The Criterion Collection has quite a few releases coming out this November, but Satyajit Ray’s The Apu Trilogy is certainly the crown jewel among them all. As an American video distribution company that specialises in licensing “important classic and contemporary films,” film aficionados are in for a rare treat with this new release.
After the highly anticipated wait, the boutique label is finally putting Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road), Aparajito (The Unvanquished) and Apur Sansar (The World of Apu) into one must-have set.
Just a few days prior to the 60th anniversary of Pather Panchali’s first theatre release on August 26, film enthusiasts around the world are going to experience the high-resolution home video version of these masterpieces.
These aren’t just barebone releases given spiffy 4K restorations; they come with extras (interviews, documentary excerpts, audio recordings) and basically anything and everything someone who has been waiting for these movies to get officially released stateside could want.
Elsewhere, Michael Haneke’s Code Unknown will mark his first entry into Criterion. The Juliette Binoche starring movie has a new 2K transfer and will include a making-of documentary, vintage interview material featuring Haneke himself, and more.
Akira Kurosawa’s lovely Ikiru gets a Blu-ray upgrade, while there will also be a Julien Duvivier Eclipse set.