Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

The Coward Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 25, 2013

Nominated for the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival, Satyajit Ray's "Kapurush: The Coward" (1965) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye. There are no supplemental features on this release. In Bengali, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The beautiful wife

Young screenwriter Roy (Soumitra Chatterjee, Charulata, The Golden Fortress) embarks on a research trip through the Indian countryside. When his car breaks down near a small town, a wealthy tea planter (Haradhan Bannerjee, Mahanagar) invites him to spend the night in his lavish home.

When Roy enters the tea planter’s home, he is shocked to discover that his beautiful wife (Madhabi Mukherjee, Charulata, Calcutta 71) is a woman he was once madly in love with. The planter’s wife also recognizes Roy but treats him as a complete stranger.

Throughout the night the planter, his wife and their guest have drinks and food. The planter does most of the talking – among other things he argues that that Bengali directors can no longer make exciting films and that the people have started ignoring important traditions. Roy casually agrees with everything his host has to say, but cannot stop thinking about his wife.

After several drinks, the planter finally falls asleep. Barely able to contain his excitement, Roy tries to talk to his wife and explain to her that even after all these years he still thinks about her. Assuming that she is unhappy with her life, he also tells her that if she gives him a second chance together they could create the family they once dreamed about. But the wife is reluctant to trust Roy.

On the following day, the planter offers to drive Roy to a nearby train station. He also invites his unusually quiet wife to accompany him. On a dusty road, they take a break, and the planter again falls asleep after a few quick drinks. Having spent the entire night thinking about the past, Roy makes a decisive move.

A smooth jazz score, plenty of whisky, and late-night conversations about cinema and relationships. Indeed, The Coward feels like an exotic film John Cassavetes would have directed, not the great Bengali master Satyajit Ray.

The Coward tiptoes the fine line that separates romance from drama but it has the type of quiet intensity one would typically discover in Alfred Hitchcock’s films. The viewer’s initial impression is that the dilemmas the main protagonists are presented with are fairly simple, but then a series a flashbacks change the entire complexion of the film.

In Ray’s best films, the men are typically strong, highly-motivated individuals, and the women agree with them even when they do not fully agree with them. But this is the way things should be – there is a certain balance of powers in these films that is accepted and respected by both sides. This isn’t the case in The Coward. The old order of things is still present, but the balance of powers is different. Important decisions are now made independently, suggesting that there are new dynamics in the relationships between men and women.

The final sequence at the train station is absolutely brilliant. After it there are two standard outcomes that make perfect sense. But there is also a third one, which is incredibly bold. It makes the film’s title sound quite ironic.

The Coward Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Satyajit Ray's Kapurush: The Coward arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye.

The film has been carefully restored and the overwhelming majority of it looks fantastic. Generally speaking, close-ups boast very good depth while the few outdoor panoramic shots convey pleasing clarity (see screencaptures #3 and 13). Contrast and sharpness levels remain stable. There are no traces of excessive degraining corrections. Problematic sharpening adjustments have not been performed either. Unsurprisingly, the film has strong organic qualities. This being said, the film negative must not have aged particularly well because there are a few sequences where traces of fading are present the restorers have tried to stabilize and rebalance the image, but the temporary drop in quality from frame to frame obviously points to inferior elements (see screencaptures # 5 and 6). Also, some very light effects from warps are present, but once again they have been carefully addressed (see screencapture #14). Still, the overall quality of the technical presentation is excellent, and I have no doubts that those you who have previously seen the film only on DVD will be very pleased with its transition to Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

The Coward Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Bengali LPCM 2.0. For the record, Artificial Eye have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The lossless track has plenty of depth. There is a limited range of nuance dynamics, but Satyajit Ray's jazzy score is lush and well rounded. The dialog is clean, stable, and easy to follow. There are absolutely no cracks, pops, problematic background hiss, or distortions to report in this review.

The Coward Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Most unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on this release.

The Coward Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Western critics who saw Satyajit Ray's Kapurush: The Coward at the Venice Film Festival years ago were apparently not overly impressed with it, but this is probably because the film was so unusual. I think that it is a pitch-perfect film. It is very stylish, unpredictable, and uncharacteristically bold. Hopefully, this new restoration of Kapurush: The Coward will inspire people to reevaluate it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.