First ever set of Indian movies on 4K UHD

[ravenus]

Criterion announces Apu Trilogy on 4K UHD (02 Jan 2024)

SPECIAL FEATURES

• 4K digital restorations of all three films, undertaken in collaboration with the Academy Film Archive at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and L’Immagine Ritrovata, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the 4K UHD and Blu-ray editions
• In the 4K UHD edition: Three 4K UHD discs of the films and three Blu-rays with the films and special features
• Audio recordings from 1958 of director Satyajit Ray reading his essay “A Long Time on the Little Road” and in conversation with film historian Gideon Bachmann
• Interviews with actors Soumitra Chatterjee, Shampa Srivastava, and Sharmila Tagore; camera assistant Soumendu Roy; and film writer Ujjal Chakraborty
• Making “The Apu Trilogy”: Satyajit Ray’s Epic Debut, a video essay by Ray biographer Andrew Robinson
• “The Apu Trilogy”: A Closer Look, a program featuring filmmaker, producer, and teacher Mamoun Hassan
• Excerpts from the 2003 documentary The Song of the Little Road, featuring composer Ravi Shankar
• The Creative Person: “Satyajit Ray,” a 1967 documentary short by James Beveridge, featuring interviews with Ray, several of his actors, members of his creative team, and film critic Chidananda Das Gupta
• Footage of Ray receiving an honorary Oscar in 1992
• Programs on the restorations by filmmaker Kogonada
• PLUS: Essays by critics Terrence Rafferty and Girish Shambu, as well as a selection of Ray’s storyboards for Pather Panchali

[Jafar]

First ever set of Indian movies on 4K UHD

There will never be a more deserving contender.

[raghuuvir]

Originally Posted by Jafar

There will never be a more deserving contender.

I concur with that. It's quite ironic, considering the speculations that used to reign these forums in the past – I recall various conjectures, ranging from Sholay, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Devdas, and more. Nevertheless, the actual outcome turned out to be exactly what could have been expected, yet eagerly wished for.

[Harvey Dent]

While the upgrade is hugely appreciated , just wondering will the upgrade be worth it ? Will there be any meaningful upgrade in PQ and AQ ?

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by Harvey Dent

While the upgrade is hugely appreciated , just wondering will the upgrade be worth it ? Will there be any meaningful upgrade in PQ and AQ ?

I suspect the AQ will be the same lossless mono track the BD had. PQ, well, you reach a sort of theoretical maximum transparency to the source master. You can admire garibi and majboori in ultra high-def glory

[Jafar]

Not expecting any dramatic improvements over the Blu set (though would love to be proven wrong). Also, looks like it's SDR only.

Originally Posted by Harvey Dent

While the upgrade is hugely appreciated , just wondering will the upgrade be worth it ? Will there be any meaningful upgrade in PQ and AQ ?

[Dragun]

If nothing else, the UHD will improve upon Criterion's generally lacking Blu-Ray compression. I doubt there will be much uptick in detail, especially with Pather Panchali, which was shot on 16mm. And as mentioned, no HDR. If you already have the Criterion Blu-Ray set, there's probably no need to upgrade (though I probably will). But if you don't own it, you might as well get the UHD.

I remember marvelling at how much of a revelation the Sony VHS tapes and Artificial Eye DVDs of the Apu Trilogy were compared to the nth generation VHS of Pather Panchali my dad ordered from an Indian grocery store. Never thought we'd get to own these on UHD!

[raghuuvir]

Originally Posted by Dragun

I remember marvelling at how much of a revelation the Sony VHS tapes and Artificial Eye DVDs of the Apu Trilogy were compared to the nth generation VHS of Pather Panchali my dad ordered from an Indian grocery store. Never thought we'd get to own these on UHD!

That's a nice story!

I wish it were more common to anticipate similar upgrade journeys for classic B&W Bolly films. If the day arrives when "Mughal-E-Azam" and "Pyaasa" are released on high-quality Blu-rays (forget UHD discs) I would be absolutely ecstatic!