Pather Panchali

"It is a luminous, transcendental masterpiece."

"A triumph of mood and character..."

"A luminous revelation of Indian life in language that all the world can understand."

"Everything about Pather Panchali... points to the beautiful life of the human spirit."

"The great, sad, gentle sweep of The Apu Trilogy remains in the mind of the moviegoer as a promise of what film can be."

"In the history of cinema, there are a number of great pictures, but only a few miracles. One of those miracles is Pather Panchali..."

"The poetry of the film transcends its locality and speaks to us all."

"One of the legendary debuts in the history of film -- deservedly so."

"There are lovely little threads in the strange fabric."

"Beautiful, sometimes funny, and full of love, it brought a new vision of India to the screen."

"Just how this team of novices fashioned one of cinema's enduring classics is a miraculous mystery."

"Extremely touching in its simplicity, emotional range and visual beauty..."

"The refusal to compromise, to quicken the pace and force the material into a conventional story pattern, is the strength of Pather Panchali."

"(Ray) says he is a better man for having made it. I am a better man for having seen It."

"Ray has caught the sights and sounds of nature... beauty side by side with ugliness -- with a poet's sensitivity."

"Masterfully, Ray balances a growing sense of possibility and a feeling of irreplaceable loss. Its truth is obvious, its beauty no less."

"Satyajit Ray put India on the world map with this felt portrait of life in a Bengal village..."