“I don’t like operas. Movies are better.”
Leave it to Criterion to release two of the most unconventional musicals in such proximity to one another. That’s just what they’ve done with their recent releases of 1964’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and 1978’s The Wiz, two musicals that re-wrote the rules of the genre during two of its most questionable periods. Even more impressive was how both these tales were helmed by Jacques Demy and Sidney Lumet, respectively; two directors you wouldn’t normally associate with musicals. Yet both filmmaking masters were able to combine incredible visuals, captivating performances, and stellar songs for a pair of films that rightfully remain classics to this day.
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Set in the titular city during the 1960s, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg tells the story of two star-crossed lovers, Geneviève (Catherine Deneuve) and Guy (Nino Castelnuovo), whose romance is threatened by forces beyond their control. Told entirely through song, Demy’s film follows both Genevieve and Guy as they try to hold onto each other while the world tries to tear them apart.
Besides the fact that it made her a star, it’s easy to see why this is Deneuve’s favorite film. Following some of the most intoxicating opening credits ever, the audience is plunged right into the beauty and light of the world Demy is creating, which is lush and winsome from the start. Deneuve looks so luminous and comes across as if she’s always belonged in the kinds of worlds Demy has dreamed up. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg gives the outside world a view of 1960s France that no one, not even Hollywood, could create, with a landscape that we all wish were actually real. The carnival scene, especially, plays into this dreamy ideal. Seeing Genevieve and Guy play a scene straight, as so much lively, colorful energy plays out among them, is such a great piece of film in general. Likewise, the scene with our heroine trying on veils that immediately cuts to her in a church is a perfect example of Demy’s deeply romantic vision. What’s so interesting about the film is how the more somber the story gets, the more the colors of that world come alive. Only Demy could craft a cinematic experience where such extreme brightness and sadness are able to co-exist.
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg rewrites the genre in the way it marries both plot and song. It’s aided greatly by a bevy of sumptuous visuals and a score that’s second to none. It’s easy to see the various musicals that have tried to take their cue from this film in the many years since (La La Land, in particular, comes to mind). As Demy’s film continues, it becomes more and more clear how no one has ever been able to touch it. Every scene feels like it exists in a dream world, especially the dance club’s sequence in which the film enters yet another ethereal plane of existence. The heightened reality, all the bright colors and music, help us to get invested in the story of these two young lovers and everything that is trying to keep them apart. Demy’s choice to tell his story through song doesn’t lead to mere spectacle. Instead, it deepens the journey both Genevieve and Guy are on while strengthening our attachment to them. The fact that there isn’t a single piece of dialogue that isn’t sung ensures the experience remains a truly dizzying one. We feel the beauty and passion through every lyric and musical cue, bonding us to the characters in a way we otherwise might not have.
The Wiz
Adapted from the Broadway musical, The Wiz is a re-imagining of the classic L. Frank Baum story that transports Dorothy Gale (Diana Ross) to a new vision of the world of Oz, where she encounters the Scarecrow (Michael Jackson), the Cowardly Lion (Ted Ross), and the Tin Man (Nipsey Russell). Together, they embark on a journey to find the famed Wizard of Oz (Richard Pryor).
Lumet begins The Wiz with a series of beautiful images of a loving extended black family in late 70s New York, perfectly setting up the real world we’re about to leave. This goes against the hellhole image that defined the city during that time and showed that hope and love could exist in what was considered a dangerous and depressing landscape. Likewise, the heightened metropolitan-like reimagining of Oz as a whole is too exhilarating and imaginative for words and makes The Wiz come across like a movie about existing and surviving in New York. This fantastical take on the Big Apple is heightened by some carefully crafted cinematography and production design. Not necessarily known as having a striking visual eye, Lumet proves to have a real flair for fantasy. A lot of the visuals here are so dynamic that they can’t help but pop right off the screen. Surreal is the best way to describe the iconic world Lumet and company have reinvented, which comes complete with experimental color schemes and a variety of unorthodox characters in costumes no one would ever think would work. These heightened illustrations serve as commentary on not just the “me decade” of the 1970s, but also on the black experience during that time.
The Wiz was so unfairly judged when it first came out, with some not knowing what to make of it and others rejecting it altogether. Many were uncomfortable with a lot of the changes made to the iconic story. Yet those changes only help enlighten some of the many themes Baum wrote about. This is especially true when it comes to Dorothy. As before, the character is seen longing for something but is not exactly sure what. However, there’s a cynical edge to this Dorothy, which gives Ross some great moments to play early on. Lumet’s movie deals a lot with the idea of self and society any chance it can. This ideology has always been a part of the source material, but was never explored as deeply as it was here. Any one sequence can be called the film’s best. The subway sequence does show the real-life horrors of the subway in a very expressive, heightened way, while the view of the Emerald City is just gorgeous beyond words. Finally, the ensuing sequence atop the World Trade Center is the definition of a visual feast with vibrant colors and elaborate costumes, and a number that all but brings the story home.
In bringing The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Wiz to the screen, Lumet and Demy didn’t just expand their horizons as filmmakers; they helped to redefine the possibilities of the genre, taking it to places many doubted it could go. Both also managed to transform a pair of already-iconic landscapes into wondrous places that were rich in fantasy and brimming over with the kind of imagination that can only exist in movies. The responses to the two films couldn’t have been more different when they were first unleashed into the world, but the fact that both titles continue to be looked at as beloved pieces of cinema speaks to the boundless visions of their respective creators.
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Wiz are both available on Blu-ray and DVD as part of The Criterion Collection.
