... Now that it's on DVD, there is simply no excuse to not buy it!The trilogy is made up of three feature length movies, each on a separate disc, concerning the life of an Indian villager, called Apu.
The first film concerns his childhood in his village, where the boy lives in childhood innocence ... Read review
Pather Panchali: This acclaimed debut by Satyajit Ray is the first part of a trilogy of ... more
poetic lyrical works. A boy named Apu is born to a poor but proud Brahmin family. His loving older sister Durga is a sweet girl but has formed the bad habit of ste...
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The Apu trilogy is the most celebrated work of Satyajit Ray, the greatest filmmaker ever ... more
to have emerged from India cinema. The three films - each a masterpiece in its own right - are enormously touching in their simplicity, emotional sweep and visual ...
Production Year: 1997 - Drama - Director: Ronan O'Leary - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: James Spader, Anne Brochet, Barry McGovern, Anna Massey
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Advantages: Great films Disadvantages: Disappointing extras, so-so transfer
One of the greatest filmmakers to have ever lived, presents his greatest cinematic achievement; the Apu trilogy directed by Satyajit Ray is a must buy for all fans of film. Now that it's on DVD, there is simply no excuse to not buy it!The trilogy is made up of three feature length movies, each on a separate disc, concerning the life of an Indian villager, called Apu.
The first film concerns his childhood in his village, where the ... ...ailing grandmother. The film is particularly poignant due the tragic ending, casting a shadow over everything you have seen before. There are so many highlights, but my favourite moments of the film are seen between the subtle observations over the competition between various famillies in the village.
In the second film Apu's family moves to the big City- Calcutta, where the father tries to earn more than an occassional pittance he ... more
One of the greatest filmmakers to have ever lived, presents his greatest cinematic achievement; the Apu trilogy directed by Satyajit Ray is a must buy for all fans of film. Now that it's on DVD, there is simply no excuse to not buy it!The trilogy is made up of three feature length movies, each on a separate disc, concerning the life of an Indian villager, called Apu.
The first film concerns his childhood in his village, where the boy lives in childhood innocence with his parents, sister and ailing grandmother. The film is particularly poignant due the tragic ending, casting a shadow over everything you have seen before. There are so many highlights, but my favourite moments of the film are seen between the subtle observations over the competition between various famillies in the village.
In the second film Apu's family moves to the big City- Calcutta, where the father tries to earn more than an occassional pittance he received back in the village as a priest. This is my favourite out of the three movies, only because you have a fair idea of the characters already, and many of the events relate back to events in my life.
The third film concerns merely Apu, when he finally manages to escape his troubled adolescence and his tragic past in the city of Calcutta. Some people have accused this one of melodrama, due to some of the sad events which occur during the film's course. However they seem to overlook the fact that the film conveys each event with such searing, almost deadpan, honesty, sentimentality or melodrama are almost redundant comments, due to the complete lack of embellishment the director gives the events.
To say much more about the trilogy is to perhaps spoil some of the surprises that it offers to the viewer. The films, on the surface, don't seem to have that much going for them. First of all, they're set in a very different time and place to where we find ourselves today, already putting off some viewers. Indeed, it is quite hard to try and find parallels between our lives and the lives of some of the characters we are presented with during the course of the three movies. Secondly the movies are black and white and subtitled (the original language is Bengali), already cornering them into a niche market. People seem to think these films don't concern them. I don't know why this is-- these films aren't overtly arty or difficult to understand, for example.
Neither of these elements should be issues, as the filmmaker manages to go beyond this problem and present us with themes that concern all of us. We are confronted with themes such as deaths of loved ones, soaring ambitions which end up not to be as fruitful as they should have been, romance, loneliness, the terrible effects of illness on famillies, to name but a few.
Now to the DVD package. The three films have been obviously remastered to an extent- you can see the wonderfully crisp cinematography come through nearly all the time. The negatives seem to have been rather scratched though, and we occassionally get those irritating scratches and marks films detrioriated and neglected films get, which is a real shame obviously. It's not a massive problem, but if you're watching with a home cinema system, the occassional lapses in sounds can be annoying. Also there are slight lapses in subtitle coverage, so for several minutes in the film you may be without subtitles, for some reason. However, this doesn't seem to detract too much from the narrative, even though it is obviously irritating.
