Press Release Criterion Press Release: Devi (1960) (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

​

Master filmmaker Satyajit Ray explores the conflict between fanaticism and free will in Devi (The Goddess), issuing a subversively modern challenge to religious orthodoxy and patriarchal power structures. In the waning days of mid-nineteenth-century India’s feudal system, after his son Soumitra Chatterjee) leaves for Kolkata to complete his studies, a wealthy rural landowner (Chhabi Biswas) is seized by the notion that his beloved daughter-in-law (a hauntingly sad-eyed Sharmila Tagore) is the reincarnation of the goddess Kali—a delusion that proves devastating to the young woman and those around her. The opulently stylized compositions and the chiaroscuro lighting by cinematographer Subrata Mitra heighten the entrancing expressionistic intensity of this domestic tragedy, making for an experience that is both sublime and shattering.

FILM INFO​

• India
• 1960
• 93 minutes
• Black & White
• 1.37:1
• Bengali
• Spine #1102
  
  
  

• SPECIAL FEATURES​

  • New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
  • New program featuring interviews with actors Sharmila Tagore and Soumitra Chatterjee, recorded in 2013
  • New video essay by film scholar Meheli Sen
  • New English subtitle translation
  • PLUS: An essay by film critic Devika Girish
    
    Cover based on an illustration by Satyajit Ray
    
    October 26, 2021

 

[Ronald Epstein]

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[Martin_Teller]

An astonishing film, one of my top 100. I hope this release gets more people to check it out.

 

[titch]

An astonishing film, one of my top 100. I hope this release gets more people to check it out.

Agreed - top tier Satyajit Ray, which means it is among the greatest films ever made. I would rate this up there with the legendary Apu Trilogy. The Indian film industry is the largest in the world and so very few films are available to western audiences. The Criterion Collection also has Ritwik Ghatak's The Cloud Capped Star and Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding.

I'm glad that Criterion is continuing to release such a diverse slate and when they release a historical classic with a great new transfer, it is cause for celebration. The only title with anything remotely Bollywood in it, is Terry Zwigoff's Ghost World (the opening titles!).