--- title: "The Music Room: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-music-room/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-music-room" critics_score: 78 critics_reviews: 9 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Music Room (1958): what the critics said Critics' score 78 from 9 reviews: 6 positive, 3 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond warmly to The Music Room, with praise clustering around its musical performances and its sympathetic but unsentimental portrait of a declining aristocrat. The strongest notices see the music as essential to the tragedy, expressing the protagonist’s pride and distress rather than merely accompanying the story. The photography and haunting atmosphere also draw praise. Across the fuller reviews, a recurring strength is the balance between affection for the central figure and criticism of the feudal values he represents. The recorded scores range from qualified approval to strong enthusiasm, with no negative verdicts. Radio Times offers the clearest reservation: it admires the lead performance but finds the film less cohesive than Ray’s strongest work, suggesting that full appreciation requires an ear for Indian classical music. Three reviews provide no verifiable account of their reasoning, which limits how precisely the less enthusiastic end of the consensus can be described. ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Rating A. 27 July 2011. Tobias praises the film as a masterpiece that brings music and story together with tragic force. He singles out the ecstatic, unsettling finale, where a dancer’s movements express the aristocrat’s turmoil. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-music-room-1798169014) ## The Guardian — Derek Malcolm Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 14 January 1999. Malcolm argues that The Music Room is among Ray’s greatest films and a profound expression of his connection to Indian culture. He especially praises Subrata Mitra’s cinematography and Ray’s score, while noting the film’s affectionate but clear-eyed portrayal of a lonely, declining aristocrat. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/1999/jan/14/derekmalcolmscenturyoffilm.derekmalcolm) ## The New Yorker Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). The critic finds the film a rapturous, aesthetically rich tragedy about art as a necessary luxury. They single out the climactic dance sequence as uncomplicated yet visionary. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/the-music-room) ## Slant Magazine — Glenn Heath Jr. Rating 4/5. 21 July 2011. The review regards Ray’s film as a haunting portrait of pride and feudal decline. It praises the beautiful musical performances and the way their presentation deepens the film’s themes. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/the-music-room/) ## RogerEbert.com Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). The URL identifies this as a Great Movies review of Satyajit Ray’s film. The page is blocked, so its verdict and any specific praise or complaint cannot be verified. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-music-room-1958) ## Time Out Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 15 March 2012. The page identifies a review of Satyajit Ray’s 1958 film, but the review text is unavailable. Its verdict and any specific praise or complaint cannot be determined from the accessible page. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/the-music-room-1) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 16 October 1963. The available information identifies a review of Ray’s film but does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It provides no praise or complaint to single out. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1963/10/16/archives/screen-satyajit-rays-lordly-illusionmusic-room-opens-at-carnegie.html) ## Radio Times — David Parkinson Rating 3/5. The review finds the film poignant, with much to admire in its lead performance and Ray’s balance of progress and decay. It says the film’s cohesion falls short of his best work and that appreciating it fully requires an ear for Indian classical music. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-sc45z9/the-music-room/) ## Paste — Paste Staff Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 17 August 2011. The review regards the film as a pitch-perfect Shakespearean tragedy that balances criticism of its protagonist with sympathy. It especially praises the lovingly filmed, virtuosic musical performances and the film’s haunting atmosphere. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/satyajit-ray/the-music-room-jalsaghar-dvd-review) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-music-room.md