that initial jarring moment , i was completely on board . it ' s a typical story of romance and adolescent passion laid against the harsh realities of the world , but every blooming color , gentle glance and sudden burst of cinematic exuberance swept me into a snuggling ball of warmth .
kneehigh theatre , the company behind the recent broadway hit brief encounter , has announced casting for its newest creation , an adaptation michel legrand’s the umbrellas of cherbourg . olivier award winner joanna riding and cabaret artist meow meow will star in the musical reimagining , directed by emma rice with lyrics translated by sheldon harnick . the show will premiere at the curve leicester . . .
we were there to talk about another matter—her costumes for a musical stage adaptation , opening at the théâtre du châtelet tomorrow , of the umbrellas of cherbourg . director jacques demy’s deliriously beautiful , 1964 palme d’or winner was also catherine deneuve’s breakout film , a tale of missed chances and love gone awry in a provincial french town during the late fifties , at the height of the algerian war . every word of the film’s dialogue is sung to * * michel legrand’ * * s lush score .
kneehigh theatre , which presented the broadway - bound international hit brief encounter in 2008 , will return to london’s west end with its newest musical reimagining , that of michel legrand’s the umbrellas of cherbourg . directed by emma rice with lyrics translated by sheldon harnick , the new version will play the curve leicester from february 11 through 26 , 2011 , before transferring to a west . . .
the umbrellas of cherbourg continues performances ( eves : wed . - sat . 8 pm / mats : sat . & sun . 3 pm ) through october 9 , 2005 at the two river theatre company , 21 bridge street , red bank , new jersey 07701 . box office : 732 - 345 - 1400 ; online urltoken
– which draws as its inspiration from the classic musicals singin’ in the rain and the umbrellas of cherbourg – has provoked such ire , this is the pop cultural world we live in . every piece of art is now politicized and parsed for its problematic elements . these complaints may take some of the joy out of a film intended only to entertain , but they also reveal vital perspectives that have been hidden for too long from our white - male dominated discourse .
the umbrellas of cherbourg koch lorber 1964 / color / 1 : 85 anamorphic 16 : 9 / 91 87 min . / les parapluies de cherbourg / street date april 6 2004 / 24 . 98 starring catherine deneuve , nino castelnuovo , anne vernon , marc michel , ellen farner , mireille perrey cinematography jean rabier production designer bernard evein film editors anne - marie cotret , monique teisseire original music michel legrand produced by mag bodard written and directed by jacques demy
in conjunction with the release of the essential jacques demy box set , criterion has offered up a supplemental look inside the 2013 digital restoration of the umbrellas of cherbourg . above , agnès varda , the couple’s children , mathieu and rosalie , and technical specialists discuss the intricacies of upgrading the film’s sound , color , and image for the modern viewer . it’s depressingly easy to see why so many films fall by the wayside as prints run obsolete , and digital projection cements its spot as the industry standard . the attention to detail is , as criterion notes , painstaking , to say nothing of the expense .
considered one of the most beautiful color films ever made , jacques demy’s the umbrellas of cherbourg —a masterpiece of music and romance and winner of the 1964 cannes film festival grand prize—catapulted the 20 - year - old catherine deneuve to international stardom . the memorable 1960s french romance finds an umbrella shop girl ( deneuve ) distraught when her boyfriend is called for military service in algeria , forcing her to face a life - altering decision alone . the director enlisted michel legrand to compose the music dialogue and songs .
the average imdb vote of the best 5 films of each star gives the ranking . maximum 100 persons .
if the red shoes sent a million girls to ballet lessons , the umbrellas of cherbourg re - popularized taking french in school . i have fond memories of my sister coming home from a french class field trip to the art theater in the next town to see this splendid operetta . considering the level of culture where we lived , it must have been a revelation . somewhere life was beautiful . the french language practically sounded like it was being sung anyway .
if memory serves , when this adaptation was staged at the public theatre in 1979 , it had much greater vitality . i recall the use of screens to provide a cinematic flow , and the employment by the cast of a panoply of brightly colored umbrellas ( most likely during curtain calls ) .
if that makes the umbrellas of cherbourg sound old - fashioned , demy’s film was anything but . the director was one of the great , young , modern - minded filmmakers who emerged during the french new wave of the 1960s . demy was more nostalgically minded than directors like jean - luc godard and alain resnais , but , though his paintbox vision of life in the seaside town of cherbourg is a loving tribute to old hollywood musicals , it’s also a film that tackles very real - world issues , like unexpected pregnancy , the algerian war , parental pressures on their children , and what happens to young love when time and circumstances are against it . the bittersweet climax even occurs at an esso petrol station .
after months of speculation , barbra is announced as the winner of the coveted role of fanny brice in the broadway musical
funny girl .
even before the title appears , demy establishes a universe that fuses the commonplace and the cinematically heightened . the iris that closed on the black - and - white world of his 1961 debut lola opens on the sepia - toned harbor of coastal cherbourg , its workaday fleets of trawlers and naval ships . without cutting—a seamless transition into the realm of stylization—jean rabier’s camera tilts directly down on the waterfront’s stone streets . a light rain begins ; pastel umbrellas seen from overhead engage in delicate spatial choreography with the credits . on the soundtrack , we hear the first wistful iteration of michel legrand’s “je ne pourrai jamais vivre sans toi , ” the theme song that will follow the leads like the fading scent of prom gardenias .
by the mid - 1970s , the received wisdom on demy was that he was a dabbler in irrelevant genres whose time had passed . and none of his films sounded sillier in the abstract than the umbrellas of cherbourg , this oddity in which every line of dialogue is not only sung but sung in french . it didn’t help that his movies grew harder to find in subsequent years , or that the superlatives of his style—brilliant color , exquisite framing , elegantly choreographed camera work—were grotesquely ill served by the aesthetic abattoir of lop - and - chop vhs .
guided tour of the building of 1903 , staircase of honour , big ( great ) lounges ( shows ) , marble fireplaces of different provenances , footbridges passageways , movies of mark ( brand ) real cherbourg in the room of video - conference , museum living on the umbrella , embroidery , factory and shop . and exclusively , enter the strongroom of the old ( former ) bank of france ( lasted 2 h ) guided tour on saturday and sunday 10 h , 14 h and 16 h
3 . the power of nightmares : the rise of the politics of fear ( adam curtis , 2004 ) – television version a film of ideas and provocative , sustained argument . great use of sabu , too .
the movies ' endings also include references from earlier in the relationships that prove the former couples have not forgotten each other . seb names his jazz club
seb ' s
— a suggestion of mia ' s — and uses a logo she made him . in the umbrellas of cherbourg , we find out that both guy and geneviève name their children francoise / francois , a name geneviève loved and they discussed when they were together .
journey from the fall ( ham tran , 2005 ) . who really feels the need of such an embarrassing relic of cold war - era manichaeism to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the fall of saigon ?
president and co - curator of the melbourne cinémathèque ( co - curator of the national cinémathèque ) .
