Gobbledygeek episode 506, “That Was Then: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (feat. Michael Holland),” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

For the next installment in our That Was Then series, Paul and Arlo cast their minds back to 1964–a year that predates both of them, though the era’s Beatlemania might as well be Arlo’s spiritual birthplace. This time, they’re popping paisley parasols for Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, a sung-through opera told in the style of a Hollywood musical with some of the most stunning colors you’ll ever see. Hollywood extraordinaire and From Out of the Past host Michael Holland is on hand to help the boys discuss how the film defies romantic conventions while adhering to them, the magic of Jean Rabier’s camerawork, the way Demy uses color to convey feeling, and why the film deserves to be mentioned alongside classics of the French New Wave.

NEXT: it’s a mystery, gang!

BREAKDOWN

• 00:00:33  –  Intro / Guest / The Year 1964
• 00:21:00  –  The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
• 01:28:00  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

• From Out of the Past Podcast
• Holland_Imaginarium

MUSIC

• “Le Parapluies De Cherbourg” by Michel Legrand
• “Umbrella (feat. Jay-Z)” by Rihanna, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007)

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