Product Details

• Actors: Soumitra Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore, Alok Chakravarty, Swapan Mukherjee, Dhiresh Majumdar
• Directors: Satyajit Ray
• Format: Black & White, Subtitled, NTSC
• Subtitles: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: August 13, 1996
• Run Time: 106 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304104294
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #15,400 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #4 in	Video > Art House & International > Asian Cinema > India
  #79 in	Video > Drama > Family Life > Fathers & Sons
  #91 in	Video > Drama > Love & Romance > Marriage

• This is item 3 in The Apu Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

If you ever feel like you've got it tough, watch the Apu trilogy by Satyajit Ray. The World of Apu is the third story in Ray's magnum opus. And yes... things can get worse for our hero, Apu (Soumitra Chatterjee). By now it's the early 1930s, and Apu is a grown man. A dreamer and a writer like his long-dead father, Apu is working on a novel about his life.

When his best friend Pulu (Swapan Mukherjee) asks him to his sister's wedding, Apu has no idea that he'll be the one going home with the bride. Poor Aparna (Sharmila Tagore) is betrothed to an insane man and when his illness becomes apparent, the wedding is cancelled. But Aparna will be cursed unless another bridegroom is found. Apu, in a weak moment, agrees to marry Aparna in return for a job.

Then the unexpected happens. Aparna and Apu fall deeply in love. But will it last? Knowing Apu's luck in the past, the obvious answer is "no," and when Aparna dies in childbirth, Apu is left hating his son, Kajal. Finally, driven by guilt, Apu approaches his son, five years after the death of his beloved wife. Will they be able to salvage some happiness in an already too bleak life? You won't be disappointed in the outcome.

This last installment will leave you wishing Ray had made Apu IV. The music is by Ravi Shankar. --Luanne Brown

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a criminal treatment of a classic film, October 30, 2003

By	A. Roy "loveandfluids" (san francisco) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The World of Apu (DVD)

i'm questioning whether they did anything at all but take the existing vhs edition and simply transfer it to dvd. compared to the vhs edition, one can still find the same scratches and grainy picture quality, the same sub-par sound, and the same embarrassingly inaccurate subtitle translations.

regardless of anything and everything, however, one should walk the desert and cross the seven seas to see this movie. 'the world of apu' is a complex study of the artist, the role of economic conditions on the artist's life, and a commentary on india's traditional marriage system. and yet, with all these topical distinctions, the movie rarely fails to do anything but touch the heart - in light or in break - in the most primitive and simple way possible.

to put things into perspective, this movie encapsulates the most beloved director, actor, actress, and musician of the bengali speaking world in 1959. and in 2003, it is one of the most beloved movies of anyone and in anywhere in the world.

'the world of apu' is not only my personal favorite of the apu trilogy, but along with the stars, the moon, and the air that i breathe - it is one of my favorite things in the world.

criterion, are you out there?

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best films of all time!, October 22, 1999

By A Customer

It is incredibly difficult to review any film by Satyavit Ray because he is an artist without peer...director, screen writer, composer. Unlike so many Hollywood films, Ray's films seem real, not contrived and stike at the core of our feelings. The "World of Apu" is one of the Apu trilogy including also "Aparajito" and "Pather Panchali". Okay, these are black and white films with old soundtracks. But this should not deter you from seeing these classic films. "The World of Apu" is my favorite. It is an incredibly poignant tale of a young man's personal tragedy and how he rediscovers life. It will carry a special meaning for anyone who has ever lost a loved one and worked through grief to hope.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic film!, March 21, 2007

By	D. Pawl "mariposarosa2" (Seattle) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The World of Apu (DVD)

THE WORLD OF APU is the third in the "Apu Trilogy," by the late, great Indian filmmaker, Satyajit Ray.
This film follows the title character, Apu, as a young, un-employed writer (Soumitra Chatterjee), who is searching for work, all the while aspiring to write his first novel. Pulu (Swapan Mukherjee), Apu's best friend from secondary school, has a beautiful young cousin, Aparna (Shamila Tagore), who is engaged to be married. Pulu invites Apu to attend the wedding, only to discover the day of the ceremony that the groom is a madman. Apu is asked to marry the bride, since the wedding day is auspicious and if she doesn't get married at the decided day and time, she is destined to have a life filled with bad luck and unhappiness. Though Apu has never even been in a relationship with a woman, he agrees to marry Aparna to do (as he says) "the honorable thing."

This film takes a look at Apu, his life's struggles and hard deck of cards that life has cast his way. I don't want to ruin the plot details, so I won't elaborate. I will say that the performances are beautiful and the story is wonderfully told. It is at once heartbreaking and inspiring. Highly reccomended......