Apu Trilogy (1955-59)

The first film chronicles Apu's life in a rural village, the second, his move to Calcutta and the loss of his parents, and the third, his life as a young man and poverty-stricken student looking for romance.

Using 16mm black-and-white film and guerrilla filmmaking techniques, Ray created a world where the unpredictable rhythms of real life danced on celluloid. A toothless old woman gums away at fruit, a monkey jumps on an unsuspecting woman trying to get water, and a flock of birds take flight at the moment of death. Just like life, the poetry comes only if you're open to it. A then-unknown Ravi Shankar adds his spirited score to the mix.

Columbia/TriStar has not put much energy into these DVDs; the film stock is still riddled with dirt and flaws, the English subtitles are non-optional and there are no extras. But this stripped-down approach somehow adds a certain appropriate charm to these particular films.