Pather Panchali (1955)
Sometime in the early years of the century, a boy, Apu, is born to a poor Brahmin family in a village in Bengal. The father, a poet and priest, cannot earn enough to keep his family going...(imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Satyajit Ray
Written By: Satyajit Ray, Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay
Starring: Karuna Bannerjee, Tulsi Chakraborty, Kanu Bannerjee, Reba Devi, Aparna Devi, Subir Bannerjee, Uma Das Gupta, Chunibala Devi, Nibhanani Devi, Runki Banerjee, Haridhan Nag
Genre: Drama
Franchise: The Apu Trilogy
AKA: Song of the Little Road
Country: India
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Pather Panchali belongs to 118 collections
1. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (collaborative: moderated by kozan26 - 239 stars)
2. Criterion Collection (collaborative: moderated by caffe - 171 stars)
3. Roger Ebert: Great Movies (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 83 stars)
4. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2008 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Scottathon - 39 stars)
5. New York Times' The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made (collaborative: moderated by theficionado - 32 stars)
6. Passed the Bechdel Test (collaborative: moderated by geohawk - 32 stars)
7. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2010 revision) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 32 stars)
8. The Guardian's 1000 films to see before you die (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 31 stars)
9. Best of criticker: Top 250 (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 27 stars)
10. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2014 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Jehan - 27 stars)
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14. Criterion Collection (Blu-ray) (collaborative: moderated by epiphany - 20 stars)
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16. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 19 stars)
17. Best of criticker: Drama (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 18 stars)
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19. Directorial debut (collaborative: moderated by djross - 16 stars)
20. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2013 revision) (collaborative: moderated by rant1229 - 16 stars)
21. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2011 revision) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 14 stars)
22. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2020 revision) (public: djross - 14 stars)
23. Sight and Sound 2012 (collaborative: moderated by DavidB - 13 stars)
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25. films101.com's 5 star films (collaborative: moderated by ppinocchio - 11 stars)
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82. Swarna Kamal - Best Film (collaborative: moderated by iceblox)
83. Cannes 1956 Official Selection (collaborative: moderated by djross)
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Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 9 |  |
MartinTeller | 98 99th |
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Poetic, beautiful, a perfect creation. I don't know of a finer debut for a director, and that includes Citizen Kane. The photography is exquisite, magical, and utterly transports you into the world of the story. Ravi Shankar's score is sublime. The performances are, bar none, pitch-perfect, including some of the best child actors you'll ever see. The story is authentic and moving, displaying a deep understanding of humanity as it touches on a broad range of experience.
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| 8 |  |
torontodog | 100 99th |
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Every element of this film seems flawless. Even the kid actors are perfect. I gave it 100 because I was completely hypnotized by the movie. More of a life experience rather than entertainment.
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| 8 |  |
Jeb | 87 74th |
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A universal film that's completely poetic and depressing in it's potrayal of one family falling apart day by day. The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous and utterly hypnotizing, and the acting is great considering all of the cast are un-professionals. No doubt the most explosive, promising powerhouse directorial debut ever. Ray has made it clear that he is very talented.
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| 7 |  |
doctor7 | 95 98th |
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A beautifully shot film with surpisingly good acting from none professional actors. One of the most touching, and sad, movies I have ever seen. A must for any true film enthusiast.
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| 6 |  |
Magb | 95 94th |
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Tragic, but not without a sense of hope. Ray's first movie remains one of his finest, and one of the best directorial debuts ever.
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| 6 |  |
JooJoo | 6 95th |
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Never has a train seemed so alien.
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| 6 |  |
Tds4a | 5 99th |
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There's nothing I'd rather watch than a movie of peasants eating with their hands.
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| 5 |  |
Alex Watkins | 5 91st |
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One of the most poetic movies I've ever seen, simplistic but heartbreaking and beautiful. The cinematography is stellar, the score by Shankar is lovely, the acting is outstanding (and by nonprofessionals no less), the direction by Ray more or less perfect. Not just one of the finest feature film debuts ever, but one of the greatest movies of all-time.
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| 5 |  |
frederic_g54 | 10 97th |
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A journey into the the unknown, "Pather Panchali" is
one of the great films cinema has to offer. Although heavily influenced by Italian neorealism, it felt like witnessing a birth, something new and vivid. There's a line I will never
forget: "It's not your fault, it's just bad luck". It ranks among classics like "Time of the Gypsies" and "Bicycle Thieves".