his is essentially cheating , because the umbrellas of cherbourg is first and foremost a film . written and directed by jacques demy , it wasn ' t so much released in 1964 as unleashed across cinema screens in an explosion of bittersweet sentiment , soaring music and saturated colour . there are entire scenes in which the actors are outshone by the tropical glare of the wallpaper designs – and rather than take the conventional musical route , demy opts for the quasi - operatic , with every single word of his narrative sung . the only thing not heightened to the hilt is the status of the central characters : a young apprentice mechanic and his girlfriend , the only child of a single mum . we see their
the young girls of rochefort site on the film , from the town’s official site .
the angelically beautiful catherine deneuve was launched to stardom by this dazzling musical heart - tugger from jacques demy . she plays an umbrella - shop owner’s delicate daughter , glowing with first love for a handsome garage mechanic , played by nino castelnuovo . when the boy is shipped off to fight in algeria , the two lovers must grow up quickly . exquisitely designed in a kaleidoscope of colors , and told entirely through lilting songs by the great composer michel legrand , the umbrellas of cherbourg is one of the most revered and unorthodox movie musicals of all time .
the transfer has been ported over from criterion ' s 2014 box set featuring six demy features and the restoration work on the umbrellas of cherbourg remains as impressive on a revisit . the film is so vibrant as to seem otherworldly , yet grain and in - camera effects retain the visual signifiers of the era . the interior of madame emery ' s shop staggers with its wealth of detail and color , while the rain - soaked streets shimmer with a hint of blue amid the balanced blacks . there ' s nary an inch of any single frame that doesn ' t appear to have been tirelessly scrubbed of defect or debris . sound is lossless , with the 5 . 1 dts - hd audio track booming from start to finish .
an unsurpassed work of film as art . the director , the brilliant color cinematography , the actors and the timeless music of michelle le grande all combine to create the story of . . .
fifty years ago today , the world fell in love with catherine deneuve and nino castelnuovo in “ the umbreallas of cherbourg . ” one of the best musicals of all time , and one of jacques demy ‘s finest films , the sweeping tale packs romance , war , drama and music — oh , the music — into an unforgettable 90 minutes that are very much treasured by fans today .
1 . though it has little or no discussion of politics , the umbrellas of cherbourg is a great anti - war movie . it ' s guys like guy who get sent away to be killed leaving lovers to deal with the loss . i saw this film just as it was becoming apparent that i had to make some choices about vietnam . staying home with geneviève or madeleine or even the café pickup ginny is the better choice , believe me . return
the umbrellas of cherbourg contains so many emotional , dramatic , cinematic , and musical riches that it is easy to see why many people consider it not only demy ' s masterpiece but one of the greatest films , musical or otherwise . it reminds us that we can mend our hearts even when they are at their most broken  although in ways which we may never have expected , even as we hold onto our memories of the romantic fantasies which we left behind long ago .
n addition to the marvelous music and the visuals , the film features a very young and fresh catherine deneuve , an actress so pure - looking that the very sight of her was enough to set both roman polanski and luis buñuel scheming for revenge , like villains in a potboiler . for a lone bit of heavy irony in the umbrellas of cherbourg , demy includes a pleasant dockside whore who tries to give the grieving guy some solace . to add to his misery , it turns out her name is jenny , short for genevieve .
jacques demy in the umbrellas of cherbourg essentially reinvents the operetta format . when people aren ' t flat - out singing they ' re speaking in rhythm to the melodies . the direction and especially the vivid color stylize the film just enough to make it all work . even though the streets , apartments and shops are basically naturalistic , the candy colors and manipulation of elements ( mostly rain and snow ) are all carefully orchestrated . we accept demy ' s melodic world as easily as we accept ballet dancers in manhattan in west side story .
she can say that encore une fois . the most salient feature of the screen musical is that , though it has only one real song , the plangent reprised - to - death
if it takes forever ( i will wait for you )
, all the dialogue , including the most thudding banalities , is sung too . i ' m normally a huge admirer of composer , michel legrand . but much of the brush - on - cymbals - hustled jazz music here sounds like so much doodling and the english translation is often risibly flat . so i ' m afraid to say that this account of the umbrellas of cherbourg kept reminding me of the game on i ' m sorry i haven ' t a clue where they struggle to fit the words of one song on to the tune of another .
the colors , the picaresque locales , the entirely sung dialogue , and the angel that is catherine deneuve !
the umbrellas of cherbourgh
is 90 minutes of cinematic joy . simple human melodrama made engaging , profound , and unforgettable in the hands of a master ( demy ) . if the ending doesn ' t make you weep then i guess you ' re just not human . a classic musical and easily one of the finest ever crafted .
with the umbrellas of cherbourg , demy expanded his fictional world , and his filmmaking , through a bold use of such new ( for him ) elements as color and a greatly expanded role for music . but before exploring those aspects , let ' s look at his original screenplay , and what it brings to this extraordinary film . ( demy was a true writer / director , having authored nineteen of his twenty - one films ; the two exceptions were early shorts . )
“of all the new wave directors who once professed their joy in cinema , demy remained most faithful to the delights of sight and sound and to the romance of movie iconography . with loving attention to those atlantic - coast towns—rochefort , cherbourg , and nantes , where he grew up—demy invented a world of benign and enchanting imagination . it is constantly on the verge of fairy story , but never yields to the foreboding of the grimm brothers . instead , demy has his own domain of chivalry and love , born out of perrault and schoolgirls’ novelettes , the rural sentiment of rouquier , and the hollywood scheme of coincidence and happily ever after , but as distinguished and ennobling as , say , the beautiful hours of the duc de berry .
— a biographical dictionary of film , by david thomson
i think the film is one of the best musicals ever written for the screen . the music is gorgeous and the use of color and camera movement is masterful .
the cover states :
original sound track from the french film ( les parapluies de cherbourg ) the umbrellas of cherbourg dialogue by jacques demy music by michel legrand
comes in a thick gatefold sleeve with an 8 page booklet featuring the original french lyrics and their english translation . notes on inside booklet : all selections published and licenced [ sic ] by south mountain music corp . ( b . m . i . ) distributed in the united states by the landau releasing organization noted on back cover : printed in u . s . a . © wayne printing corp . 1964 two sided insert pictured promoting other
connoisseur collection
releases was inside cover .
when the academy film archive embarked on a new restoration of the front page , preservationists stumbled onto a mystery regarding the existing prints of the film .
james ryan endowed professor of film studies , professor of english at the university of nebraska , lincoln , and , with gwendolyn audrey foster , editor - in - chief of quarterly review of film and video .
the umbrellas of cherbourg
did not initiate a new movie style ( although demy tried it again in
the young girls of rochefort ,
in 1967 , with deneuve , her sister francoise dorleac and gene kelly ) . but it is remembered as a bold original experiment , and now that it is restored and back in circulation , it can also be remembered as a surprisingly effective film , touching and knowing and , like deneuve , ageless .
