Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

The Hero Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 9, 2018

Satyajit Ray's "The Hero" a.k.a. "Nayak" (1966) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Curzon Artificial Eye. There are no bonus features on this release. In Bengali, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The interview

Uttam Kumar, arguably the greatest Bengali actor of the post-WWII period, plays another iconic actor, Arindam Mukherjee, who is expected in Delhi where he is scheduled to make an appearance at a prestigious event to receive an important award. The trip from his home town to his final destination is a long one, well over 1,000 miles, which means that he must spend almost two full days on a train.

Soon after the train leaves the station, Arindam is annoyed that the morning papers have rushed to report an incident that could damage his reputation -- just hours earlier, while drinking in a popular night club, he lost his cool and caused a massive brawl. If he had stayed home he could have altered the ‘official story’ that the papers have reported, but how can he defend himself while traveling? Now the reporters can embellish the story even more and there is nothing that he can do to stop them. In a desperate attempt to ease a growing headache and avoid the silly chatter and requests for autographs from passengers that may recognize him, Arindam casually enters the dining car and orders a drink. However, after awhile he becomes bored and agrees to do an interview with a young and very beautiful reporter (Sharmila Tagore) from a trendy contemporary magazine that does not offer in-depth coverage of the local box-office.

In the early stages of the interview Arindam sells the same image that he always does whenever he talks to reporters -- he is the confident star that can comfortably navigate through the many challenges that the film industry routinely places in front of successful actors like him. But when the reporter carefully begins to unpeel the many layers of the mask that he has learned to wear over the years, Arindam suddenly realizes that he has paid a hefty price for his professional success and quietly evolved into a unhappy man on the verge of self-destruction.

In a new interview included on this release, professor of cinema studies Meheli Sen compares Satyajit Ray’s The Hero to Federico’s Fellini’s masterpiece 8½ and highlights the similar ways in which their main protagonists begin to reevaluate their lives. The comparison is interesting and justified. Though in Fellini’s film Guido is a prominent director who tries to overcome what seems like a permanent creative block, the protective mask that he wears is essentially identical to the one that Arindam uses early in Ray’s film. Additionally, Ray enters Arindam’s dreams to reveal the vulnerable person behind the mask just as easily as Fellini merges fantasy and reality to expose the conventional fears and flaws of the aging director.

What affects the nature of the introspection that Ray and Fellini’s films offer and ultimately makes them different is their visual style. Fellini’s film is like a giant live portrait whose different elements are constantly repositioned by an artist with an overwhelming imagination, which is why it is visually stunning but at times also perplexingly chaotic. Ray’s film is smaller, leaner, and devoid of glamour. It also casually surrounds its ‘hero’ with ordinary characters that eventually see through his mask and realize that he is just like them.

The Hero 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 The Hero arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Curzon Artificial Eye.

The release is sourced from the recent 2K restoration of the film that was completed by RDB Entertainments. In the United States, earlier this year Criterion also used the same restored master to produce their release of the film, which we have reviewed here. The technical presentation, however, is different. On this release the gamma levels appear slightly elevated and as a result the entire film looks slightly brighter and in some areas a tad flatter. I don't know if this is how the master was created after the restoration was completed or this is simply how the disc was encoded, but on the Criterion release there are proper gamma levels that actually make the film look a tad livelier and fresher (compare screencaptures #1 from the two reviews). The rest of the basic characteristics are practically identical. There are a few areas where minor fluctuations can be observed, but clarity and fluidity are quite pleasing. Traces of damage have also been removed as best as possible. Image stability is very good. my score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Hero Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Bengali LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

In our review of the Criterion release of The Hero I mentioned that there is some footage where the audio has a bit of a 'boxy' quality. The same effect, which I believe is inherited, is present on this release as well. The dialog remain clean, stable, and very easy to follow.

The Hero Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

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

The Hero Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Success often comes at a price that one can fully comprehended only years later, after one has already undergone an irreversible transformation. Sometimes it is easy to come to terms with the 'discovery' and quickly move away from it, but more often than not after the realization there is a very painful recovery period that can cause some permanent scars. The Hero marked the first collaboration between Satyajit Ray and the popular Bengali actor Uttam Kumar, and it is about a very successful movie star who has began realizing that he has sacrificed an awful lot to get to the top. It has some very interesting Fellini-esque overtones that have rightfully compelled many viewers to compare it to the timeless 8½.

Curzon Artificial Eye's release of The Hero is sourced from the 2K restoration of the film that was completed by RDB Entertainments, but I find the technical presentation of the same restoration on Criterion's recent release more convincing. RECOMMENDED.