“The quiet but deep observation, understanding and love of the human race, which are characteristic of all his films, have impressed me greatly. … I feel that he is a giant of the movie industry. … Not to have seen the cinema of [Satyajit] Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.” – Akira Kurosawa
Considered one of the foremost filmmakers of the 20th century, director Satyajit Ray (1921-92) established himself as a major force with his widely celebrated “Apu Trilogy” in the late 1950s. Ray wrote all the screenplays of his films, many of which were based on his own stories. He designed the sets and costumes and operated the camera beginning with CHARULATA (1964). He composed the music for all his films starting in 1962 and designed the publicity posters for his new releases. In addition to his work in motion pictures, Ray was an accomplished composer, author and graphic designer.
The Indian filmmaker received an honorary Oscar in 1992 for Lifetime Achievement, citing his humanistic approach to storytelling. At that time, archivists from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences discovered that many of Ray’s films were in dire need of restoration, so they embarked on a two-decade campaign to preserve this priceless body of work. The American Cinematheque is proud to present the fruits of their labors – and some of world cinema’s greatest treasures.
Series includes THE MUSIC ROOM, THE BIG CITY, THE EXPEDITION, THE GODDESS, THE HERO, THE COWARD, THE HOLY MAN, THE CHESS PLAYERS, THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE, THE ADVENTURES OF GOOPY AND BAGHA and THE ELEPHANT GOD, with more films scheduled for October.
Satyajit Ray Restored Double Feature!
CHARULATA / THE MUSIC ROOM Aero Theatre • Thu, Sep 12, 2013 • 7:30pm
Presented in partnership with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
CHARULATA (THE LONELY WIFE)
1964, Janus Films, 117 min, India, Dir: Satyajit Ray
In Victorian India, a restless young woman struggles to come to terms with her enforced upper-class idleness, suppressed literary talent and illicit love for her husband’s cousin. Madhabi Mukherjee’s vibrant lead performance, the fluid and inventive camerawork and the especially rich fusion of Eastern and Western themes are among the reasons why CHARULATA is widely considered Ray’s most accomplished film, as well as being the director’s personal favorite. In English and Bengali with English subtitles.
THE MUSIC ROOM (JALSAGHAR)
1958, Janus Films, 100 min, India, Dir: Satyajit Ray
An arrogant member of the declining aristocracy demonstrates both his refined taste and his ruinous self-indulgence by holding lavish concerts in his prized music room. Splendidly decadent settings and virtuoso musical performances mark this potent mixture of nostalgia and irony, which ranks with Visconti’s THE LEOPARD and Welles’ THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS as a double-edged elegy for a dying upper-class world. In Bengali with English subtitles.
Both films restored by the Satyajit Ray Preservation Project through a collaboration of the Academy Film Archive, the Merchant-Ivory Foundation and the Film Foundation. 35mm prints courtesy of the Academy Film Archive.
Satyajit Ray Restored Double Feature!
THE BIG CITY / THE EXPEDITION Aero Theatre • Mon, Sep 16, 2013 • 7:30pm
Presented in partnership with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
50th Anniversary!
THE BIG CITY (MAHANAGAR)
1963, Janus Films, 122 min, India, Dir: Satyajit Ray
CHARULATA’s Madhabi Mukherjee stars as Arati, a middle-class housewife who tries to help her family make ends meet by getting a job as a saleswoman in the big city of Calcutta. Her conservative family disapproves of the notion of a female breadwinner, and the friction increases when a co-worker encourages Arati’s growing independence. Satyajit Ray earned a Silver Bear for Best Direction at the Berlin Film Festival for this insightful look at how the tide of modernity has shifted gender roles. In English and Bengali with English subtitles.
THE EXPEDITION (ABHIJAN)
1962, 150 min, India, Dir: Satyajit Ray
A box-office hit in the director’s native Bengal, this involving drama was adapted from Tarashankar Banerjee’s novel of the same name. A man of proud Rajput heritage who drives a taxi, Narsingh (Ray regular Soumitra Chatterjee) begins working for a merchant (Charuprasash Ghosh) after he loses his license. But the merchant is involved in drug trafficking, and as the cabbie is pulled deeper into that business, two women – the teacher Narsingh loves and the prostitute who loves him – hold the key to his redemption. In Bengali with English subtitles.
THE BIG CITY restored by the Satyajit Ray Preservation Project through a collaboration of the Academy Film Archive, the Merchant-Ivory Foundation and the Film Foundation. THE EXPEDITION restored by the Satyajit Ray Preservation Project at the Academy Film Archive. 35mm prints courtesy of the Academy Film Archive.
Satyajit Ray Restored Double Feature!
