The River
Academy Color Restorations

Based on the autobiographical novel by Rumer Godden and filmed in English on location in India, the first color film by French master filmmaker Jean Renoir (son of the Impressionist painter) is a beautiful and poetic story of three teenage girls, two British and one Anglo-Indian, coming of age in Bengal on the Ganges. The Technicolor cinematography by Claude Renoir (Jean's nephew) is breathtaking. With Patricia Walters, Adrienne Corri, Radha, Nora Swinburne, Esmond Knight, Arthur Shields. (US/France/India 1951) 99 min.

Joseph McBride, Associate Professor at San Francisco State University and the author of books on John Ford, Frank Capra, Steven Spielberg and Orson Welles, will introduce the screening, share his personal memories of Jean Renoir and answer questions. The River was restored by the Academy Film Archive in association with the British Film Institute, Janus Films and The Film Foundation, funded with support from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Academy Color Restorations

Presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
in association with the California Film Institute

As part of our ongoing partnership with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, we are pleased to present three films recently restored by the Academy in cooperation with The Film Foundation and other organizations. Smith Rafael Film Center audiences have a rare opportunity to enjoy beautiful new color prints from the Academy Archive. These presentations at the Rafael have been produced by Ellen M. Harrington for the Academy and Richard Peterson for California Film Institute.