Aparajito
In this, the second part of director Satyajit Ray's renowned trilogy, Apu and his parents have settled in Benares, India's holy city. The ten year old Apu quickly makes new friends while playing games in the alleyways surrounding their modest apartment. Satyajit Ray gradually reveals the c...
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| Language: | Bengali English |
| Published: |
India,
Epic Films,
1956.
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| Summary: | In this, the second part of director Satyajit Ray's renowned trilogy, Apu and his parents have settled in Benares, India's holy city. The ten year old Apu quickly makes new friends while playing games in the alleyways surrounding their modest apartment. Satyajit Ray gradually reveals the city to us through Apu's eyes. The Indian wrestler exercising next to the Ganges, the vaguely threatening alcoholic living in the adjacent apartment, all are presented with a humanity and tenderness emanating directly from the director's intimate understanding of the characters and the city he is portraying. Dramatic passages in the narrative are highlighted through Ray's use of creative editing. The death of Apu's father segues to a sequence of masses of birds swooping over the river Ganges. An afternoon spent in a Hindu temple filled with mischievous monkeys fills Apu with pure joy. Karuna Banerjee's performance as Apu's mother Sarbajaya, is the centerpiece of the second part of the trilogy. Her portrayal of a mother restrained on all sides by misogyny and poverty, highlights both her own and Apu's struggle. Sarbajaya's efforts launch Apu into a future of possibilities, yet she will share none of his success. Ray's film presents Apu's unthinking acceptance of his mother's devotion as simply the natural privilege of a talented only child who is adored. This unsentimental portrait of the mother son relationship meant that Part II of the trilogy was not as enthusiastically received by Indian audiences as its predecessor Pather Panchali. |
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| Item Description: | Harvard Film Archive negatives and audio tracks, HFA Item nos. 12377; 12920; 13210; 14120; 12179; from the Janus Film Collection. Adapted from Bibhutibhushan Bannerjee's novels Pather Panchali and Aparajito. |
| Physical Description: | 13 third generation master negative reels of a of a motion picture film (107 mins.) 9,630 feet: sound, black and white, triacetate; 35 mm HFA Item no: 12377. 3 second generation positive reels of a of a motion picture film, approximately (109 mins.) 9,825 feet: silent, black and white; 35 mm HFA Item no: 12920. 13 second generation positive reels of a of a motion picture film, approximately (109 mins.) 9,825 feet: silent, black and white, triacetate; 35 mm HFA Item no: 13210. 3 second generation sound track reels of a motion picture film, approximately (109 mins.) 9,825 feet: sound, black and white; 35 mm HFA Item no: 14120. 3 second generation sound track reels of a motion picture film, approximately (109 mins.) 9,825 feet: sound, black and white; 35 mm HFA Item no: 12179. |
| Playing Time: | 10:7 :mi 10:9 :mi 10:9 :mi 10:9 :mi 10:9 :mi |
| Format: | Full screen (1.37:1) HFA Item no. 12377. Wide screen (1.85:1) HFA Item no. 12920. Wide screen (1.85:1) HFA Item no. 13210. |
| Production Credits: | Written, produced and directed by Satyajit Ray; photography, Subrata Mitra; art director, Bansi Chandragupta; editor, Dullal Dutta; music, Ravi Shankar. |