Aparajito: Difference between revisions
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==Reception== |
==Reception== |
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''Aparajito'' won the [[Golden Lion]] at the 1957 [[Venice Film Festival]]. Ray also won the Golden Gate awards for Best Picture and Best Director at the [[San Francisco International Film Festival]] in 1958 for this film.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://history.sffs.org/films/film_details.php?id=255&searchfield=aparajito|title=Aparajito|publisher=San Francisco Film Society|accessdate=2008-05-29}}</ref> The film also won the [[Bodil Awards|Bodil Award]] for [[Bodil Award for Best Non-European Film|Best Non-European Film of the Year]] at [[Denmark]] in 1967.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmkritik.dk/1b.lasso?n=4|title=Bodilprisen (1960-69)|publisher=Filmmedarbejderforeningen|accessdate=2008-05-29}} {{Da icon}}</ref> |
''Aparajito'' won the [[Golden Lion]] at the 1957 [[Venice Film Festival]] and to date remains the only film [[sequel]] to ever win the award. Ray also won the Golden Gate awards for Best Picture and Best Director at the [[San Francisco International Film Festival]] in 1958 for this film.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://history.sffs.org/films/film_details.php?id=255&searchfield=aparajito|title=Aparajito|publisher=San Francisco Film Society|accessdate=2008-05-29}}</ref> The film also won the [[Bodil Awards|Bodil Award]] for [[Bodil Award for Best Non-European Film|Best Non-European Film of the Year]] at [[Denmark]] in 1967.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmkritik.dk/1b.lasso?n=4|title=Bodilprisen (1960-69)|publisher=Filmmedarbejderforeningen|accessdate=2008-05-29}} {{Da icon}}</ref> |
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Film critic [[James Berardinelli]] wrote: |
Film critic [[James Berardinelli]] wrote: |
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Revision as of 20:59, 10 May 2009
| Aparajito | |
|---|---|
| File:Aparajito title card.jpg Aparajito title card | |
| Directed by | Satyajit Ray |
| Written by | Satyajit Ray, Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay (story) |
| Starring | Kanu Banerjee Karuna Banerjee Pinaki Sengupta Smaran Ghosal |
| Music by | Ravi Shankar |
Release dates |  1956 25 April, 1959 (NYC) |
Running time | 110 min |
| Language | Bengali |
Aparajito ([অপরাজিত Ôporajito] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help); English: The Unvanquished) is an award-winning 1956 Bengali film directed by Satyajit Ray, and is the second part of The Apu Trilogy. It is adapted from the last one-fifth of Bibhutibhushan Bannerjee's novel Pather Panchali and the first one-third of its sequel Aparajita.[1] It focuses on the life of Apu from childhood to college. The film won eleven international awards, including the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
Plot
The film begins with Apu's family getting settled in an apartment close to a ghat in Benares. Here Apu (Pinaki Sengupta) makes new friends. While his mother Sarbajaya (Karuna Banerjee) stays at home, his father Harihar (Kanu Banerjee) works as a priest. On a Diwali day, Harihar develops a fever and rests, as Apu comforts him. The next day, he leaves for his work as usual towards the ghat, ignoring his wife's advice to rest. While coming back to home, he collapses on the stairs of the ghat, and dies soon afterwards.
In Harihar's absence, it becomes Sarbajaya's responsibility to earn money for the family. She starts working as a maid. A relative invites them to return to their ancestral village in Dewanpur (in Rajshahi Division, modern-day Bangladesh). They settle in a village called Mansapota. Apu asks his mother to send him to a school. Apu studies diligently and receives a scholarship to go to Calcutta. Sarbajaya does not want to let her son leave. She gives in and helps him prepare to leave.
Apu (Smaran Ghosal) starts working at a printing press after school. Sarbajaya expects visits from him, but Apu manages to visit only a few times and feels out of place in Mansapota. Sarbajaya becomes seriously ill, but does not disclose her illness to Apu. When he finally comes to know about her poor health, he leaves for the village and finds that she has already died. A relative requests him to stay back there and to work as a priest. Apu rejects the idea. He returns to Calcutta and performs last rites for his mother there.
