Jacques Demy and the Best Cinematic Universe 

There's an episode of Mad Men where Don Draper and a friend discuss seeing Umbrellas of Cherbourg at the theatre right before it cuts to them drunkenly laughing as they watch a kaiju film.

“Am I joke to you?” -Godzilla

No other cinematic universe has Catherine Deneuve, so I'm sold.

Eyebrow: You'll probably say MCU Me: *clicking on the video because Jacques Demy's is my favorite* oh-

Jacques Demy is one of my most favorite filmmakers of all time. When watching his films, especially Les Parapaluies de Cherbourg, the colors burst and the music is just as involving.

As a Demy's huge fan (French cinephile), thanks for this editing and the work you did ! That's brilliant !

What a well-written video! I've always thought this topic would make a great video essay, so I was pleasantly surprised someone did it (and well too)! Two other connections in his films I've noticed: - When Roland sings about Lola in Cherbourg, it's to the theme "Roland Reve" from Lola. - Une Chambre en Ville takes place in Nantes, and I believe Edith's husband's TV shop is in the same plaza seen in Lola and Cherbourg.

Through some miracle the algorithm suggested this channel and I love how you talk about the arthouse with zero pretentiousness in your voice. Thank you for making a bunch of great insights into cinema.

Donkey Skin is also the same universe bc no one can prove it isn't (& it's my favorite)

Just finished a binge of the Demy Criterion box set. My ranking is as follows: 1. Young Girls of Rochefort (5/5) 2. Bay of Angels (5/5) 3. Umbrellas of Cherbourg (4.5/5) 4. Lola (4.5/5) 5. Donkey Skin (2.5/5) 6. Une chambre en Ville (1/5) Une chambre en ville and Donkey Skin just didn’t connect for me, though I’m excited to see Model Shop. Demy is certainly one of my favorite directors now, even though I didn’t really care for two of his movies.

Criminally underrated channel, especially for the production quality. Keep it up

Tarantino’s shared universe is my favorite

I just watched all of his movies on French netflix!!! Thank you :3 Truly wonderful analysis, keep up the hard work!!

I grew up watching Donkey Skin time and again from childhood to early adolescence, as we had it recorded on a VHS. I remember being completely fascinated by its universe. I genuinely think that the entire movie is forever playing somewhere in the deep layers of my brain. 🤍

Bothers me how small this channel is for such great content.

Thank you for this. I just saw Lola for the first time and loved it! I will watch the remaining ones in chronological order. Never would have heard of these if it wasn’t for your videos

What a treat! I thought of Kevin Smith then you were like "How bout Kevin Smith". I haven't seen of any of these so now I have viewing for the week :)

Man your videos are way too well written and edited for the amount of subscribers you have, keep it up bro 👏

Your channel is easily on par with the biggest video essayists on youtube. I hope to see you get the recognition you deserve soon!

Thank god, I'm so glad to see the best director of all time get some love on this site

Underrated channel

"Les Demoiselles de Rochefort" is one of my all-time favorite films. I also adore "Lola" very much. I'm less of a fan of "Umbrellas..", but understand why it is so beloved and is most people's favorite Demy film. I was aware of some of the connections between the films, but not the extent to which you've found, and that's quite cool. I may have unconsciously picked up this style of referencing in the series of novels I've been writing where characters or other motifs and phrases show up in completely different stories. I think things like that can be fun for readers, sort of like Hitchcock's funny cameos in his films. If you finish the Demy canon, I'd highly recommend you see the 1991 film, Jacquot de Nantes, which his wife, director Agnes Varda, made about Demy's early life. It's a sweet biopic. Actually there's a lot of Varda masterworks out there to survey if you'd like, someday. Her film Vagabond is one of the most haunting films ever made, to me. The way you ended the video actually saddened me; seeing the vacuous, impoverished, inconsequential juvenile nothingness of the Marvel Universe compared to the dance-like and humane beauty of Demy's world. Thanks for showing us a better way.

been obsessed with the idea of cinematic universes lately, so thank you for making this video and introducing me to jacques demy!!!

