Review by Gary Tooze

Production:

Disc:

Video:

Audio:

• New interview with actor Madhabi Mukherjee (16:33)
• Satyajit Ray and the Modern Woman, a new interview with Ray scholar Suranjan Ganguly (22:25)
• The Coward (Kapurush, 1965), a short feature by Ray that also addresses modern female identity and stars Mukherjee and Soumitra Chatterjee (1:09:48)
• Satyajit Ray (1974), a documentary short by B. D. Garga (13:35)
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by scholar Chandak Sengoopta and a 1980s interview with Ray by his biographer Andrew Robinson

Bitrate:

 

 

 

The Film:

There's a lot of meat in "The Big City.'' Through his story and his images, Ray always presents Arati in a positive light. No matter how bad things become at home, the viewer understands her good intentions, intelligence, quick-wittedness and resolve. She's also beautiful, as are her Bengali co- workers.

Ray's admiration and respect for women comes through clearly. His black-and-white images are clean and graceful, and he loves close-ups that allow viewers to see emotions flicker across the faces of his characters. Equally appealing is the opportunity to listen to the Bengali language, with English phrases tossed in, mostly in the course of office dialogue (a ``none of my business'' here, a ``strictly speaking'' there).

Somewhat more difficult to accept, for me at least, was the pace of the movie, which moves along in such a quiet and stately manner that I was squirming in my seat. There are so many ways in which Ray is entitled to demand respect that I felt absolutely naughty wanting something to happen quickly.

Excerpt from MRQE located HERE

Image :    NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

The Big City arrives on Blu-ray from Criterion. It is on a dual-layered disc. It doesn't look as good as The Music Room but is still an advancement over the boosted SD. The image is a shade crisper and tighter than the PAL DVD.  Contrast has been positively affected by the 1080P resolution but we can only suspect that the source has density issues. We will probably compare to the upcoming AE Blu-ray soon. It is in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio and the thick visuals are consistent and can occasionally look a bit waxy. There is no noise but a smattering of grain. They isn't a lot of depth appearing relatively flat. This Blu-ray has no damage and supplied, by far, the best presentation I have yet seem of the film.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL Reviewed HERE TOP vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

 

 

Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL Reviewed HERE TOP vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

 

 

Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL Reviewed HERE TOP vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

 

 

Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL Reviewed HERE TOP vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

 

 

More Blu-ray Captures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The audio is in the form of a linear PCM mono track in original Bengali. It is clean and unremarkable but consistent. There are few effects but some original music by Satyajit Ray - offering subtle support for his own film.. There are optional English subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'A' disc.

Extras :

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
Another Ray film dealing with his important themes involving modernity and women. The Big City is expertly crafted - Ray gets great performances and his deft touch adds distinctive impact to the narrative. This is a masterpiece and the Criterion Blu-ray package offers the best a/v presentation with important extras. Strongly recommended! 

Gary Tooze

July 30th, 2012

Artificial Eye are releasing their Blu-ray edition in September, 2013