Cast
- Pinaki Sengupta as young Apu
- Smaran Ghosal as adolescent Apu
- Kanu Banerjee as Harihar, Apu's father
- Karuna Banerjee as Sarbajaya, Apu's mother
Reception
Aparajito won the Golden Lion at the 1957 Venice Film Festival and to date remains the only film sequel to ever win the award. Ray also won the Golden Gate awards for Best Picture and Best Director at the San Francisco International Film Festival in 1958 for this film.[2] The film also won the Bodil Award for Best Non-European Film of the Year at Denmark in 1967.[3]
Film critic James Berardinelli wrote:
- "Aparajito was filmed forty years ago, half way around the world, yet the themes and emotions embedded in the narrative are strikingly relevant to modern Western society (thus explaining why it is called a "timeless classic")... Aparajito is an amazing motion picture. Its rich, poetic composition is perfectly wed to the sublime emotional resonance of the narrative. For those who have seen Pather Panchali, Aparajito provides a nearly-flawless continuation of the journey begun there. Yet, for those who missed Ray's earlier effort, this film loses none of its impact. On its own or as part of the Apu Trilogy, Aparajito should not be missed."[4]
In 1992, Sight & Sound (the British Film Institute's film magazine) ranked The Apu Trilogy at #88 in its Critics' Poll list of all-time greatest films.[5] In 2002, a combined list of Sight & Sound critics' and directors' poll results included Aparajito in its top 160.[6] In 1998, the Asian film magazine Cinemaya's critics' poll of all-time greatest films ranked The Apu Trilogy at #7 on the list.[7] In 1999, The Village Voice ranked The Apu Trilogy at #54 in its Top 250 "Best Films of the Century" list, based on a poll of critics.[8] In 2001, film critic Roger Ebert included The Apu Trilogy in his list of "100 Great Movies" of all time.[9] In 2005, The Apu Trilogy was included in Time magazine's All-Time 100 greatest movies list.[10] At Rotten Tomatoes, Aparajito has a 93% fresh rating based on an aggregate of 14 reviews, with a 100% fresh rating based on reviews from top critics.[11]
Awards and nominations
- Winner - 1957 - Golden Lion of St. Mark for Best Film
- Winner - 1957 - Cinema Nuovo Award
- Winner - 1957 - Critics Award
- Winner - 1960 - Selznick Golden Laurel for Best Film
- Winner - 1957 - FIPRESCI Award
- Winner - 1980 - Wington Award [1]
- Winner - 1958 - Golden Gate for Best Picture
- Winner - 1958 - Golden Gate for Best Director - Satyajit Ray
- Winner - 1958 - International Critics' Award
- Bodil Awards (Denmark)
- Winner - 1967 - Best Non-European Film
- Golden Laurel (United States)
- Winner - 1958-1959 - Best Foreign Film [2]
- British Academy Film Awards (United Kingdom)
- Nominated - 1959 - BAFTA Award for Best Film
- Nominated - 1959 - BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress - Karuna Banerjee
Notes
- ^ Robinson 2003, p. 94
- ^ "Aparajito". San Francisco Film Society. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ "Bodilprisen (1960-69)". Filmmedarbejderforeningen. Retrieved 2008-05-29. Template:Da icon
- ^ James Berardinelli. Reel Reviews URL accessed on 3 April, 2006
- ^ Aaron and Mark Caldwell (2004). "Sight and Sound". Top 100 Movie Lists. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- ^ "2002 Sight & Sound Top Films Survey of 253 International Critics & Film Directors". Cinemacom. 2002. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- ^ Totaro, Donato (January 31, 2003), "The "Sight & Sound" of Canons", Offscreen Journal, Canada Council for the Arts, retrieved 2009-04-19
- ^ "Take One: The First Annual Village Voice Film Critics' Poll". The Village Voice. 1999. Archived from the original on 2007-08-26. Retrieved 2006-07-27.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Roger Ebert (March 4, 2001). "The Apu Trilogy (1959)". rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- ^ "All-time 100 Movies". Time. Time Inc. 2005. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ Aparajito at Rotten Tomatoes
Bibliography
External links
- Aparajito at IMDb
- Aparajito (SatyajitRay.org)
- Comparisons of film versions of Aparajito
- Detailed review of Aparajito
- Reelviews review of Aparajito