this is life as viewed through demy’s lens . but if umbrellas uses the conventions of the hollywood musical to express the immediate exhilaration of young love , it also subverts them to convey what’s left when the illusions fade . among other things—many things—the film is about how our lives measure up against the romantic ideals we see on the big screen . “people only die of love in movies , ” a character tartly observes—yet her pronouncement has an unmistakable note of regret .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
has there ever been an actress in the history of the movies who has changed as little and aged as slowly as catherine deneuve ? here she is in
the umbrellas of cherbourg ,
her first major film , made in 1964 and now restored . thirty - one years later , i met her at the 1995 cannes film festival . to the degree that she had changed , it was simply to ripen , to add experience and sympathy to the raw beauty of a teenager . i am not making empty compliments . her beauty , then and now , is like a blow to the eyes .
heaven and hell michael atkinson’s review of the 2001 re - release of la baie des anges from the village voice .
what demy delivers instead is the most affecting of movie musicals , and perhaps the fullest expression of a career - long fascination with the entwining of real life , chance , and the bewitching artifice of cinematic illusion . more than any other film i know , umbrellas affects people differently at different stages of life . when i first saw it , newly married but still remembering vividly the pang of adolescent crushes , it played as tragedy : the story of a young love snuffed out by war , fate , and economic hardship . over the years , seen in the light of demy’s other films , it has come to seem more properly an exaltation of life’s bittersweet balances and trade - offs—of unexpected triumphs made richer by the dashed hopes that offset them .
but despite the presence of one of hollywood’s most exciting young filmmakers , it wasn’t until the lights dimmed that the real fun began , as the opening moments of umbrellas began to swirl onscreen to legrand’s evocative score . and once the characters started singing they didn’t stop until 90 minutes later , at which point the crowd filtered out of lacma’s bing theater onto an la street that maybe wasn’t quite as magical as the ones found in la la land —but which wasn’t far off .
but in umbrellas , demy found an ingenious way to extend the form of the screen musical , restoring its effervescence in part by reducing its scale to something recognizably human . rather than surge and lunge in elephantine production numbers , the entire movie would flow on an uninterrupted current of music . the singing and color would evoke the piercing immediacy of first love , even as the abstraction granted a very contemporary distancing effect .
the films selected for the 2013 edition of cannes classics will be screened in the company of those who restored the films as well as those directors still alive .
has been under the spell of the cinema for half a century . he was involved with the film society movement , assisted with the former national film theatre of australia and was a committee member of the melbourne film festival in the 1970s .
the film print comes appended with various restoration credits that add twenty seconds to the running time . the disc ' s one extra is a pleasant excerpt from an agnes varda docu about her director husband jacques demy . in it we meet the producer of umbrellas - a woman - and see anne vernon , nino castelnuovo and mirelle perrey at the re - premiere of the movie .
when she made
umbrellas
for the french director jacques demy , deneuve was 20 , and her work in this film was a flowering that introduced one of the great stars of modern french cinema . the film itself was a curious experiment in which all of the words were sung ; michel legrand wrote the wall - to - wall score , which includes not only the famous main theme and other songs , but also demy ' s sung dialogue , in the style of the lines used to link passages in opera . this style would seem to suggest a work of featherweight romanticism , but
umbrellas
is unexpectedly sad and wise , a bittersweet reflection on the way true love sometimes does not ( and perhaps should not ) conquer all .
the team behind that great revival of brief interlude a few years ago mounted a surreal production of
umbrellas
in the west end in maybe 2012 or 2013 which i took my parents to see . great director , great cast , but again an insufferably repetitive libretto and score made all of us really eager for the thing to be over well before the folks onstage were done .
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among demy’s few disciples in pushing the film musical in a modern direction – at least until damien chazelle came along – is baz luhrmann , whose paris - set moulin rouge ( 2001 ) scored a similar tale of unrequited love to a mashup of pop songs old and new . but , watching the digitally restored version of the umbrellas of cherbourg ( available on dvd and blu - ray ) , with the colours once again as wet - paint bright as demy intended , it’s easy to see how this world of heightened décor has also been an influence on the films of wes anderson . from the darjeeling limited ( 2007 ) to moonrise kingdom ( 2012 ) , anderson’s films share the same wistful romanticism , the same care and attention to set design and immaculate story worlds .
the restoration teams at warner bros . and criterion explain how they captured the silken texture of the nitrate print of michael curtiz’s classic noir melodrama .
once upon a time . . . the umbrellas of cherbourg is a 2008 documentary , directed by marie genin and serge july . it runs 55 minutes and features a variety of interviews , including some from jacques demy and michel legrand . it was great to hear how these two collaborated to create the film that just affected me so much ( their goal all along ) . it was also wonderful to see legrand sitting at a piano while being interviewed , just popping out the tunes on request . the documentary is more broad that just those two , also going into the film’s place in the context of world events .
the story spans the years 1957 through 1962 , and tells of the romance of 17 - year - old genevieve , who works in her mother ' s umbrella shop , and guy , a 20 - year - old garage mechanic . their relationship is interrupted when guy is called up to fight in algeria . umbrellas is divided into three sections , the departure , the absence , and the return . there is one intermission after the first section , and , although the first section is the longest of the three , it comes very early in the arc of the musical . it would probably work best without any intermission , but that is the least of the problems here .
the umbrellas of cherbourg ( french : les parapluies de cherbourg ) is a 1964 french musical film directed by jacques demy , starring catherine deneuve and nino castelnuovo . the music was written by michel legrand . the film dialogue is all sung as recitative , even the most casual conversation ( similar in style to an opera ) . nominated for the academy award for best foreign language film at the 37th academy awards held in 1965 nominated for four more academy awards at the 38th academy awards held in 1966 , three for legrand and demy , though it did not win any :
best song
( for
i will wait for you
) ,
best original score
,
best scoring - adaptation or treatment
and
best screenplay written directly for the screen
last week , we were saddened to learn of the passing of raoul coutard . our technical director , lee kline , shared some memories of working with the great cinematographer .
founded in 1999 , senses of cinema is one of the first online film journals of its kind and has set the standard for professional , high quality film - related content on the internet .
* follow the bouncing bus * ( all images are iphone photos taken of frames of the film playing off the arrow blu - ray of the film . ) = = = if paul mccartney w . . .
streisand becomes the second woman in history to be honored by the friar ' s club with one of their legendary roasts as entertainer of the year .
barbra is one of the entertainers at the democratic inaugural gala for president lyndon johnson .
emy was himself the son of a small - town auto mechanic . in the documentary
the five stars are simply because amazon had this movie at a decent price . i purchased it for my mother who is 91 and not so nice about my gifts over the years . watching this movie with my mom back in the 60 ' s was always a special treat - we had to wait until it was on television , then we piled into her bed after the little sisters were sleeping , and cried to the beauty of the music and singing , the diplomacy in handling the subject matter , and the soul - tugging sadness of tough decisions and a first love that never dies . instead of an actual gift , my mother will receive a lovely basket of movie night - umbrellas of cherbourg , some canned stuffed grape leaves , her favorite crackers , and a few other items to provide memories of the things i know she used to love .
