Rat-Trap Boxshot
Rat-Trap
India 1981
Length / Main Feature: 116 minutes
Length / Special Features: 22 minutes
Sound: Original mono (restored)
Colour
1.33:1 full frame
Language: Malayalam
Subtitles: English
PAL DVD9  R0
RRP: £12.99
buyRelease Date: 23rd June 2008
Second Run DVD 027
Arguably the true heir to Satyajit Ray, Adoor Gopalakrishnan is regarded as one of India’s most outstanding filmmakers and Rat-Trap was the first film to bring him widespread international acclaim.

Remarkable for its focus on characterization and detail, Rat-Trap is set in rural Kerala. Its story concerns Unni, the last male-heir of a feudal and decaying joint family. His inability to accept the socio-economic changes of a new society result in his gradual withdrawal into a metaphorical rat-trap sprung from his own isolation and paranoia. The decline is vividly told, with colour and music used as a striking and significant constituent of the film’s thematic development.

This is the first-ever DVD release of this award-winning and important Indian film.

more about the film
Rat-trap Stills
Special Features
- Newly filmed interview with director Adoor Gopalakrishnan.
- New digital transfer with restored image and sound, approved by the director.
- New and improved English subtitle translation.
- Optimal quality dual layer disc.
- Booklet featuring a new essay by film historian and author Lalit Mohan Joshi.


Crew
Cast
Karamana - Unni
Sarada - Rajamma, Unni’s younger sister
Jalaja - Sridevi, the youngest sister
Rajam K Nair - Janamma, the elder sister

Directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Story and Screenplay - Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Producer – Ravi
Cinematography - Ravi
Varma Music - M B Srinivasan
Appreciation
"A brilliant character study" Sight & Sound

"Gopalakrishnan constructs his film like a cinematic rondo, making every composition and every camera movement count" Tony Rayns, Time Out

"(Adoor) is to my mind the most original and imaginative filmmaker. Humanist to the core and realist by conviction..." Mrinal Sen

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