#573: RAY, Satyajit: The Music Room (1958)

RAY, Satyajit (India)
The Music Room [1958]
Spine #573
Blu-ray


With The Music Room (Jalsaghar), Satyajit Ray brilliantly evokes the crumbling opulence of the world of a fallen aristocrat (the beloved actor Chhabi Biswas) desperately clinging to a fading way of life. His greatest joy is the music room in which he has hosted lavish concerts over the years — now a shadow of its former vivid self. An incandescent depiction of the clash between tradition and modernity, and a showcase for some of India's most popular musicians of the day, The Music Room is a defining work by the great Bengali filmmaker.

99 minutes
Black & White
Monaural
in Bengali
1:33:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2011
Director/Writers


Based on the short story Jalsaghar by Tarasankar Banerji.

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Forty-page booklet featuring an essay by critic Philip Kemp, a 1963 essay by Ray on the film’s location, and a 1986 interview with the director about the film’s music.

Commentary

None.

Satyajit Ray (1984)

A feature documentary by Shyam Benegal that chronicles Ray’s career through interviews with the filmmaker, family photographs, and extensive clips from his films.

Interviews

With Ray biographer Andrew Robinson and filmmaker Mira Nair.

Excerpt

From a 1981 French roundtable discussion featuring Ray film critic Michel Ciment, and director Claude Sautet.

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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