her work in theater , she says , is “like a breath of fresh air . so much else is involved in fashion—it’s a business . here it’s all about art , but at the same time , you are part of a team , and your work has to serve the production . so for fashion designers , i think it’s a good exercise , and a challenge . ” what’s more , she says , in this umbrellas of cherbourg , “i’m playing with timeless staples . and in my work as a designer , that’s what i try to do . ”
since lola , demy had been cultivating a project for an experimental musical , “a film entirely sung” . ( 3 ) les parapluies de cherbourg ( the umbrellas of cherbourg , 1964 ) continued the path of the lola protagonist roland cassard , but in a completely new form , all of its dialogue set to composer michel legrand’s music . les parapluies , with its color , spectacle , and melodrama , featured an unknown catherine deneuve and opened to wide critical acclaim . demy took this musical experiment further with les demoiselles de rochefort ( the young girls of rochefort , 1967 ) , another legrand musical , starring deneuve , her sister françoise dorléac , george chakiris , and gene kelly , who also choreographed the film’s dance sequences . while les parapluies had ventured into new territory as a quotidian opera , rochefort alternated music and spoken dialogue , in the tradition of american musical comedy . critics in france and abroad criticised demy for replacing substance with spectacle .
the irony is that this hilarious artiste is both the best thing about the show and an unwitting act of sabotage given that her rapport with the audience and her scandalous / mock - scandalised antics serve to expose the enervating wispiness of the central story . at the start , maitresse clambers over the front rows , her legs thrust out in ballet extensions designed to offer the punters a gynaecologist ' s - eye - view of her assets . she then gives us crash course on cherbourg and on its strange customs – the locals never stop singing .
, deneuve plays the 16 - year - old genevieve , who is in the throes of experiencing her first love . she lives in the rainy harbor town of cherbourg with her mother ( anne vernon ) , who owns the ever - colorful umbrella shop called
les parapluies de cherbourg .
genevieve and guy ( nino castelnuovo ) are starry - eyed lovers who coo their proclamations of eternal love , and believe every word they sing . then guy receives his draft notice and departs for his two - year military stint ( made all the more dangerous because of france ' s then - involvement in the algerian war ) . after guy ' s departure , which is followed by his infrequent letters , genevieve learns she is pregnant . deciding what to do and then facing the consequences of that decision form the rest of the movie ' s plot line .
in umbrellas of cherbourg , roland is a successful jewel merchant , and we may question his motives as he becomes friendly with geneviève’s mother . he wants to help this widowed woman and her daughter , so he plans to step in and marry geneviève . he is at least empathetic enough to understand geneviève’s reluctance and he sings about lola . here’s the set of lola , up in nantes , where roland and lola met up again after years and where he realized he was losing her . it’s empty :
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
none of these films have ever approached the popularity of umbrellas , whose influence turns up in the least expected of places . even if they hadn’t featured the undimmed presence of deneuve , such dramatic musicals as lars von trier’s dancer in the dark and françois ozon’s 8 women would be unmistakable as tributaries of demy’s initial vision . curiously enough , one of the strangest yet most astute homages to the movie is a 2002 episode of the animated science - fiction sitcom futurama , in which the cryogenically thawed hero debates whether to clone a dna sample from his dog , left a millennium earlier with the instruction not to move from his spot . he ultimately decides that the dog must have moved on and leaves the matter be—at which point the show cues a time - lapse montage of the dog waiting faithfully for his owner for years , until the moment he slumps to the sidewalk . the music playing over the montage is connie francis’s recording of “i will wait for you” ( the americanized version of legrand’s song ) —that anthem of a finite forever and an eternally preserved present that never loses its ache .
senior film editor of time out london magazine , programmer of london’s national film theatre and the author of numerous books on the cinema , the most recent being a monograph for the bfi modern classics series on abbas kiarostami’s 10 .


christmas in canaan is a 2009 american/canadian drama film starring country music singer billy ray cyrus .

the film is based on the book of the same name written by country music artist kenny rogers and donald davenport .

filming began at the end of august 2009 and finished in mid-september .

it was filmed in vancouver , british columbia , canada .

the film premiered on december 12 , 2009 , on the hallmark channel .

its theme song , " we 'll get by somehow ( we always do ) " ( performed by cyrus ) , was made into a music video .

christmas in canaan

learn more about the cast of
christmas in canaan
by reading their bios .
we’d love your help . let us know what’s wrong with this preview of christmas in canaan by kenny rogers .
christmas in canaan opens with this narration : the bible says canaan is the promised land , and the joke in this texas town is that the bank has the promissory notes to prove it .
find out more about the hallmark channel original movie
christmas in canaan ,
starring billy ray cyrus & gina holden .
it breaks rob smith’s achy breaky heart that he can’t say no to billy ray cyrus’ hallmark holiday movie , “christmas in canaan . ”
leave no heartstring untugged” seems to be the maxim of “christmas in canaan , ” an original movie for hallmark channel starring billy ray cyrus and based on the book by kenny rogers and donald davenport . in the grand tradition of an epic country song , “canaan” pulls out all the stops , including endless drama — not the [ … ]
2018 christmas in july - tv schedule ! greetings christmas movie watchers ! ! ! thank you for stopping by today to visit ! be sure to sign u . . .
so if you fall into any one of those categories , or you just want to get an innocuous stocking - stuffer , christmas in canaan is available at many fine retailers , and probably several lousy ones . ho ho ho and all that shit .
better than some christmas books . had the predictable good ending but a racial twist is thrown in . i liked the ending which made up for some slow parts at the beginning . put me in the christmas spirit . very easy to read and goes quick .
i need to find out what kind of jacket ( brand and style ) billy ray was wearing in christmas comes home to canan .
in ' saint ' nick crosby ' s old - fashioned year - round christmas village santaville , working as an elf on christmas preparations all year killed his daughter holly ' s seasonal spirit . so she . . . see full summary »
in 2017 , hallmark movies & mysteries premiered * 13 most wonderful movies of christmas ! * with thirteen films , this was hallmark movie . . .
heather is a charming , free spirit and bobby is a naval officer home from serving overseas . thanks to a fun - filled theater production of
a christmas carol ,
these two unlucky and unlikely people end up falling in love at christmas .
leave no heartstring untugged” seems to be the maxim of “christmas in canaan , ” an original movie for hallmark channel starring billy ray cyrus and based on the book by kenny rogers and donald davenport . in the grand tradition of an epic country song , “canaan” pulls out all the stops , including endless drama — not the least of which is a wounded puppy . still , there is just enough well - meaning intent between the cliches to qualify as a feel - good holiday diversion . sporting a rare , cropped ‘do , cyrus ( displaying better acting chops than his work on “hannah montana” would have viewers believe ) stars as widower daniel burton , struggling to raise his family and keep his farm afloat in 1960s texas .
racial tension and a fight between school boys seems an unlikely start for a christmas story , yet that is exactly how christmas in canaan begins . rodney , a smart black boy , lives with his grandmother . dj , a white boy , is the son of a farmer and struggles with school . after getting into a fight , both boys resent each other . they are horrified when dj’s father and rodney’s grandmother force them to live together for four days . they might have remained enemies if not for an injured dog . as they tend to the dog their grudging partnership grows into the bonds of a friendship that will last a lifetime . their friendship carries them through the death of rodney’s grandmother , hard times on the burton farm , and a christmas where they can’t afford gifts . it’s on that christmas that mr . burton teaches them that , wherever friendship is , there will always be “some christmas” . and , years later , when christmas comes to canaan , rodney is ready to bring “some christmas” to the friends that have become his family . this is a heartwarming tale of friendship . the story rambles along like a stream but is not without a few rapids . a great read for anytime of year , but especially good for the holiday season .
