ACF 271: NY's FSLC presents Satyajit Ray retro April 15th thru 30th, 2009

First Light: Satyajit Ray from

the Apu Trilogy to the Calcutta Trilogy

“To have not seen the films of Ray is to have lived in the world without ever having seen the moon and the sun.” - Akira Kurosawa

One of the unfortunately all-too-rare retrospectives of the films of Indian master filmmaker Satyajit Ray begins tomorrow at the Walter Reade Theater of the Film Society of Lincoln Center. It will last 16 Days and offer over 20 films, many sporting new prints. The following two paragraphs from the FSLC sum the series up nicely:

"Little excuse is ever needed to re-examine the work of one of cinema’s greatest auteurs, but the recent spike of interest in India — from its propitious emergence as a major economic power to the worldwide success of Slumdog Millionaire — make this an especially apt moment to witness and celebrate the achievements of Ray.

Scene from "Charulata"

The series spans the Apu Trilogy in the 50s (Pather Panchali, Aparajito, The World of Apu) through the Calcutta Trilogy in the 70s (The Adversary, Company Limited, The Middleman) and features 1960’s Devi (“One of Satyajit Ray’s greatest early films” – Jonathan Rosenbaum), 1964’s Charulata (“Surpasses everything Ray has ever achieved before” – Richard Roud, NYFF) and many new 35mm prints: The Music Room (1958), The Expedition (1962), The Coward and the Holy Man (1965), The Hero (1966), and more."

Complete program info, including descriptions of each film, showtimes, and links to order tickets is available at the Film Society of New York website

Must reading: Terrence Rafferty's New York Times article