Profiles the life of the Indian director, and discusses the making of each of his films

A portrayal of noted Indian film maker Satyajit Ray's life and achievements from a perspective that takes into account his family background and the many disparate influences on him, from orthodox Hinduism and Tagore to Hollywood movies and classical music.

Akira Kurosawa said of the great director: 'Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.' Martin Scorsese remarked on Ray's birth centenary in 2021: 'The films of Satyajit Ray are truly treasures of cinema, and everyone with an interest in film needs to see them.' Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye is the definitive biography, based on extensive interviews with Ray himself, his actors and collaborators, and a deep knowledge of Bengali culture. Andrew Robinson provides an in-depth critical account of each film in an astonishingly versatile career, from Ray's directorial debut Pather Panchali (1955) to his final feature Agantuk (1991). The third (centenary) edition includes new material: an epilogue, 'A century of Ray', about the nature of his genius; a wide-ranging conversation with Ray drawn from the author's interviews; and an updated comprehensive bibliography of Ray's writings.

"I can never forget the excitement in my mind after seeing 'Pather Panchali'", noted Akira Kurosawa. Satyajit Ray's three films about the boyhood, adolescence and manhood of Apu, Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajito (1956) and The World of Apu (1959) - collectively known as The Apu Trilogy - are established classics of world cinema. The Trilogy was the chief reason for Satyajit Ray's receiving an Academy Award for lifetime achievement in 1992, just before his death. This book by Ray's biographer and world authority Andrew Robinson is the first full study of the Trilogy. Robinson - who came to know the director well during the last decade of his career - covers the literary and cultural background to the films, their production, their music composed by Ravi Shankar, their aesthetic value, and their complex critical reception in the East and the West, from 1955 up to the present day. Extensively and beautifully illustrated and a pleasure to read, The Apu Trilogy will appeal to anyone captivated by the unique world created by Satyajit Ray.

"Akira Kurosawa said of the great director: 'Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.' Martin Scorsese remarked on Ray's birth centenary in 2021: 'The films of Satyajit Ray are truly treasures of cinema, and everyone with an interest in film needs to see them.' Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye is the definitive biography, based on extensive interviews with Ray himself, his actors and collaborators, and a deep knowledge of Bengali culture. Andrew Robinson provides an in-depth critical account of each film in an astonishingly versatile career, from Ray's directorial debut Pather Panchali (1955) to his final feature Agantuk (1991). The third (centenary) edition includes new material: an epilogue, 'A century of Ray', about the nature of his genius; a wide-ranging conversation with Ray drawn from the author's interviews; and an updated comprehensive bibliography of Ray's writings."--

Satyajit Ray's work put India on the map of world cinema and led Akira Kurosawa to say of him: "Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon." Beginning with Pather Panchali, released fifty years ago this year, Ray won almost every major prize, including an Oscar for lifetime achievement. What makes him unparalleled in cinema is that he was personally responsible for all aspects of his films-from script to music. Published as a lavish album, the hundreds of illustrations in this book include drawings by Ray, film stills and photographs by Nemai Ghosh, who accompanied Ray and observed his work for nearly twenty-five years.

The Definitive Study Of The Life And Work Of India S Greatest Filmmaker Satyajit Ray Was India S First Filmmaker To Gain International Recognition As A Master Of The Medium, And Today He Continues To Be Regarded As One Of The World S Finest Directors Of All Time. His First Film Pather Panchali, Made When He Was In His Thirties, Catapulted Him Into The Forefront Of Young Directors Worldwide When In 1956 The Cannes Film Festival Honoured It As The Best Human Document Of The Year. Several Other Films By Ray, Like Aparajito, Jalsaghar, Charulata, Nayak, Aranyer Din Ratri, Shatranj Ke Khilari, Ghare Baire And Agantuk, Made Over A Career Spanning Five Decades, Are Considered Classics Of Contemporary Cinema. In 1992, Ray Was Awarded The Oscar For Lifetime Achievement By The Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts And Science And, In The Same Year, Was Also Honoured With The Bharat Ratna. First Compared With Robert Flaherty For His Lyrical Use Of Nature And Locations, Ray Is Now Regarded As One Of The Great Neo-Realist Directors. From The Beginning He Rejected The Established Path Of Indian Film Production, Declaring At The Age Of Six: I Ll Go To Germany And Come Back And Make Films. He Absorbed A Remarkably Broad Culture From His Family Which Had Interesting Literary, Artistic And Musical Inclinations. With His Extraordinary Persistence And Capacity For Work, He Simultaneously Equipped Himself With Such Thoroughness That He Was Able To Create A Masterpiece In His Very First Film. Marie Seton S Classic Study Of Ray, The Product Of Thorough Research And A Long And Close Association With The Ray Family, Is The Most Detailed Examination Available Of Ray S Work As Musician, Scenarist And Director. First Published In 1971, It Was Last Updated In 1978, Some Fourteen Years Before Ray Passed Away. This New And Revised Edition Includes Unpublished Pieces From The Author S Further Writings On Ray, And An Afterword That Takes The Story Forward To Ray S Last Film. It Will, Hopefully, Re-Introduce The Genius Of Ray To A Whole New Generation Of Readers And Film Aficionados.