a developmentally challenged young man with a penchant for caring for animals in need sets out to convince his family - and their whole rural community - to participate in a local shelter ' s inaugural
adopt a dog for christmas program .
billy ray cyrus stars in this touching story about the true meaning of the holiday season . when a pair of boys with nothing in common team up to help an injured dog , an unlikely friend ship begins . as they grow into adults , their beliefs are tested by the rapidly changing world and they see that it will take strong faith and family spirit to keep them together . based on the book co - written by kenny rogers and featuring an original song by billy ray cyrus , christmas in canaan is a touching drama that shows that the most important gifts in life are the ones money can’t buy .
it’s a hallmark movie , so one tends to expect a predictable story with weak but earnest acting , little in the way of any real suspense ( in spite of a late attempt at a plot twist , like when rodney’s mom shows up with 20 minutes left in the film ) , and characters straight out of the annual stereotypes - r - us catalog . the last is particularly funny ( however unintentionally ) — christmas in canaan has the crusty grandpa ; the nurturing black grandmother ; the sweet kid - turned - housewife daughter ( played by hot little number emily tennant ) ; even the grumpy bus driver .
i felt pretty enthusiastic about the first half of this book but the believability waned in the second half . overall , it cheered me which is what i want from a christmas book .
i reckon there ' s nuthin ' worth learnin ' from the coloreds , dj answered , again turning to the window . that right ? his father asked ' nuthin ' worth learning from them folks ? yeah , dj said . nuthin ' . completely nuthin ' . in the quiet , rural town of canaan , texas , a clash between two classmates - - one , a tough farm boy , and the other , a bright , black , aspiring writer - - spins into anunlikely friendship . when the clever arrangement their families devise to teach dj and rodney a lesson seems hopeless , their cooperative effort to heal a wounded puppy helps them move past an unsettled battle . not surprisingly , the truce that follows becomes an amiable kinship . but can life in canaan lived under the shadow of racism ever really deliver the milk and honey of the promised land ? it is amidst the magic of a christmas they ' ll never forget that the boys learn a lesson about family , hope and love . and they will know for the rest of their lives that when times are hard , there will always be christmas in canaan .
racial tension and a fight between school boys seems an unlikely start for a christmas story , yet that is exactly how christmas in canaan begins . rodney , a smart black boy , lives with his grandmother . dj , a white boy , is the son of a farmer and struggles with school . after getting into a fight , both boys resent each other . they are horrified when dj’s father and rodney’s grandmother force them to live together for four days . they might have remained enemies if not for an injured dog . as they ten
shortly thereafter , civil rights meets white supremacy , shit gets set on fire , the youngest boy ends up in a wheelchair , rodney’s estranged mother ( played like a crackhead with the dts by rukiya bernard ) comes back for him , he goes on to be a great writer with an afro wig , blah blah blah , they have christmas again in canaan , and everyone ends up happy and well - filled . except for the grandcorpse , who eventually goes back into the dirt from whence he came .
highly recommend for those in middle school range . haven ' t picked it up in so long , but still have lingering feelings towards it .
movie review movie : a joyous christmas network : hallmark movies & mysteries original air date : november 26 , 2017 . . .
christmas wishes made before a long - abandoned house that start coming true lead an elementary schoolgirl to discover a reclusive woman living inside .
while her life is falling apart , single mom christine finds a magical family heirloom that leads to love and good fortune during christmas .
oh , thank you , hallmark , for your beautiful story
christmas in canaan
. it is so great to see billy ray cyrus , doing what he does so well . . . being himself . i have enjoyed him from the start , both as a musician and as an actor . still watch the reruns of
doc
. it is my hope that hallmark will make more movies starring billy ray . he certainly exemplifies ' good down - home family living ' and we surely could use more of that ! merry christmas to all of you at hallmark ! maryann dumond bristol , ct
in the rural town of canaan , texas , a clash between two classmates – one , a tough farm boy , and the other , a bright bookish black boy – evolves into an unlikely friendship . the boys’ families devise a plan to teach them a lesson after they fight , but it is a wounded puppy that eventually brings them together . it is amidst the magic of christmas that the boys learn about family , hope and love despite living under the shadow of racism .
this is another of those christmas tv movies that are constantly turned out . christmas movies are generally pretty undemanding and predictable and this is no exception . however that really is the point of them , something easy on eye with a predictable cheery ending to watch on a winter afternoon in the run up to christmas . i would say this is an above average effort for this type of movie , it ' s well filmed and has a good cast . i am aware of billy ray cyrus who had a uk hit with ' achy breaky heart ' in the early 90 ' s . he proves a likable main character in this but to me the acting honours are stolen by gina holden who is thoroughly charming . all in all i enjoyed this film more than i thought i would and it is recommended for those who want something heart - warming to watch prior to christmas .
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this year , santa ' s daughter ( maria thayer ) takes her first trip away from the north pole during the christmas season hoping to find adventure and love in sunny california . while santa . . . see full summary »
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us soldier visits the town from where an inspirational christmas card was sent to him by a church group that mails cards out to servicemen as a goodwill effort .
dj and rodney don ' t like each other from the start . rodney thinks dj is an ignorant white farm boy , and dj thinks rodney acts too smart for his own good . after a school bus scuffle between the two , dj ' s father and rodney ' s grandmother come up with a clever solution that brings the boys closer than either of them would like . living in canaan , texas in the 1960s does not make it easy for a black boy and a white boy to forge a friendship . it is only amid the magic of an unforgettable christmas that dj and rodney discover a land of milk and honey where hope and love make all the difference .
i loved this book , i saw the movie on the either the hallmark channel or lifetime channel . it was so good i bought the book for my dad and myself . it is a feel good book and movie . it is set in small town east texas in the early 60 ' s . easy read i highly recommend . not just for christmas reading !
sara vancamp ( ' eva larue ' ) is a busy mom with no christmas spirit . christine ( summer glau ) , an elf from santa ' s village who wonders if there could be more to life than making toys in the . . . see full summary »
in the story , daniel ' s son bobber needs extensive orthopedic surgery and months of intensive physical therapy to recover from being struck down by an automobile . rodney freeman , the young black man who daniel took into his home and raised as another son , has become a famous writer and offers to fly daniel and bobber to san francisco and to pay for the surgery . once in san francisco , daniel meets and falls for briony adair , a physical rehabilitation specialist who will be working toward bobber ' s recovery . when therapy progresses slowly , bobber invites briony to come home to canaan to spend christmas with the burtons and continue his treatment . briony is a natural at caring for a thriving family , but sarah , daniel ' s daughter distances herself not wanting to dishonor her late mother ' s memory , and a disastrous christmas visit drives daniel and briony apart . in the soul searching that follows , daniel finds the strength to open his heart again and invite love back into his life .
a boy is in need of extensive medical treatment after being hit by a car , and is taken from his rural home to a san francisco hospital . his widowed father falls in love with one of the physical therapists helping the youngster and invites her to spend christmas with the family - but his daughter resents the relationship . drama sequel , starring billy ray cyrus and gina holden .
