Aparajito; Pather Panchali; The World of Apu

Of the three films comprising director Satyajit Ray's famed "Apu" trilogy," based on novels by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, the National Board of Review Best Foreign Film winning 1959 conclusion The World of Apu is the best known outside India (although all have won numerous international awards). Still, the initial film Pather Panchali (Ray's directorial debut, made in 1955) is as good if not better in its beautiful depiction of a struggling Bengali family: lackadaisical, dreaming husband; bitter, practical wife; resented elderly aunt (Chunibala Devi, in an extraordinary performance), and--at the film's center--a brother (Apu, played by the angelic-looking Subir Bannerjee) and sister whose childhood dog day countryside ramblings are like the idyllic calm before the life-altering tragic storm. Pather Panchali was followed by Aparajito (1957), in which Apu's family moves to the city, and Apu distinguishes himself in school, and The World of Apu, in which young college student Apu (who has by now suffered more than his fair share of loss) marries on a whim (when the actual bridegroom for an arranged marriage turns out to be mentally unstable), but when his wife dies during childbirth, Apu--overcome by grief--abandons his paternal responsibilities, wandering aimlessly across India. Thanks to the efforts of filmmakers Ismail Merchant and James Ivory, the three films were spruced up and re-released in the U.S. in the mid-'90s, and while the prints used for these transfers still show some isolated frame jitter, as well as wear and tear, the films look reasonably good for their age, while the Dolby Digital mono soundtrack is crisp (all three films, incidentally, feature the music of Ravi Shankar). A signal achievement in both Indian and world cinema, the Apu trilogy is highly recommended. (R. Pitman)