There are indeed two names that I can read on the bathroom wall in Une chambre en ville that reference his earlier films: Mme. Cassard, which would ostensibly refer to Geneviève after her marriage to Roland Cassard, and Mme. Desnoyer, a side character in Lola also connected to Roland. I can't make out the rest, though.

what a wonderful video! thank you!

just found out your channel and am loving it! keep rocking!

Very good work sir!

Awesome Work 👍

Hey I just watch Godard's A Woman is a Woman and there is a small reference to Lola (and Jules et Jim). I guess they are all in the same universe too haha?

Great stuff. Peace and love

there are two kinds of people in this world: Those who sing along to “chanson des jumelles” and those who do not

nice. thanks

I think I'm going to love this channel. Thank you.

Extra points for correct use of "comprise."

Subscribed.

always get excited when you release a video

I was still happy for Roland when he finally 'got the girl' in Umbrellas of Cherbourg, even if she wasn't Lola.

Interisting video, and, even though i don't know if it's relevant, but every movie of this cinematic universe are set in seaside cities ( Nantes, Nice, Cherbourg, Rochefort, LA, and Nantes again)

This is cinema

Brilliant stuff. Thank you

love eyebrow cinema it's Great. but when are you go get a twitter page for eyebrow cinema.

Still impressed by your knowledge of film, keep up the great videos!

I think for me it is also the greatest crossover of all time

I'm tempted to nominate Ken Loach for very obvious reasons.......

Them view averages keep climbing, boy. Keep hustlin youre goin places

Wonderful video, thanks for explaining some of the interactions for those of us who haven't yet seen every film. I just have a couple hints for you to improve, I am not trolling, but trying to help, because your very good work could be really perfect. As you get older, you might try practicing a little on your pronunciation of the french titles and names or just use the english versions, such as you did with "the umbrellas" instead of "la parapluies." At your age though, it is completely forgiven. Perhaps more important is that this is the only time I have ever heard Jacques Demi's films talked about for 10 minutes without a mention of Michel Legrand, without who's music most of these films wouldn't have worked at all, and with it they became priceless classics and songs that lived on in 100 other ways for 50 years to come. Please don't get mad at me, I like your work a lot, and my comment adds to your channels juice. By the way, the editing was great here. I love how you talked about characters criss-crossing at the exact moment you put on the screen two characters who were kissing both of each others cheeks in the European (crisscross) fashion. And how you put on screen whatever character you were mentioning at the time. Umbrellas is my fav film ever, Demi my fav film maker and Legrand my fav composer, and also I want to be Roland Cassard in real life. Cheers and thanks.

My favourite is the Sidaris universe.

He must be inspired by balzac

9:04 My jaw dropped

Demy and Varda are West bank

I recently watched James Rolfe's video on forgotten cinematic universes, but this was appearantly too far out for him!

Best cinematic universe is definitely the shared universe of Blade Runner & Alien.

Tarantino obviously.

My favourite cinematic universe is the trilogy that spawned Bartertown.

I'm an idiot. I have watch most of these films I never noted the connections (except the one with Lola and Model Shop because it's obvious)

Jacques demy is definitely cinema, those so called mcu films aren't cinema

This seems interesting but I am not into musicals. Besides the MCU is just a shitty version of the Earth 616 continuity and what it does.

I'd throw La La Land in the same universe as Umbrellas and Rochefort.

Spoken like someone who probably thinks Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is the best Marvel movie

By the way, the French name "Guy" is pronounce "Gee" (hard g). If you are such an aficionado of these films, why do you murder pronunciation of place and character names?

You don't sell your points, overly detailed about minutiae of plot etc., not strong and clear enough on main points. There is no argument to say why this is "the best" or even any good example of a "cinematic universe", whatever is meant by that. Seems a completely random choice you just thought would be an "original" example to show off with.

"The Best Cinematic Universe" --> makes boring video (where everything ever counts as a "cinematic universe", and where one can just babble about plot or whatever, creating thematic confusion and irrelevance besides). Okay.