A visceral experience I won't soon forget, a film
I can't wait to revisit and a film that's worthy of your time.
Highly Recommended !!!
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| 4 |  |
djross | 90 97th |
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Some of the finest things about this movie are those elements, both of story and style, that many directors may have considered the most extraneous, or least important to the unfolding of the narrative. This is all the more remarkable, given the circumstances of the production.
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| 4 |  |
Stain | 100 95th |
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Beautiful film and by far the best in Ray's Apu trilogy. Awesome directorial debut, possibly the best ever
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| 3 |  |
PeaceAnarchy | 87 87th |
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A very touching film with a very fitting score. The acting is very good and the story conveys a lot of emotions in an understated way. It gives some insight into Indian culture both by examining social relationships and through the images shown. While it was never slow it did feel a bit too understated at times.
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| 3 |  |
Suture Self | 9 91st |
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While Apu's family is filmed with an affectionate eye, you quickly realize they're a generation behind, far removed from the cushions of modernity, living simply and in great poverty. Hope for a different life is an alien notion. This sentiment is made especially clear when Apu and Durga come across the train. Once a mystifying sound in the distance, the train seems to materialize from a world they're not meant to be a part of, and disappears as quickly as it came. PS: The music is wonderful.
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| 3 |  |
JakeAesthete | 36 33rd |
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For better or worse, even more than the work of Yasujiro Ozu, this film provides the basic template for every small-scale, low-key "naturalistic" drama from an "exotic" country about the simple lives of "common" people where not much happens, that have populated mid-level film festivals ever since, which critics then praise for it's "warm-hearted", "humanistic" "lyricism" etc. All of which is essentially true, but even more than with Ozu i simply cannot bring myself to give a shit.
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| 3 |  |
Valenzetti | 98 98th |
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A sort of internal documentary of familial relationships, flowing on in tones both passionate and meditative. Ray speaks with faces, hands, beams of light, and gusts of wind, in a vision of the world that sees the images and sounds of the forest, house, and body passing into each other until they can hardly be told apart. Deeply affecting. I lost all sense of time.
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| 2 | kamran | 98 99th |
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Best Film I've ever seen. By far.
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| 2 |  |
Nathan S | 5 93rd |
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It is appropriate that such abject squalor be depicted with a measure of humility; understated, elemental, lyrical (in these ways reminiscent of and rival to Mizoguchi's finest work). I have read this film - and Ray in general - accused of romanticizing poverty, but how can anyone begrudge a film for not reducing its characters to political leverage? It is filled with anguish and despair, but it glorifies an affectionate family portrait, compassionate and humanitarian. Just a magnificent film.
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| 2 |  |
caiman | 97 99th |
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An exquisite movie. Maybe even perfect. Everything gels together on every conceivable level. The story is moving and involving; the characters are genuine; the cinematography is riveting; the performances are impeccable; and the music... oh god the music! I confess that I'm a sucker for a good soundtrack, but this is some of the best film music I've ever heard. Ravi Shankar provides an element of emotion, intensity, sadness, poetry, beauty. It elevates a great movie to masterpiece level.
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| 2 |  |
Bown | 95 98th |
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Not much happens in this film, but it's the right kind of not much, as every scene hides a deeper poetry. It's easy to see how Ray was inspired by films like Bicycle Thieves, but also managed to add his own beautiful style to every single frame. As the film went on I found myself more drawn into the world of these characters, into a culture which was completely new to me. Shankar's score is amazing too.
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| 2 |  |
Noblet | 96 99th |
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One of the best movies I've ever seen. Despite being a low-budget debut effort, every element of this film is truly inspired. The graceful visuals, the wonderful music, the great acting, It's so easy to sympathize with every member of the family. I was absolutely blown away.
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| 2 |  |
lisa- | 7 92nd |
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a beautiful film set in an indian rainforest. enormously expressive and ultimately very sad and touching. could have done with a extra ten minutes scattered around various scenes to let things sit just a little longer - the editing was a mite enthusiastic.
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| 1 |  |
Moribunny | 70 75th |
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"What have things come to, when an old woman has to patch her shawl?". Obviously the work of an inexperienced (if gifted) director, and the rushed editing (it was edited over 10 sleepless days) is a major flaw... but otherwise a wise, understated drama that seems very evocative of rural life in a rainforest (a rarity in cinema). What I find most exceptional is Ray's rich and attentive use of music.
