With 26 films to his credit and numerous international prizes, Satyajit Ray is India's most recognized filmmaker, yet no extended study of his films has previously been published in English in the West. In this book the author examines each of Ray's films in close detail and provides a cinematic examinaton of his style. Film scholars, students of international cinema, and scholars of Indian social history may find this work of interest. Nyce explores Ray's career chronologically to best chart his stylistic development as a filmmaker. Each chapter considers one film and how it expresses the particular quality of rhythm and mood whch characterizes his work. Narrative synopses are first presented, and the opinions of his critics are continually noted and discussed. Included are studies of the following well known films - "Panther", "Panchall", "Aparajito", "Apur Sanar" (the Apu Trilogy), "Jalsaghar" (the music room), "Ashani Sanket" (distant thunder), and "Ghare-Baire" (the home and the world).