unresolved issues return to trouble widower billy ray cyrus and his rural texas clan in this flimsy sequel to tv - movie heart - tugger christmas in canaan . but though the story is about reawakened feelings , there ' s no emotional impact to the 1970s - set events , as cyrus ' s farmer daniel speedily falls for the physiotherapist ( gina holden ) assigned to help his crippled young son try to walk again . with the unfeasibly considerate woman then brought home for the festive season , he and his family ' s buried fears and grief blandly resurface . it ' s all very flat and predictable , and the unnatural dialogue and inexpressive performances are no help , either . the only real meat comes from a subplot involving the continued racism in the town , yet even that ' s so underwritten and convenient , it plays like an afterthought .
filled with a great christmas spirit of kindness and friendship , this wonderful movie will entertain the family . we are proud to award this film with the dove “family - approved” 12 + seal .
in the early 1960s in a rural , racially - charged texas town , a poor white boy struggling to get through school and a book - loving black classmate find the common ground on which to build true friendship .
i reckon there ' s nuthin ' worth learnin ' from the coloreds , dj answered , again turning to the window . that right ? his father asked ' nuthin ' worth learning from them folks ? yeah , dj said . nuthin ' . completely nuthin ' . in the quiet , rural town of canaan , texas , a clash between two classmates - - one , a tough farm boy , and the other , a bright , black , aspiring writer - - spins into a
the automobile that rodney ' s mama picks him up & packs his belongings in is at least a 1970 - 1972 oldsmobile cutlass ; the story was supposed to take place in ' 60 ' s . was this error ?
seven years go by , with dj and rodney ( now played by jacob blair and matt ward , respectively ) maintaining their just - shy - of - gay biracial friendship , deep in the heart of a clearly disapproving texas . when rodney’s grandmother dies , daniel brings rodney home to live with him and dj and their siblings and grandcorpse . they have a special christmas in which daniel hands out pictures of presents ( cuz , you know , they can’t afford real ones ) in a “celebration not of things , but of hope . ”
daniel burton ( billy ray cyrus ) learns to love again when he meets briony adair ( gina holden ) , the rehabilitation specialist treating his son , and invites her to spend christmas with his family .
production : filmed in vancouver by hatchery , in association with bauman entertainment . executive producers , ted bauman , howard braunstein , dan angel , margaret loesch ; producer , randolph cheveldave ; director , neil fearnley ; writer , donald davenport .
other : racism is mentioned as some people won & apos ; t support a black man & apos ; s shop ; a young woman yells at an older adult when she accidentally breaks a christmas ornament .
this is a story of two young men from different cultural back grounds put together because of a dispute . dj thinks rodney is too smart for his britches and rodney thinks dj is a stupid white boy who doesn’t know anything . so the two despise each other . but after a fight on the bus , dj’s father and rodney’s grandmother come up with a punishment that neither boy can believe . living in the 1960’s in canaan , texas , does not make it easy for a black boy and a white boy to be friends . but when the two boys work together to save a young puppy , the friendship becomes a life long relationship .
the movie gains credibility as the action picks up a few years later when the boys are teens . the civil rights movement is in full swing , but is met with stiff resistance in the rural texas town . daniel’s farm still hasn’t turned a good profit and money is tighter than ever . that doesn’t stop the family from taking rodney in when miss eunice dies suddenly . their christmas together is short on presents , but big on hope and love . it’s this time together , and the burtons’ unprecedented acts of kindness that spur rodney to write a book about the experience .
mary tobin has wonderful memories of family gatherings at the christmas lodge . when she arrives for a weekend vacation , she quickly realizes that the lodge that she loves has fallen into . . . see full summary »
gr 6 - 9 - a poor white boy who is academically challenged and shares his neighbors ' racial prejudice becomes friendly with a book - loving black boy when they rescue and raise an injured pup together . set in east texas in the early 1960s with a flash - forward to the boys ' adulthood in 1975 , this well - intentioned novel labors under the weight of its message of tolerance . the celebrity author ' s collaborator is a screenwriter ; and , indeed , this treatment might have been more successful as a television holiday special . here the characters remain flat and one - dimensional ; the plot , predictable . the dialogue , particularly that of the black characters , is unconvincing . truman capote ' s a christmas memory ( knopf , 1989 ) is a more satisfying story of a christmas in a rural past , celebrated by unlikely companions with more affection than money . - v . w . ( c ) copyright 2010 . library journals llc , a wholly owned subsidiary of media source , inc . no redistribution permitted .
in fact , bobber is the last one not quite grown , as daughter sarah has just applied for college . bobber had an accident years before and can’t walk but there is hope that a surgery can restore most , if not all of his ability to walk . so daniel takes him by plane to have surgery in california and while there they meet dr . briony adair ( excellently played by gina holden ) , who takes a liking to bobber and encourages him in his rehab . she and daniel also take a liking to each other but things become complicated when briony visits for christmas and daughter sarah has a difficult time adjusting to the new woman in her father’s life . like all good dramas , this one sets up the plot nicely : will bobber walk again ? will briony and daniel get together ? and how about the poor shop owner named shoup ( julian d . christopher ) as his small shop is in danger of going under ?
jessica is a federal lawyer who returns to her parent ' s home for christmas . when she discovers that the house where she grew up was sold to a stranger , jessica look for ways to buy it back . . . see full summary »
no one celebrates the holidays like emily merkle - or mrs . miracle as she is known by some - who is back to ensure that this christmas is the most magical and meaningful of all . when mrs . . . . see full summary »
in the rising heat of the civil rights movement , daniel burton a widowed farmer struggling to make ends meet , forces his young son , dj , who has begun to show racist tendencies , to spend time with his black classmate , rodney , leading to an unexpected friendship . as the years pass and racial tensions in their town build , an unforgettable christmas will teach the boys the importance of hope and the true meaning of family . based on a novel co - written by kenny rogers . stars billy ray cyrus , zak ludwig , and jaishon fisher .
so here’s the plot ( based , oddly enough , on a book co - written by kenny rogers ) : cyrus is a poor farmer named daniel , who lives in canaan , tx in 1964 with his three kids and his father - in - law’s reanimated corpse ( played convincingly by real - life representative of the undead , tom heaton ) , having lost his wife after the birth of their third child . oldest boy dj ( zak ludwig ) , a fifth - grader , gets into a fight with bookish black kid rodney ( jaishon fisher ) and , to punish his son and make him more sympathetic to “coloreds , ” daniel arranges for the boys to spend a week staying over at each other’s houses . of course , they detest each other , until they find a dog that’d been shot by crazy , shotgun - toting neighbor carl hammer ( the squirrelly lookin’ tom mcbeath ) , nurse it back to health , and become bffs .
rob smith is a writer , teacher , wage earner , and all - around evil genius who spends most of his time holed up in his cluttered compound in central pa . his favorite color is ultramarine blue . his imaginary band mr . vertigo tours every summer . you can follow rob on twitter , if you desire .
