The River [Criterion Collection]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

The River must be seen in its original Technicolor; it is difficult, if not impossible, to imagine anyone fully enjoying this wonderful film while watching a black-and-white TV print. Adapted by director Jean Renoir and Rumer Godden from Godden's own novel, the film is set on the banks of West Bengal. The central character is teenaged British girl Harriet (Patricia Walters), the offspring of a jute-mill owner (Esmond Knight) and his wife (Nora Swinburne). Harriet and her best friend Valerie (Adrienne Corri) harbor a crush for a dashing visitor named Captain John (Thomas E. Breen), who in turn is preoccupied with the hauntingly beautiful Indian girl Melanie (Radha Shri Ram). This languid state of affairs is shaken up by unexpected tragedy involving Harriet's impulsive brother (Richard Foster). The real star of the proceedings is the titular river, exquisitely color-photographed by Claude Renoir (Jean's nephew) and his Indian assistant Ramanda Sen Gupta. The apotheosis of Jean Renoir's lifelong fascination with India, The River served as a launching pad for the directorial career of Satyajit Ray, who met and befriended Renoir during the shooting of this film. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 1
• Subtitle: Eng
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Features:
  • New, high-definition digital transfer from the 2004 film restoration
  • Introduction to the film by Jean Renoir
  • Rumer Godden: An Indian Affair, a 1995 BBC documentary that follows the author as she journeys back to her childhood home in India
  • New video interview with Martin Scorsese, a key figure in the restoration
  • 2000 audio interview with producer Ken McEldowney
  • Stills gallery featuring production photos and publicity stills
  • Original theatrical trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
  • Plus: Essays by film scholars Ian Christie and Alexander Sesonske

AWARDS

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Nominated Best Film - Any Source - 1952 (Jean Renoir)

• National Board of Review

•     Nominated Best Foreign Film - 1951

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Nora Swinburne - The Mother
       Esmond Knight - The Father
       Arthur Shields - Mr. John
       Thomas E. Breen - Capt. John
       Patricia Walters - Harriet
       Suprova Mukerjee - Nan
       Adrienne Corri - Valerie
       Radha - Melanie
       Richard Foster - Bogey
       Penelope Wilkinson - Elizabeth
       Jane Harris - Muffie
       Jennifer Harris - Mouse
       Cecelia Wood - Victoria
       Ram Singh - Sajjan Singh
       Nimai Barik - Kanu
       Triak Jetley - Anil
       June Hillman - Narrator

• Director:

  Jean Renoir

• Producer:

  Kenneth McEldownery

• Screenwriter:

  Jean Renoir, Rumer Godden

• Book Author:

  Rumer Godden

• Cinematographer:

  Claude Renoir, Ramananda Sen Gupta

• Editor:

  George Gale

• Production Designer:

  Eugène Lourié

• Set Designer:

  Bansi Chandragupta

• First Assistant Director:

  Satyajit Ray

REVIEW:

• Unlike other movies that use exotic locales to enhance their subjects, Jean Renoir's The River, shot on location in Bengal, India, doesn't feel like a distant, detached travelogue. Renoir's vision of India is wonderfully poetic and delicately observational, very much in the same rhythm as its surroundings. Renoir was one of the most graceful directors of his era, and the subtlety and depth of his vision is in full flourish in The River. The Eden-like setting complements a tale which captures both the tranquility and the pain of adolescence. This was the director's first color film, impressively photographed by his nephew, Claude Renoir. Although hampered occasionally by inexperienced performances, The River marked Renoir's return to the more humanistic films of his youth. ~ Brendon Hanley, Rovi