The Holy Man Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

The Holy Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 27, 2014

Satyajit Ray's "Mahapurush" a.k.a. "The Holy Man" (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 holy man

The wealthy but seriously depressed lawyer Gurupada Mitter (Prasad Mukherjee, The Adventures of Goopy and Bagha) and his beautiful daughter Buchki (Gitali Roy) meet the traveling holy man Birinchi Baba (Charuprakash Ghosh, Abhijan) and his dimwitted assistant (Robi Ghosh, The Young Wife) on a train. Baba quickly impresses Mitter after he forces the sun to ‘wake up’. The lawyer then decides to follow closely the holy man so that he can benefit from his knowledge while looking for the right bachelor to marry Buchki.

Soon after, Buchki reveals to her boyfriend Satya (Satindra Bhattacharya) that she intends to leave him. The revelation shocks Satya. Later on, after he discovers that Buchki’s decision was influenced by Baba’s preaching, it also angers him. Determined to reclaim Butchki, the heartbroken Satya asks his good and well educated friend Nibaran (Somen Bose, Nayak) for help. When Nibaran learns how Baba has dramatically changed the way the lawyer and his daughter look at the world around them, he decides to test the holy man’s supernatural powers.

A large portion of Satyajit Ray’s film is dedicated to Baba’s preaching and the type of reactions it provokes from various characters. These characters can be placed in three different groups: the incredibly naive, the suspicious, and the undecided. While they meet and discuss what they have observed or heard, Ray exposes the weaknesses of their arguments.

The majority of the discussions are hilarious. For example, early into the film Baba eloquently reinterprets popular theories and mocks notable historical figures while trying to gain the respect of the undecided. Once his reputation is established, the man also surprises with a few very effective one-liners. In the second half there is a lot more dry sarcasm and finger pointing, which reveal Ray’s dissatisfaction with different post-war attitudes and ethics.

There are a few minor surprises, which take place after Nibaran decides to test Baba’s supernatural powers, but the film ends with a predictable message. Also, the few important character transformations that occur at the end are not unexpected.

Ghosh is very entertaining as the traveling charlatan. His facial expression and gestures during the demonstrations are simply hilarious. Mukherjee is also likeable as the utterly naive lawyer who suddenly discovers can be exciting again. Roy’s acting is frequently quite melodramatic, but this isn’t too surprising considering the tone of the film and its targets.

Camera movement is very modest, but there are some interesting inserts -- reminding of the quick animated inserts that appear in some contemporary films -- and a few freeze-frames. The latter are essentially used as flashbacks. The film was lensed by cinematographer Soumendu Roy, who also collaborated with director Ray on his next project, the enormously impressive The Coward.

The Holy Man is based on a short story by the great Bengali humorist Rajshekhar 'Parashuram' Basu. Director Ray produced the script for the film.

The Holy Man 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 Holy Man arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye.

The release uses as a foundation a recent 2K restoration of The Holy Man undertaken by RDB Entertainments. The same party is also responsible for the recent restorations of director Ray's The Big City, The Lonely Wife, The Coward, and The Hero. Unsurprisingly, the overall quality of the technical presentation is very similar to that of the other four films. (All five films appear in Artificial Eye's The Satyajit Ray Collection box set).

Detail and clarity are consistently very pleasing. When there is an abundance of natural light close-ups look very impressive; even very small details, such as tiny ornaments and facial pores, are exceptionally easy to see (see screencapture #1). There are only a couple of large panoramic shots, but they also boast terrific depth and fluidity (see screencapture #2). Contrast levels remain stable throughout the entire film. A few sequences appear slightly softer, but it is easy to see that the fluctuations come from light fading. In these areas additional work has been done to stabilize the image. There are no traces of excessive degraining corrections. However, in the aforementioned areas some careful adjustments have been performed to rebalance the image. Nevertheless, the integrity of the film is respected and the final result is very pleasing. Lastly, there are no serious stability issues. I specifically would like point out that the different transitions throughout the film look outstanding. All in all, this is a very convincing restoration and presentation of The Holy Man, which should remain the film's definitive presentation on the home video market. (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 Holy Man 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 Enlgish subtitles for the main feature.

Rather predictably, overall dynamic intensity is quite limited. Only during the staged fire accident at the end of the film there is some noticeable dynamic movement. But such is the film's original sound design -- modest, at best. This being said, the dialog is exceptionally crisp, stable, and easy to follow. Also, it is easy to tell that during the restoration various stabilization enhancements were performed and background hiss removed as best as possible. The English translation is outstanding.

The Holy Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on this Blu-ray release.

The Holy Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Satyajit Ray's The Holy Man reminds of the various films the great Alberto Lattuada directed (Mafioso immediately comes to mind) -- it may look like a casual comedy, but only if one ignores the fact that it actually targets specific post-war attitudes and ethics. It is not as brilliantly acted and thought-provoking as director Ray's next film, The Coward, but it is still very effective. The Holy Man can be purchased on Blu-ray individually and as part of Artificial Eye's The Satyajit Ray Collection box set. RECOMMENDED.