THE COWARD / THE HOLY MAN Aero Theatre • Mon, Sep 23, 2013 • 7:30pm
Presented in partnership with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
THE COWARD (KAPURUSH)
1965, Janus Films, 74 min, India, Dir: Satyajit Ray
A successful screenwriter (Soumitra Chatterjee) is traveling the country researching his next script when his car breaks down in a small town. The owner (Haradhan Bannerjee) of a nearby tea estate offers him a place to stay for the night, and the writer is surprised to discover that his former lover (Madhabi Mukherjee) is now married to the man. Ray makes the most out of this small cast and short time (the film takes place over the course of one day) to create an indelible portrait of missed opportunities. In Bengali with English subtitles.
THE HOLY MAN (MAHAPURUSH)
1965, Janus Films, 65 min, India, Dir: Satyajit Ray
Charuprakash Ghosh plays the title role in writer-director Satyajit Ray’s comedic look at a would-be guru. When a widowed lawyer and his daughter become disciples of a man who claims to have known Buddha, Jesus and Einstein, it falls to the girl’s beau and his friends to shine the light of reason on the holy man’s tall tales. In Bengali with English subtitles.
Both films restored by the Satyajit Ray Preservation Project at the Academy Film Archive. 35mm prints courtesy of the Academy Film Archive.
Satyajit Ray Restored Double Feature! Aero Theatre
THE CHESS PLAYERS / THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE • Thu, Sep 26, 2013 • 7:30pm
Presented in partnership with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
THE CHESS PLAYERS (SHATRANJ KE KHILARI)
1977, 129 min, India, Dir: Satyajit Ray
Based on a short story by Hindustani writer Munshi Premchand, this richly layered historical drama is set in 1856, as the British East India Company was attempting to unseat a Muslim king and annex the region of Oudh. The title characters (a pair of Indian aristocrats beautifully played by Sanjeev Kumar and Saeed Jaffrey) are so obsessed with their game that monumental changes in society and even their families pass almost unnoticed. While the period is re-created in lavish detail, this poignant – and frequently comic – look at two cultures in collision has a timeless appeal. With Richard Attenborough. In English, Urdu and Hindi with English subtitles. “One of Ray’s finest achievements, the work of a master filmmaker.” – London Observer.
THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE (PARASH PATHAR)
1958, 111 min, India, Dir: Satyajit Ray
Director Satyajit Ray’s first film outside the world of Apu was this charming, magic-realist comedy. Tulsi Chakrabarti stars as a humble bank clerk who briefly tastes the good life after he discovers a small stone that turns iron into gold on contact. A Palme d’Or nominee at the Cannes Film Festival. In Bengali with English subtitles.
Both films restored by the Satyajit Ray Preservation Project at the Academy Film Archive with funding from the Film Foundation. 35mm prints courtesy of the Academy Film Archive.
Satyajit Ray Restored Double Feature! Aero Theatre • Mon, Sep 30, 2013 • 7:30pm
THE ADVENTURES OF GOOPY AND BAGHA / THE ELEPHANT GOD
Presented in partnership with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
THE ADVENTURES OF GOOPY AND BAGHA (GOOPY GYNE BAGHA BYNE)
1969, 132 min, India, Dir: Satyajit Ray
Adapted by Satyajit Ray from a story by his grandfather, this enchanting children’s fantasy was one of the director’s most successful films in India, spawning two more installments in the series. An aspiring singer and drummer team up and are granted three magical powers, which they use to bring harmony to two kingdoms on the brink of war. A light-hearted romp with some impressive, if simple, special effects and plenty of joyful music (all of it written by Ray). In Bengali with English subtitles.
THE ELEPHANT GOD (JOI BABA FELUNATH)
1979, Janus Films, 112 min, India, Dir: Satyajit Ray
“The Bengali Sherlock Holmes” returns to the screen in director Satyajit Ray’s adaptation of his popular children’s novel. With cousin Topshe (Siddhartha Chatterjee) and mystery writer Jatayu (Santosh Dutta) in tow, private investigator Feluda (Soumitra Chatterjee) travels to the sacred city of Varanasi, where a priceless statue of Ganesh, the elephant god, has been stolen from the Ghosal household. As the storied sleuth zeroes in on the culprit, thrills and laughs pour forth – along with an ending sure to surprise. In Bengali with English subtitles.
Both films restored by the Satyajit Ray Preservation Project at the Academy Film Archive. 35mm prints courtesy of the Academy Film Archive
Films in this Series at the Aero
CHARULATA / THE MUSIC ROOM
Thu, Sep 12, 2013 – 7:30pm
Aero Theatre
THE GODDESS /THE HERO
Thu, Sep 19, 2013 – 7:30pm
Aero Theatre
THE COWARD / THE HOLY MAN
Mon, Sep 23, 2013 – 7:30pm
Aero Theatre
THE CHESS PLAYERS / THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE
Thu, Sep 26, 2013 – 7:30pm
Aero Theatre
THE ADVENTURES OF GOOPY AND BAGHA / THE ELEPHANT GOD
Mon, Sep 30, 2013 – 7:30pm
Aero Theatre
For more infromation go to http://www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/content/satyajit-ray-restored
General Admission $11.00 (unless otherwise noted)
Cinematheque Members $7.00
Seniors 65+ and Students with valid ID $9.00