993 The Cloud-Capped Star

[FrauBlucher]

The Cloud-Capped Star



Directed by the visionary Bengali filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak, The Cloud-Capped Star tells the story of a family that has been uprooted by the Partition of India and come to depend on its eldest daughter, the self-sacrificing Neeta (Supriya Choudhury). She watches helplessly as her own hopes and desires are pushed aside time and again by those of her siblings and parents, until all her chances for happiness evaporate, leaving her crushed and sickly. Experimenting with off-balance compositions, discontinuous editing, and a densely layered soundtrack, Ghatak devised an intellectually ambitious and emotionally devastating new shape for the melodrama, lamenting the tragedies of Indian history and the inequities of traditional gender roles while blazing a formal trail for the generations of Indian filmmakers who have followed him.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New conversation between filmmakers Saeed Akhtar Mirza and Kumar Shahani
• Stills gallery of Ghatak family photographs curated by writer and photographer Nabarupa Bhattacharjee
• New English subtitle translation
• PLUS: An essay by film scholar Ira Bhaskar

[domino harvey]

The Newsletter thread is locked so will post this info here...

The Cloud Capped Star is part of a triliogy, so this clue suggests that with the three little clouds.

Meghe Dhaka Tara (Bengali: মেঘে ঢাকা তারা Mēghē Ḍhākā Tārā, meaning The Cloud-Capped Star) is a 1960 film written and directed by Ritwik Ghatak, based on a social novel by Shaktipada Rajguru with the same title. It stars Supriya Choudhury, Anil Chatterjee, Gita Dey, Bijon Bhattacharya, Niranjan Roy, and Gyanesh Mukherjee.[1] It was part of a trilogy consisting of Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960), Komal Gandhar (1961), and Subarnarekha (1962), all dealing with the aftermath of the Partition of Bengal during the Partition of India in 1947 and the refugees coping with it.[2]

Never heard of these, but I’m all for any Criterion release that’s not just a fancier Shout Factory rerelease, so bring it on!

[FrauBlucher]

It definitely sounds interesting

[swo17]

You can all thank me for paying too much for the OOP BFI release

[DarkImbecile]

Have you watched the BFI? Doesn’t look like much in the way of features, so there’s certainly room for improvement there and in the format upgrade, assuming the films themselves are worth getting excited about.

[Big Ben]

Have you watched the BFI? Doesn’t look like much in the way of features, so there’s certainly room for improvement there and in the format upgrade, assuming the films themselves are worth getting excited about.

I've only ever heard good things about The Cloud Capped Star and it's about time it got it's due exposure here in the West. I'm hoping the set makes some people on the forum very happy.

[swo17]

Have you watched the BFI? Doesn’t look like much in the way of features, so there’s certainly room for improvement there and in the format upgrade, assuming the films themselves are worth getting excited about.

Yes, it's a very old release, nothing special PQ-wise, plenty of room for improvement

[Glowingwabbit]

I'm very excited for this as I prefer these films to A River Called Titus, and Ghatak definitely needs more recognition in the West. If it wasn't for the forthcoming Koker Trilogy this would be the most needed/important release of the year for criterion imo. I really hope they can do Ajantrik at some point too.

Edit: Also say what you will about Jonathan Rosenbaum but he's always been a great champion of neglected films and filmmakers, and this article about Ghatak is actually how I first learned about him awhile back. Worth a read: http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/2017/0 ... the-cinema

[Timec]

I haven't seen the other two films, but I loved The Cloud-Capped Star when I watched the BFI release six or seven years ago, so this will be an essential purchase for me.

[mteller]

YES YES YES! Cloud-Capped Star and Golden Thread (Subarnarekha) are both on my all-time favorites list, and Komal Ghandar is excellent as well. This is fantastic news if true!

[FrauBlucher]

Can a mod head over to bluray.com and lock their Criterion thread. I am tired of reading how the clue is for A Star is Born

[Boosmahn]

India seems unrepresented in the Collection, so this trilogy is a welcome addition. Now if Criterion could start releasing Korean films...

[FrauBlucher]

Didn't Criterion obtain rights to a bunch of Indian films several years back?

[knives]

Yes, primarily Ray, but I believe a few others.

[bearcuborg]

Shit, time to sell my BFI dvd now...

I haven’t seen this movie since I got it a decade or so ago, but some context will be helpful, Ghatak has a unique, perhaps alienating, style.

[MongooseCmr]

Didn't Criterion obtain rights to a bunch of Indian films several years back?

I’d been meaning to ask about this again. I don’t recall ever seeing a list of films they were looking to restore and no update on that 5+ years later. The Film Foundation’s African Heritage project is similarly hard to find new info on. I hope these weren’t empty gestures of inclusion for world cinema and had actual plans for releases.

[Glowingwabbit]

Didn't Criterion obtain rights to a bunch of Indian films several years back?

I’d been meaning to ask about this again. I don’t recall ever seeing a list of films they were looking to restore and no update on that 5+ years later. The Film Foundation’s African Heritage project is similarly hard to find new info on. I hope these weren’t empty gestures of inclusion for world cinema and had actual plans for releases.

4 restorations from the African Heritage project will bee screening at the Pan African Film Festival of Ouagadougou: http://www.film-foundation.org/fespaco-2019

[yoloswegmaster]

Didn't Criterion obtain rights to a bunch of Indian films several years back?

Didn't they get the rights for Pyaasa?

[FrauBlucher]

I could’ve sworn I saw a list of films from India. Maybe I’m confusing it with the Czech list. I did a search earlier today in which I was unable to uncover nothing.

[nitin]

If they have Pyaasa and Kagaz Ke Phool, that would be momentous (I am of Indian background and would love to see those films in anything approaching the quality of the Ray releases).

[kekid]

Pyaasaa has been restored and released in a nice looking Blu Ray edition. I found it on amazon.co.uk.
Of course if Criterion released it, it would look even better and will come with lots of helpful supplements.
Kagaz Ke Phool has not been released on Blu Ray anywhere (to the best of my knowledge), hence it would be the more desirable of the two for Criterion to release.

[nitin]

That Pyaasa blu ray is nice in comparison to previous home video releases but nowhere near the quality of the Ray restorations. Hopefully they have both though.

[whaleallright]

If the Pyaasa Blu-Ray you're referring to is the one released in India, it's DNR'd to hell with the logo of the distributor appearing in the corner for much of the movie. The recent-ish French DVD is, IIRC, sourced from the same restoration but without those added indignities.

[swo17]

Not the trilogy

[Glowingwabbit]

Not the trilogy

Not much in the way of special features either.