Information
- BFI identifier40857
- Date1955 (Release)
- Production countryIndia
- Production company
- SynopsisEveryday life story of a small family in a remote Bengali village. (Synopsis) The first instalment in the `Apu trilogy', adapted from Bibhutibhushan Banerjee's 1929 novel. Tells the story of Apu, a young boy born into a poor but loving family living in a rural Bengali village. When his father leaves for the city to pursue his dream of becoming a playwright, Apu's mother is left struggling to take care of him, his sister and his elderly aunt. (Synopsis)
- Work historyTrilogy note: First part of the informally titled 'Apu Trilogy'. Author name note: The author of the novel on which the film is based is listed here as Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, in keeping with the way he is commonly known in the English-speaking world. He was previously listed here as Bibhutibhusan Banerjee (which was perhaps a reflection of the onscreen subtitle at the time of record creation, transliterated from Bangla; one print available online gives the name in English-language subtitles as Bibhutibhushan Banerji.)
- Genre
- Subject
- Credits
- CastKanu Banerjee (Harihar, the father)
Karuna Banerjee (Sarbajaya, the mother)
Subir Banerjee (Apu, the son)
view full cast
Title
Pather Panchali (Original)
Song of the Little Road (Alternative)
EIDR identifier
10.5240/BE15-DD34-E5C8-1188-26B4-XCategory
Fiction- Collections
- Film / Video
35mm BW Positive - Safety - Combined - Viewing
VHS cassette - Video - Viewing
VHS cassette - Video - Viewing
view all - Scripts / DocumentsScript - Original story: Based on the novel by Bibhuti Bhushan Bandhopadhyaya - SCR-13941
Ephemera: publicity - PBS-40857
Document: correspondence - Two letters from Dilys Powell to the organiser of a season of Powell's favourite films, to be screened at the Secombe Centre, Sutton, in 1991, to celebrate Powell's 90th birthday. Accompanying the first letter, dated 11 May 1991, is a list of Powell's choices divided into 6 'westerns', 6 'foreign' and 8 'favourites'. The second letter, dated 18 May 1991, provides more information as it is accompanied by Powell's reasons for the choice of her favourites. The letters are typewritten with Powell's handwritten corrections and annotations in pen. The films listed are as follows, with short extracts from Powell's commentary on her choices. Film dates are those given by Powell: Eight Favourites 'Bringing Up Baby' (Howard Hawks, 1938) ("my early introduction to American comedy") 'The Grapes of Wrath' (John Ford, 1940) ("startling in 1940 to find Hollywood equal to national tragedy") 'Citizen Kane' (Orson Welles, 1941) ("For me the best film ever made [...] I never see this tale of defeat under pressure without finding some beauty I had not seen before") 'Pat and Mike' (George Cukor, 1952) ("A self-indulgence") 'Rear Window' (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954) ("Impossible to make a list without Hitchcock, the real founder of the thriller") 'Some Like it Hot' (Billy Wilder, 1959) ("It has the best jokes in the business") 'The Lady with the Little Dog' (Josif Heifitz, 1960) ("it really is one of my all-time favourites [...] It is based on a short story by Chekhov; I think it is even better than Chekhov") 'Playtime' (Jacques Tati, 1968) ("The tourists enjoy themselves, the French enjoy themselves, you enjoy yourself") Foreign Films 'Le Million' (Rene Claire, 1932) 'Stolen Kisses' (Francois Truffaut, 1968) 'Umberto D' (Vittorio de Sica, 1953) 'Death in Venice' (Luchino Visconti, 1970) 'Pather Panchali' (Satyajit Ray, 1958) 'The Spirit of the Beehive' (Victor Erice, 1973) Westerns ('all, of course, from America') 'Stagecoach' (John Ford, 1939) '3.10 to Yuma' (Delmer Daves, 1957) 'High Noon' (Fred Zinnemann, 1952) 'Shane' (George Stevens, 1953) 'Red River' (Howard Hawks, 1948) 'The Outlaw Josey Wales' (Clint Eastwood, 1976) - DPS
Small pressbook held.
view all - Posters / DesignsPoster: film - Single sheet landscape - PD-7620
Poster: film - Single sheet landscape - PD-17852
view all - StillsPhotograph: print - Landscape - Black and White - bfi-00n-s03
Photograph: print - Landscape - Black and White - bfi-00m-nh7
Photograph: print - Landscape - Black and White - bfi-00m-nh6
Photograph: print - Landscape - Black and White - bfi-00m-nh5
Photograph: print - Landscape - Black and White - bfi-00m-nh4
view all - Articles
- Books
- Digital documentsBFI Southbank programme notes August 2013
BFI Southbank Programme Notes December 2017
BFI Southbank Programme Notes December 2017
available to view in BFI Reuben Library
- +Pather Panchali
Work - 40857 - 1955 (Release)
India - Film - Fiction
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