once all the players are in place , you can pretty much guess the plot without even watching the thing ( since i can’t say no , though , i sat through it all ) . the movie seems tailor - made for several key hallmark demographic groups : those who need something on in the background while wrapping gifts , those whose cable systems do not show syndicated reruns of the waltons , catatonic head trauma patients , billy ray cyrus fans , and evil editors - in - chief .
this movie stands strong on bible principles . prayers spoken throughout are said in the name of jesus . there are strong messages about loving god and loving your neighbor .
the movie schedule below contains the premiere dates for new family movies on tv in 2018 ! note : if anything is marked * new - i have not . . .
in addition to starring , cyrus provides the original song “we’ll get by somehow ( we always do ) , ” which revisits basic plot points with a catchy country tune .
when eunice passed away , rodney was a teenager , and daniel immediately asked rodney to come and live with their family , in spite of his father - n - law protesting .
old flames reunite and sparks are reignited at christmastime in florida , but the man is already engaged to another woman so a recently retired couple try to intervene with the help of their dogs .
an unlikely friendship blossoms between two 10 year - old boys from different backgrounds during the racially charged backdrop of rural texas , 1964 . through the years into manhood , prevailing attitudes and the growing civil rights movement severely test their friendship . in the end , they will discover that despite people ' s differences , it ' s the memories you make that determine your happiness and peace in life .
country and western star rogers and co - writer davenport deliver a novel of interracial friendship that opens in the 1960s . as punishment for fighting - after texas farmer ' s son dj tells off bookworm rodney
for actin ' so smart for a colored
- the two boys must spend several days in each other ' s home . a rocky start gives way to friendship , charted here as the novel tracks the boys ' growth through turbulent times to manhood . some of the plot twists are more akin to the neatly made stuff of tv drama . for instance , a meager but memorable christmas in which the only gifts are catalogue pictures is recreated years later ( after rodney has achieved success as a playwright ) , this time with real gifts . even so , the writing is able and the narrative marked by a number of genuinely moving moments . all ages . ( oct . ) ' ( c ) copyright pwxyz , llc . all rights reserved
two boys , one black and the other white , grow up in a racially divided texas community in the 1960s . the pair take an instant dislike to each other , but their families are determined to end the conflict by forcing them to spend time together . the youngsters grow to become firm friends , but the tension among their neighbours is harder to resolve . drama , with jaishon fisher and zak ludwig .
in the story , daniel ' s son bobber needs extensive orthopedic surgery and months of intensive physical therapy to recover from being struck down by an automobile . rodney freeman , the young . . . see full summary »
and because the holidays can sometimes make us feel … irregular , i give you the following billy ray cyrus video , to help you with any bout of constipation you may have in the next few weeks . peace out .
based in the 1960s , this story is about the lives of two families - one white and the other black . through christian love , we see the two families come together , even though the world would tear them apart .
this was one heartwarming book ( and also a good movie to watch at christmas on the hallmark channel ) . dj is a white boy who has trouble in school - - he never gets his homework done since he has to help at home . rodney is black and a good student , reads and writes all the time . one day on the bus , dj asks what the capital of new york is and most of his friends tell him it ' s new york city . but a voice at the back of the bus tells him it ' s albany . dj finds out it ' s rodney that answers and a fight ensu
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love is the glue in this warm but idealistic family heart - tugger , based on a novel co - written by country singer kenny rogers . opening in 1960s texas , it sees billy ray cyrus ' s principled widower initiate an unlikely friendship between his farmboy son and a bookish black classmate when he forces them to spend time together as punishment for fighting each other . one injured puppy and some clunky acting and dialogue later , and the lads have naturally bonded for life : the first in a series of rushed and simplistic resolutions as the episodic narrative then leaps forward seven years . from here , the film covers so much ground that it barely does any event justice , sadly diluting the impact of even the most dramatic moments .
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evoking the humble , but happy spirit of the walton family , burton and his three kids maintain a delicate harmony . when 10 - year - old dj ( zak ludwig ) gets in a fight with fellow classmate rodney ( jaishon fisher ) , daniel learns that dj has burgeoning racist sentiments ( rodney is black ) . daniel and rodney’s grandmother miss eunice ( candus churchill ) hatch a plan to make the boys live and work together for a week in an effort to resolve their differences .
beautifully written story by the singer kenny rogers and co - author about race in the olden days . i really enjoyed this book . the movie is almost spot on as well . read the book before the movie is my suggestion , enjoyed both .
at first , it only seems to emphasize their contempt for one another , but when they find a wounded puppy in the woods , the two work as a team to nurse it back to health . their time together eventually blossoms into a lifelong friendship .
a widower tries to ease the racial hostility between his young son and a classmate by forcing them to spend time together . the boys forge a bond while caring for a wounded puppy , but tensions in 1960 ' s texas aren ' t so easily resolved .
gr . 5 ^ - 8 . the lives of two texas boys are forever altered one morning in the 1960s after one has a run - in with the other on the school bus . rodney , a quiet bookworm , sits at the rear of the bus because he ' s black . dj , a white boy frantically finishing his homework needs to know a state capital . when rodney supplies the right answer , dj is teased that he is dumber than rodney . a fight ensues between the boys , and dj ' s father decides the wisest punishment is to have the boys live together , two days at each house . rodney ' s grandmother agrees . the kids find the experience very trying until a wounded dog draws them together . then the friendship is sealed , and the gentle narrative chronicles a sweet , lifelong bond . the story culminates in racial unrest that puts rodney ' s life in jeopardy . the holiday backdrop makes this good seasonal fare , and the engaging premise , resonant narrative , and believable characters will reach a wide audience . - - shelley townsend - hudson
the second christmas shown . . . is at the end of the movie . the children are all grown and the grandfather has since passed away . rodney asks them all to meet him and since he has become a succesful writer , due to the burton families encouragement many years before , he gives them each the gifts that were in the pictures from that old catalog years ago . it ' s such a precious moment , and it ' s easy to see that they are more thrilled just to be together than anything ! rodney has also promised daniel that he will get the best medical help for bobby with his leg . it ' s such a beautiful story of a family - that doesn ' t see color . . . only the love of christ .
set in east texas a half - century ago , two boys strike up an unexpected and unlikely friendship when the father of one of the boys decides it ' s time for his son to walk in the other boy ' s shoes ( and vice versa with the other boy who lives with his grandmother ) for a week . their friendship survives from age ten thru their teen years at which time the stakes are raised and they become even closer friends as they weather hardships . through the bulk of the book it seems to be a novel for tweens or te
this is a beautiful story of an unlikely friendship between two young men , who would have never been friends if not for a great dad . one is white and one black , a highly unusual friendship for the time . it depicts the hardships of blacks and the poor rural whites of that time . there is a scene where because they are so poor , the dad ( billy ray cyrus ) gives everyone pictures instead of real gifts for christmas , because that ' s all he could afford . i cried watching it . it was so sweet . the movie gets into some touchy areas , like the black struggle to vote back in those times . and the attitudes that went along with that struggle . this is a really touching , beautifully made movie . i do highly recommend to all .
violence : scars on a woman & apos ; s arm and neck are seen due to a fire ; when a snooty host at a restaurant demands a character wear a tie , his date suggests they leave and he tosses the tie in a fire ; a few tense scenes between characters .