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| 1 |  |
terrymac | 93 99th |
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An absolutely stunning debut film from Ray. Beautifully realised, touching, sad , human and uplifting all at once. Very highly recommended.
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| 1 |  |
Pickpocket | 9 93rd |
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Definitely a film that lives up to the hype. Very beautiful movie and shows the possibilities and potential that film has to offer. Gotta love that train scene.
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| 1 |  |
vesupria | 8 88th |
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Ray's ability to communicate reality through humble cinematography and sincere emotion is breathtaking. He presents a heartbreaking tale of a child's upbringing into a world of poverty and despair. But there is also small hope through the innocence of youth, and Ray captures these scenes both subtlely and meaningfully. A triumph of concept over the need to merely tell a story. The wheels of destiny spin, and God blesses his will upon us and shall we marvel no matter the fruits that we are given.
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| 1 |  |
Icarus | 100 99th |
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This is really an amazing film. Ray is able to imbue this sad story with a sense of hope that transcends the difficulties of life, through the use of music, editing that highlights the continuance of life, and remarkable performances from both of the children and the mother. The final image of the family in the wagon encapsulates the themes of the movie so well, bringing together absolute heartbreak with the hope of life changing for the better.
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| 1 |  |
KasperL | 80 86th |
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A good film and certainly a very impressive debut. For me it never quite achieves the greatness I had been led to expect but the ending did give it additional weight.
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| 1 |  |
Barthalen | 89 95th |
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A touching story about trying to make it through life, day by day. A great score, some wonderful visuals, and great acting all-over. Extra impressive considering this was the directors' debut.
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| 1 |  |
Vandelay1 | 84 94th |
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Nice Movie
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| 1 | sellis | 95 96th |
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I'm amazed at how little of this story is told in words. Only non-image based information is conveyed in sometimes long-winded monologues or brief exchanges to establish or complicate relationships. The meat of the meaning is told through the images. Can't remember the last time I've felt the power of the close-up so strongly. The scene with the mother trying to keep the storm out will stay with me forever. Powerful. The embodiment of earnestness.
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| 1 |  |
billkerwin | 99 98th |
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Not much story here-,but--as we watch the descent of a respected village family into poverty--these fully human characters in a completely realized setting move through time, gaining universality from the spell of Ray's meditative pacing and Shankar's s haunting soundtrack. At the end of this film, you will feel as if you have seen an entire world. All the actors are excellent, but Karuna Banerjee (as the mother) and the elderly Chunibala Devi (as "Auntie") are particularly memorable.
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| 1 |  |
mandy | 9 98th |
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The film seemed slow and dull to begin with,but I was totally drawn in by the fabulously rich portrayal of universal human emotions and deeply moved. Rarely has a black and white film seemed so colourful.
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| 1 |  |
Shellish | 90 96th |
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A strikingly poignant debut from an excellent director. The cinematography alone is enough to make you swoon - a very stirring film. The story concerns the difficulties of poverty and the impact it has on family life.
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| 1 |  |
karamazov. | 91 99th |
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It is astonishingly effective, and even sophisticated, for a DP who was a still photographer who apparently knew nothing about shooting movies at the start of the project.
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| 1 |  |
Vdecraim | 85 87th |
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The biggest strength of Italian neorealism is also its greatest weakness: it's about real people in real locations. That's it. We witness these events, but we don't become part of it. Pather Panchali, in all its simplicity and sweetness, becomes for a brief period of time another life that we might have lived. Ray's film is a living and breathing testament to the power of cinema.
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| 1 |  |
backwardsuit | 94 99th |
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Free from the political baggage of social realism, it reaches out to something more fundamental & human. The directing shows heartfelt restraint that radiates empathy on all its characters yet abstains from broad statements about the world or its people. There's a joyous purity to Ray's touch that is matched by the gloriously evocative score from Ravi Shankar. Lyrical, awe-inspiring & humbly naturalistic masterpiece that captures the flow of life in a beautiful & hard-hitting way.
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| 1 | doyler29 | 100 96th |
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One of the truly miraculous things about this film is how little the narrative matters in a straightforward manner. Ray focuses more on the small, contextual details of life, painting a picture of how this family lives in their community and letting the narrative emerge from this picture.
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| Average Percentile 76.92% from 1036 Ratings |  |