Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

The River Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 1, 2015

Jean Renoir's "The River" (1951) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an archival introduction by the director; original trailer for the film; archival video interview with Martin Scorsese; Arnaud Mandagaran's documentary "Around the River" (2008); audio excerpts from an interview with producer Kenneth McEldowney; and new video essay by film writer Paul Ryan. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by scholar Ian Christie and original production notes by Jean Renoir. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The majority of the film takes place in and around the beautiful mansion of a wealthy British family not too far away from the banks of the great Ganges River. The head of the family is a busy man (Esmond Knight) who manages a rather large jute factory. He is well respected by his partners and the locals. His wife (Nora Swinburne) is a quiet but stern woman who unreservedly supports him. The two have five children, four girls and a boy, and are expecting their sixth.

The mansion is often visited by the soft-spoken neighbor Mr. John (Arthur Shields), who has lost his beloved Indian wife and now lives alone. Mr. John likes to spend time with the kids and occasionally talk to the staff. Everyone, including some of the kids, knows that he is lonely.

The arrival of Captain John (Thomas E. Breen), Mr. John’s handsome American cousin who has lost a leg in the war, changes life in the mansion. He immediately impresses the romantic Valerie (Adrienne Corri), whose father is the wealthy owner of the jute factory. Captain John also quickly inspires her best friend in the mansion, Harriet (Patricia Walters), who spends most of her time writing poetry in her secret diary, to dream beautiful dreams.

Around the same time Captain John appears, Mr. John’s daughter, Melanie (Radha), who has just graduated from a Western school, returns home. Like Valerie and Harriet, Melanie is also immediately struck by Captain John’s beauty.

In the days that follow, Valerie, Harriet, and Melanie begin competing for Captain John’s heart. Each of the girls believes that he is a perfect man with whom they could be happy -- though they all see him differently. As they observe each other, and Captain John, they learn invaluable lessons about life.

Based on Rumer Godden’s novel, Jean Renoir’s The River is a borderline meditative film that captures the rhythm of life in India, a country rich in history and culture. It was the French director’s first color film, and the first Technicolor film to be shot on location in India.

Despite the lush visuals, many of which very much remind of Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s impressionist paintings, there is a strong sense of realism in the film. Plenty of the documentary footage Renoir shot while visiting India, for instance, is used to create the framework within which all the drama is set. As a result, hardly any of the dilemmas the girls are eventually presented with feel dated and trivial (a large portion of the film, for instance, is dedicated to Melanie’s quiet struggle with her identity).

Color is treated as a key character. It evolves just as the girls’ feelings towards Captain John do. Natural light and shadow are also carefully used by Renoir to capture as best as possible the authentic beauty of the landscapes seen in the film.

The overwhelming majority of the actors Renoir used did not have professional training. However, the elaborate ritual performances and ceremonies many of them contributed to are amongst the highlights in the film.

During the pre-production process Renoir met with Satyajit Ray, who accompanied him in his search of locations around Calcutta. (Later on, Ray was credited as second unit assistant director). Renoir also hired Subrata Mitra, who would eventually become Ray’s cinematographer, to take stills.

Note: In 1951, The River was nominated for Golden Lion Award and won International Award at the Venice Film Festival.

The River Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jean Renoir's The River arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The River was restored by the Academy Film Archive, in cooperation with the British Film Institute and Janus Films (with the restoration funded by The Film Foundation and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association). The restoration was first released on Blu-ray in France by local distributors Carlotta Films. (You can see our review of the French release here).

I can't see any major discrepancies between the two presentations. The majority of the close-ups boast very good to excellent depth and clarity is consistently pleasing. The wider panoramic vistas also look very good, though I must mention that select transitions can create the impression that there is some unnatural unevenness. Sharpness is very good, but I think that with current technology this is the one area of the presentation where some additional improvements can be made. Colors are stable and saturation is good. There are no traces of compromising digital adjustments. Finally, there are no serious stability issues. All in all, when it comes to presentations of Technicolor films the bar has unquestionably been raised very high by the 2012 restoration of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, but I still believe that The River looks spectacular on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

The River Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles have been provided for the main feature.

The dialog is clean and easy to follow. It is easy to tell that during the restoration various stabilization improvements were made as well. Depth is very good and there are no balance issues. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in this review.

The River Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for The River. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Renoir Introduction - in this archival introduction, Jean Renoir explains how The River came to exist and discusses the production process. In French, with optional English subtitles. (8 min, 1080p).

• Martin Scorsese - in this archival video interview, director Martin Scorsese recalls how he discovered Jean Renoir's The River and explains what makes the film so unique. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in the fall of 2004. In English, not subtitled. (13 min, 1080i).

• Around the River - this wonderful documentary film focuses on the life and legacy of Jean Renoir and the production history of The River. Included in it are archival interviews with director James Ivory, Alexander Sesonske (academic and Renoir's friend), Kenneth McEldowney (producer of The River), Ram Sen Gupta (cameraman), and the great Bengali director Satyajit Ray, amongst others. The documentary was produced by French filmmaker Arnaud Mandagaran in 2008. In English, not subtitled. (60 min, 1080p).

• Kenneth McEldowney - presented here are audio excerpts from an interview with producer Kenneth McEldowney that was conducted exclusively for Criterion in Los Angeles in 2000. In English, not subtitled. (48 min, 1080p).
  
  1. Setting up The River
  2. Casting
  3. Renoir and Rumer Godden
  4. Location anecdotes
  5. Legacy

• Jean Renoir: A Passage Through India - this new visual essay focuses on the life and career of Jean Renoir (with an emphasis on his work after the war) and filming of Rumer Godden's novel The River. Included with the essay are production stills and plenty of archival footage.The essay was produced by film writer Paul Ryan. In English, not subtitled. (15 min, 1080p).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by scholar Ian Christie and original production notes by Jean Renoir.

The River Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The great Technicolor films are slowly transitioning to Blu-ray. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's The Red Shoes, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp and The Tales of Hoffmann, Zoltan Korda's The Four Feathers, Luchino Visconti's Senso, and now Jean Renoir's The River. This film was shot entirely on location in India and has some of the most spectacular visuals that I have seen captured on celluloid. It launched the career of the great Bengali director Satyajit Ray, who assisted Renoir in his search of locations around Calcutta. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.