The Apu Trilogy [Criterion Collection] [3 Discs] [DVD]

Aparajito
The Unvanquished is the second of Indian director Satyajit Ray's "Apu Trilogy" (the first was Pather Panchali). Ray's young protagonist Apu is permitted a formal education over the gentle objections of his mother, who'd wanted him to be priest. Eventually, Apu earns a university scholarship and arrives in the teeming metropolis of Calcutta. Overwhelmed by life in the Big City, the impressionable country boy forgets about his loving mother. By the time Apu returns to his home, he finds it's too late to pick up pieces. Smaran Ghosal plays the adult Apu, with Pinaki Sen Gupta portraying his younger counterpart in the flashback. Aparajito was derived from a novel by Bibhutibhusan. The film also features a musical score by Ravi Shankar. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Pather Panchali
Pather Panchali, Indian director Satyajit Ray's first feature film, relates the story of an impoverished Bengalese family. When the father (Karuna Bannerjee) leaves for the city to pursue a writing career, the mother (Karuna Banerji) is left with the responsibility of caring for the rest of the brood. Gradually, the film's true central character emerges: Apu (Subir Banerji), the family's son. Though excruciatingly realistic at times, Pather Panchali takes an occasional timeout to dwell on the purely cinematic. For example, when the mother receives a postcard bearing good news, Ray dissolves to a pond, where a pair of water skates scamper about. The music by Ravi Shankar at first seems to be at odds with the action; soon, however, we come to accept the music as a logical outgrowth of the events at hand. A multiple award winner, Pather Panchali was the first of Ray's celebrated "Apu Trilogy" (the other two entries were 1956's Aparajito and 1959's The World of Apu). The film was also released as The Song of the Road and The Lament of the Path. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The World of Apu
Originally released in India as Apur Sansar, The World of Apu was the last of Satyajit Ray's "Apu Trilogy." Pather Panchali (1955) covered Apu's early years in his native village, while Aparajito (1956) detailed his school years and the tragedy that temporarily brought him back home. Now Apu (Soumitra Chatterjee), having abandoned college due to lack of money, hopes to find success as a writer. He is sidetracked from this goal when he meets Aparna (Sharmila Tagore), whose impending wedding is canceled when the groom turns out to be mentally unstable. To save Aparna from a custom-dictated life of spinsterhood, Apu marries her himself. When she dies giving birth, the grieving Apu cannot bring himself to meet his son, and in fact deserts the boy for five years before learning how to gracefully accept his lot in life. Like the other entries in the trilogy, The World of Apu was based on Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhaya's semi-autobiographical novel Aparajito. In the manner typical of his earlier works, director Ray adopts a straightforward, realistic approach, avoiding any sort of attention-getting directorial techniques, the better to simply tell his story. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi