The Music Room

1958 [BN]

Action / Drama / Music

28
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 91% · 24 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 91% · 1K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.8/10 10 7271 7.3K

music lover suicide loss of loved one servant bankrupt country house

Plot summary

An aging, decadent landlord’s passion for music becomes the undoing of his legacy as he sacrifices his wealth in order to compete with the opulent music room of his younger, richer neighbour.

Director

Satyajit Ray Photo
Satyajit Ray

Top cast

Tarapada Nandy Photo
Tarapada Nandy
Padmadevi Photo
Padmadevi as Mahamaya, Roy's wife
Kali Sarkar Photo
Kali Sarkar as Roy's Servant
Tulsi Lahiri Photo
Tulsi Lahiri as Manager of Roy's Estate
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
834.76 MB
968*720
Bn 2.0
NR
Subtitles bn  
23.976 fps
1 hr 35 min
Seeds 2
1.51 GB
1440*1072
Bn 2.0
NR
Subtitles bn  
23.976 fps
1 hr 35 min
Seeds 19

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by santonus-993-519229 9 / 10

Superb restoration by Criterion Collection

When I first saw the Music Room in a big screen at the Ice-skating Ring Calcutta, I found it to be slow but intriguing. Since then whenever I watched this film, I felt I rediscovered it once again. When I found that the Criterion Collection has released the DVD version, I didn't think twice to buy it from Amazon though the price is more than sum total of all the Satyajit DVD/VCDs I have ever purchased. With a superb digital restoration, it is an audio-visual pleasure to watch the khayal recital in the backdrop of the looming disaster, the Kathak performance, tinkling sound of the chandelier, the night scene and so on. Analysis of the film by the French television channel and by Andrew Robinson is a delightful bonus. What a love and perfection that have gone in to restore this masterpiece from oblivion in this heritage apathetic country!
Reviewed by Bob Pr. 8 / 10

A subtle look at ageing + the pre-Independence Indian caste system

This was seen in the monthly Foreign Film Series in a society for retired university (KU) peeps. This 1958 story is remarkably subtle, about the advancing age and declining wealth of a higher caste Indian man, a Zamindar (landlord), whose income from his inherited lands is dropping from the previous levels of his wealthy ancestors because increasing river floods have lessened his rentable property and income. He's unable to adjust his manner of living to either that change or simultaneous changes in the Indian economy that lead to new economic benefits and social mobility for many in lower castes. He's especially irritated at his nouveau riche lower caste new next door neighbor whose income comes from money lending rather than through inherited property and wealth; he engages in expensive rival concerts which he cannot truly afford and these leave him even poorer. Through two extended flashbacks we learn he had been married and had a son (16? 18?); both wife and son died together on a trip. So he's alone for many years. While Indian music is his primary comfort (played in "the music room" of his palatial home), he also begins to use it as his primary club against his "upstart" neighbor. As he ages we see his memory decline, e.g., asking one of his two remaining servants, "What month is this?" before he presents one last concert for invited guests (and to belittle his rival, his lower caste neighbor, an included guest) before he then embarks on an activity which leads to his death. Great examples of Indian music (but the closed captions on the DVD we saw had white type/lettering which sometimes was not very legible against its background). The movie also very subtly raises the question -- to what extent is this person (one's self or relative or friend) going through parallel sequences in the getting old process?
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