The extras are not all that plentiful, either. You get no commentary by any of the parties involved (which is not really surpising as the writer/director died a while ago), but a commentary from a film historian or critic may have appreciated. As this is quite an obscure film, some of the cultural references are lost, and maybe a commentary would have illuminated some of this content somewhat. You get excerpts from a BBC documentary, which are interesting as long as they last (which isn't very long). The only real decent feature is a masterclass on the film, where we get brief interviews with some of the main parties involved, which are absolutely fascinating.
A solid DVD package then, of some great movies. If you can afford the rather hefty price tag, I suggest that you go get this box set straight away. You will never see such filmmaking again; honest, funny, seriously moving and above everything, extremely redemptive, the Apu Trilogy should never be forgotten.
A box set featuring the Apu Trilogy the titles are: 'Pather Panchali', 'Aparajito' and 'The World Of Apu'. Bengali dialogue with subtitles.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
ARTIFICIAL EYE; FUSION MEDIA SALES
Release date
27/01/2003
No of Discs
3
Catalogue No
ART 230 DVD
Barcode
5021866230306
Composer
Ravi Shankar
Languages
Main Language
Bengali
Subtitle Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Extracts From BBC Omnibus The Cinema Of Satyajit Ray, Production Notes By Ray Biographer Andrew Robinson, Pather Panchali Storyboards, Stills And Poster Gallery, The World Of Apu Movie Masterclass Documentary
Aspect Ratio
1.33 Full Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital Bengali
DVD Description
This set brings together all three films in Satyajit Ray's trilogy about the boy Apu. PATHER PANCHALI (1954): A boy named Apu is born to a poor but proud Brahmin family. His loving older sister, Durga, is a sweet girl, but has formed the bad habit of stealing fruit from an aunt's orchard, much to her mother's dismay. Their father Harihar, a poet and lay priest, finds a treasury job that will bring the family steady income for the first time in a while. For a brief period afterwards, their mother Sarbajaya manages to make ends meet, and the children are left to their own devices and run freely. But when Harihar loses his position, he leaves his family with depleted resources to search elsewhere for work. In his absence, their condition deteriorates. Months later, Harihar returns to face the tragedy that forces them to leave their ancestral home. This acclaimed debut by Satyajit Ray is the first part of a trilogy of poetic, lyrical works. APARAJITO (1957): Devastated by a family tragedy, 10-year-old Apu and his parents move to the sacred city of Benares, hoping to build a new life. In Benares, Apu's father Harihar ekes out a subsistence living as a priest reciting religious scripture. Though his family is poor and his mother burdened with worries, Apu runs freely, ignorant of his parents' concerns. One day, Harihar returns from work faint and feverish and shortly thereafter, dies. Widowed, Sarbajaya realizes she has no recourse but to find work. Although she makes a decent living for herself and a growing Apu as a cook for a wealthy Bengali family, she leaves her position to live with her uncle in his village of Bengal. There, Apu excels in school and wins a scholarship to study at a college in Calcutta. Though pleased with her son's academic success, Sarbajaya's health is now failing and she needs him at home. Thus begins the clash between a proud woman and her headstrong son. THE WORLD OF APU (1959): Living alone in a tenement above the railway, a grown Apu passes his days reading poetry, playing his wooden flute and looking for work. Though poor and without family, he remains hopeful about his future. An unexpected reunion with childhood friend Pulu provides a respite from his lonely routine. Pulu invites Apu to attend his cousin Aparna's wedding. Moments before the ceremony, they discover the bridegroom is mentally ill and the marriage cannot proceed as planned. So Pulu--desperate to marry his cousin, lest she be cursed for life--asks Apu to take the groom's place. Feeling betrayed and outraged, Apu refuses but later changes his mind out of friendship. Apu and his delicate bride Aparna slowly fall in love, spending almost every moment together. But marital bliss is short lived, as a terrible tragedy awaits the newfound lovers.
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