One of the great cinematic experiences of my life was in the very early sixties when I watched the complete Apu Trilogy in a New York theatre : Pather Panchali, Aparajito and The World of Apu. I was as totally absorbed as one would be reading a great epic novel. Satyajit Ray,s ability to turn the particular into the universal was a revelation to me. I was 18 or 19 years old and had grown up in a very parochial society of Italian-Americans and yet I was deeply moved by what Ray showed of people so far from my own experience. I was moved by how their society and their way of life echoed the same chords in all of us. I then sought out other Ray films like Devi, The Music Room, Two Daughters, and later Distant Thunder.
I was very taken by the style of these films -- at first so much like the Italian neo-realist films, yet surprising the viewer with bursts of sheer poetry. Ray.s use of music impressed me so much that I sought out and eventually found sound-tracks to his films, such as Ravi Shankar,s music from Pather Panchali.
Ray,s magic, the simple poetry of his images and their emotional impact will always stay with me.
Martin Scorsese
New York
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