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The Music Room and Charulata are the only two I've seen besides the Apu Trilogy and those are definitely better ways to start than the Apu Trilogy, even if those are perfect/fairly accessible.

I love Music Room and the Apu Trilogy and (especially) Charulata -- but think Big City might be an especially good entry point. It acquaints a newbie with Ray's basic style -- but isn't as dauntingly "exotic".

I want to speak up in favor of starting with the Apu Trilogy, especially Pather Panchali. Ray made many masterpieces over the course of his career, but personally I discovered his work through those films and have never stopped loving them. The other two films in the trilogy are great and you should see them too, but Pather Panchali is something special. For me, it easily ranks among the 10 greatest films ever made for its profoundly compassionate vision and its flawlessly observed characters. The first time I saw the film, I bawled like a baby at the end, when Apu comes to a realization about his sister (I don't believe I'm spoiling too much here). Years later, I still can't even mention it without tears coming to my eyes.

You could argue that The Music Room and Charulata are even better films in their own way, and certainly Devi is unforgettable. But Pather Panchali is still a miraculous accomplishment. The only first feature by a director which may be stronger is Citizen Kane, period.

Aside from maybe Ozu and Mizoguchi, how many other directors were such absolute masters of the emotionally devastating ending as Ray? I am deeply grateful that Criterion is finally tackling more of his films.

There seems to be an addition to the extras on The Big City:

Satyajit Ray (1974), a documentary short by B. D. Garga

Nice, haven't seen that one. I wonder if Shyam Benegal's 1982 doc -- also compellingly titled Satyajit Ray -- will appear on some future disc (most likely Ghare Baire since it has a lot of behind-the-scenes footage of Ray at work on that film).

It was already included as an extra on The Music Room.

For Charulata: The Beav. Very good transfer, it seems.

Incredibly beautiful!

That looks exquisite. Might be the transfer of the year, given the quality of what it's replacing.

It's actually not replacing that horrible Indian release in the Beaver comparison, but the AE disc, but it's still a beauty.

Yes, that's one of the most dramatic upgrades I've seen since Bronco Bullfrog.

I'll wait for reports on the Artificial Eye BD, as it'll be significantly cheaper for me, but I'm definitely buying one!

worth paying list price for

man, imagine if The Apu Trilogy looks like this..

Charulata indeed looks stunning. This and Big City are definitely two of the most irresistible recent Criterion releases.

duplicate -- but if I were to say this one more time then it's truth would be self-proving. Nonetheless, I will resist triple posting.

For The Big City: The Beav. Not as good as Charulata's, but I like it.

That still looks like a great transfer. It just has the disadvantage of being compared to an actual DVD instead of some dupey VHS pass-off.

Wish there were some comparison shots of "The Coward"

Shrew wrote:That still looks like a great transfer. It just has the disadvantage of being compared to an actual DVD instead of some dupey VHS pass-off.

Five or six years ago, I wouldn't have believed that Satyajit Ray films could look so good - I'm so used to prints, tapes and DVDs somewhere on the quality scale from "barely acceptable" to "appalling" that my default position is to assume that if it's watchable, it's probably as good as it gets. But these new restorations are something else again - and considering the sources, they're wringing out miracles.

Now why doesn't DVD beaver include stills from Criterion DVDs? Have those become red-headed step children?

rrenault wrote:Now why doesn't DVD beaver include stills from Criterion DVDs? Have those become red-headed step children?

He may not be sent them. When I review Criterion discs, I'm sent either the DVD or the BD, never both.

Same with the BFI - when you ask for review checkdiscs, you're asked to pick a format, and plenty of other companies offer a similar policy.

In any case, it should be pretty easy to work out what the DVD will look like - take the BD grab and downsize it to PAL or NTSC resolution (whichever applies to the DVD). Since the DVD will be sourced from the same master, the chances are this will be pretty close to the reality.

MichaelB wrote:Five or six years ago, I wouldn't have believed that Satyajit Ray films could look so good - I'm so used to prints, tapes and DVDs somewhere on the quality scale from "barely acceptable" to "appalling" that my default position is to assume that if it's watchable, it's probably as good as it gets. But these new restorations are something else again - and considering the sources, they're wringing out miracles.

I recall renting a DVD from my local library in order to introduce myself to Ray's films and being horrified to see the actors' blotchy, out-of-focus figures sounding as if they'd been recorded next to a popcorn machine. These releases truly are a revelation and I can't wait to get a chance to watch them.

According to IMDb and satyajitray.org, Kapurush: The Coward (1965) is supposed to be 74 mins long. The version we got in the The Big City is 65 mins (according to this forum review)!!! What did they do now? Even, the AE upcoming BD is showing 74 mins. time to find my old Indian DVD now! If its true, then its a massive cut. Anybody has any idea?

I double checked the Criterion timing, and its exactly 69 minutes and 48 seconds, not 65 minutes. Still, I can't account for the missing 4 minutes 12 seconds!

Sorry about that. I make notes when I go through stuff and apparently I can't read my own handwriting. My 69 looks like a 65.

cdnchris wrote:Sorry about that. I make notes when I go through stuff and apparently I can't read my own handwriting. My 69 looks like a 65.

No problem, it happens. I still have to find out about the missing 4 minutes. If I can't find my old DVD, I will just wait until the AE BD review comes out!