set in east texas a half - century ago , two boys strike up an unexpected and unlikely friendship when the father of one of the boys decides it ' s time for his son to walk in the other boy ' s shoes ( and vice versa with the other boy who lives with his grandmother ) for a week . their friendship survives from age ten thru their teen years at which time the stakes are raised and they become even closer friends as they weather hardships . through the bulk of the book it seems to be a novel for tweens or teens , but near the end there is a time jump , following one boy into his early adult success as a playwright . the story still works for the younger reader , but it is a bit confusing . i listened to the audio edition which is performed and orchestrated very well . the book would serve as a great holiday season read - aloud if the audio version is not at hand . they boys straddle the racial tension of the locale and time in which it is set . i would like to see the story re - imagined , reversing the race of each boy which would result with the african - american family taking in the caucasian boy .
here is a wonderful movie which is good for any occasion or even for just some great family viewing ! billy ray cyrus is terrific as daniel burton , a widower who has been single for a long time because of his devotion to raise his children , d . j . , sarah and “bobber” . he also took in a young black boy named rodney , d . j . ’s good friend , who is now grown , is a writer , and still lives with the family . the story takes place in the mid - seventies , and we glimpse a clip of president jimmy carter on the tv at one point .
this movie is a great history lesson for children - because it shows the struggle of the black people during that era . although , please note , there is some violence in this movie . . . a dog is shot and wounded - however , two young boys - one white , d . j . , one black , rodney - work together to save him . earlier , these same boys had an argument on the school bus . d . j . ' s father daniel burton , ( billy ray cyrus ) didn ' t want his son to grow up to be a bigot , so he worked out a deal with rodney ' s grandmother , eunice , for the boys to live in each others home for a week . this created their bond .
this was one heartwarming book ( and also a good movie to watch at christmas on the hallmark channel ) . dj is a white boy who has trouble in school - - he never gets his homework done since he has to help at home . rodney is black and a good student , reads and writes all the time . one day on the bus , dj asks what the capital of new york is and most of his friends tell him it ' s new york city . but a voice at the back of the bus tells him it ' s albany . dj finds out it ' s rodney that answers and a fight ensues . between dj ' s father and rodney ' s grandmother , the two boys learn to work together and become fast friends . and the rest of the story is about them . this book shows what life was like under the shadow of racism . how some people couldn ' t tolerate the different color of someone ' s skin . but it also shows what it is to love one another no matter who you are or what you look like .
african american voters gather together at a tent meeting . town bigots , carl and his son , firebomb the tent and take off in their truck . on their way out , they hit daniel ' s youngest son , bobby . he had rode there on his bicycle to warn his friend rodney and the others . bobby is taken to the hospital , his leg is injured , but he recovers .
then again , the movie is really about family and creating meaningful relationships and experiences without material ( and sometimes social ) support . director neil fearnley fashions a visually nostalgic backdrop , creating some genuinely touching moments from davenport’s overwrought script . although the first half of the film features the most clunky acting , there’s power in the scene when dj races to the back of the school bus to discuss the wounded puppy’s progress with rodney , much to the astonishment of his segregated classmates .
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election time rolls around . rodney is torn between his devotion and love for the burton family and the civil rights movement .
this drama is intense , heartwarming , and realistic . billy ray cyrus is wonderful as the father and all of the children are fantastic , too . . . you are instantly drawn into their characters and family life on the farm .
two christmases are shown during the course of this movie . the first is when the children are all still at home and rodney is living with them , too . they don ' t have much , and yet the father has decided to give them pictures from the sears catalog of what he would like to get each of them . it ' s a beautiful scene . . . each one is so full of love for their father , even though they had so very little - they were grateful to have each other , love , family , and hope !
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usa today has revealed that kellie pickler , american idol alum , country singer , and co - host of the talk show pickler & ben - will st . . .
movie review movie : yes , i do network : hallmark channel original air date : june 30 , 2018 cast : jen lilley . . . charlot . . .
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dj and rodney don ' t like each other from the start . rodney thinks dj is an ignorant white farm boy , and dj thinks rodney acts too smart for his own good . after a school bus scuffle between . . . see full summary »
hotel transylvania 3 : summer vacation stars plan their dream summer getaways to some memorable movie settings .
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overwhelmed widower seth webster is searching for a housekeeper to help him with his unruly six year old twin sons .
mrs . miracle
mysteriously appears and quickly becomes an irreplaceable nanny , chef , friend . . . and matchmaker .
the locke family are devastated when they learn their 2 - year - old son , dax , has leukemia .
a young boy learns to be a man after the death of his father and forms a special bond with a dog .
an executive examines her company ' s new property and prepares a presentation to transform the rustic lodge into a new hot spot .
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guess if i ' d done my homework that day , none of this would be happenin ' .
i ' ve always liked that quote and the whole conversation surrounding it , had dj done his homework he never would have fought with rodney and they never would have been forced to spend time getting to know each other . causing them both to overcome their differences and feelings about each other and making them lifelong friends . i ' d actually never read the book before this , it ' s just incredibly similar to the hallmark movie ,
guess if i ' d done my homework that day , none of this would be happenin ' .
i ' ve always liked that quote and the whole conversation surrounding it , had dj done his homework he never would have fought with rodney and they never would have been forced to spend time getting to know each other . causing them both to overcome their differences and feelings about each other and making them lifelong friends . i ' d actually never read the book before this , it ' s just incredibly similar to the hallmark movie , all book to movie adaptions should be this good , there was maybe only one or two things taken or added , but both are still perfect .
i saw the movie last year . now i need to read the book .
i found this to be a sweet book about looking beyond race , friendship , family , and gratitude .
this is a good quick read , it will also make your eyes water as good as onions .
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“that’s what i always wanted to know . why would some fella be willing to do something generous for a kid he doesn’t even know ? ” rodney asked . “have to say i’m surprised , mr . burton . of all the people on the face of the earth , ” he said , his voice softening , “i figured if anyone knew the answer to that one , it’d be you . ”
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it’s pretty amusing ( at least to me ) that i wound up watching this fecal coil of a hallmark holiday film mere days after its star , billy ray cyrus , discovered , along with the rest of us , his daughter miley’s appreciation for psychedelic herb . and while watching the phone camera video of her going all cypress hill on her career as a tween star was more than a little awkward , it was infinitely more entertaining than slogging through 90 minutes of her old man’s earnest slow - motion attempt at being the next andy griffith . i’m not certain who provided miley with a bongful of salvia , but i know i can thank my editor , jeff giles ( y’all ) , for sending this southern - fried , vanilla - scented dump my way .
many thanks to all of you who read this column regularly , send your suggestions , and leave comments . i’m shutting ‘er down until january , so i’ll take this opportunity to wish all of you a safe and happy holiday season .
tv on dvd : “mst3k vs . gamera : mystery science theater 3000 , volume xxi”
leave no heartstring untugged
seems to be the maxim of this hallmark movie .
no doubt the similarities to box office success “the blind side” make this film particularly timely , though the two are very different ; the issues of race and class are mere subplots here and not fully explored .