Special Presentation: Satyajit Ray's THE APU TRILOGY
Two decades after its original negatives were burned in a fire, Satyajit Ray's breathtaking milestone of world cinema rises from the ashes in a meticulously reconstructed new 4K restoration by Janus Films. THE APU TRILOGY follows one indelible character, a free-spirited child in rural Bengal who matures into an adolescent urban student and finally a sensitive man of the world—essential works for any film lover.
Trilogy Pass/Ticket Info: All three films will be presented consecutively on Friday, July 10 and Sunday, July 12. A special pass provides admission to all three films and includes a vegetarian Indian meal. You may choose to see one or two films on Friday, and the final film(s) on Sunday. Passes will be punched for each film and are good for admission to each film once only plus one meal. Passes are $30 for the public and $25 for FilmScene members. Purchase a pass. Individual film tickets are also available.
"The best binge-viewing experience of the year! One of the great achievements of film history." -Shelley Farmer, Indiewire
"The most important revival of the year! Go to worship the near-religious restoration and lose yourself in three very different masterpieces." -David Edelstein, New York Magazine
"If these aren’t the most beautiful movies ever made, they're the most beautiful ones I know. The beauty of this restoration may be enough to move you to tears." -Stephanie Zacharek, The Village Voice
"Never having seen a Satyajit Ray film is like never having seen the sun or the moon." -Akira Kurosawa
PATHER PANCHALI (Song of the Little Road)
India • 1955 • 125 minutes • Black & White • In Bengali with English subtitles • 1.37:1
The release in 1955 of Satyajit Ray's debut, PATHER PANCHALI, introduced to the world an eloquent and important new cinematic voice. A depiction of rural Bengali life in a style inspired by Italian neorealism, this naturalistic but poetic evocation of a number of years in the life of a family introduces us to both little Apu and, just as essentially, the women who will help shape him: his independent older sister, Durga; his harried mother, Sarbajaya, who, with her husband often away, must hold the family together; and his kindly and mischievous elderly "auntie," Indir—vivid, multifaceted characters all. With resplendent photography informed by its young protagonist's perpetual sense of discovery, the Cannes-awarded Pather Panchali is an immersive cinematic experience and a film of elemental power.
AWARDS
Best Human Document, Cannes Film Festival, 1956
Best foreign film, National Board of Review, 1957
Best picture, best director, San Francisco International Film Festival, 1957
CAST
Harihar, Apu’s father Kanu Banerjee
Sarbajaya, Apu’s mother Karuna Banerjee
Apu Subir Banerjee
Durga, Apu’s sister Uma Das Gupta
Indir Thakrun (“Auntie”) Chunibala Devi
Young Durga Shampa “Runki” Banerjee
Sejo Thakrun (bitter neighbor) Reba Devi
Nilmoni’s wife (kind neighbor) Aparna Devi
Prasanna (schoolteacher) Tulsi Chakraborty
Baidyanath Majumdar (village elder) Binoy Mukherjee
Chinibas (sweet seller) Haren Banerjee
Dr. Harimohan Nag
Chakravarti (village elder) Haridhan Nag
Priest Kshirod Roy
Ranu (Durga’s friend) Roma Ganguli
CREDITS
Directed by Satyajit Ray
Produced by Government of West Bengal
Screenplay Satyajit Ray
Based on the novel Pather Panchali by Bibhutibhusan Banerjee
Cinematographer Subrata Mitra
Original music Ravi Shankar
Editor Dulal Dutta
Art director Bansi Chandragupta
Sound recordist Bhupen Ghosh
Production manager Anil Choudhury