Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye
The Biography of a Master Film-Maker
3rd Edition
Published on 21. October 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
456 pages
978-1-350-25849-5 (ISBN)
Description
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: 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.
Reviews / Votes
Extremely thorough, often perceptive and at times highly entertaining. It is good to have a sympathetic portrait of one of the giants of the cinema. -- Salman Rushdie, London Review of Books A signal salute to integrity. -- Lindsay Anderson, The Spectator Mr Robinson's close analysis of the warp and woof of Mr Ray's work makes an almost unanswerable case for the defense. -- The Economist A glorious book, a feast of research and insight. -- Films and Filming Andrew Robinson has managed to combine research with knowledge and analysis to produce what could become an enduring work of reference on the technique and narrative brilliance of the cinema of Ray. -- India TodayMore details
Edition
3rd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
50 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 231 mm
Width: 158 mm
Thickness: 35 mm
Weight
770 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-25849-5 (9781350258495)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
09/2021
2nd Edition
Bloomsbury Academic
€30.99
Available for download
E-Book
09/2021
2nd Edition
Bloomsbury Academic
€30.99
Available for download
Person
Andrew Robinson is the author of more than two dozen books on a wide range of subjects. They include biographies of artists and scientists such as Rabindranath Tagore and Albert Einstein, a large-format photographic study, Satyajit Ray: A Vision of Cinema (2005), and The Apu Trilogy: Satyajit Ray and the Making of an Epic (2011). He has also written about Ray for major newspapers and magazines, such as the Financial Times, the New York Times, American Cinematographer and Sight and Sound.
Content
SATYAJIT RAY: THE INNER EYE by Andrew Robinson
Preface to the Second Edition and Acknowledgements vii
List of Illustrations x
Note on the Pronunciation and Spelling of Bengali xii
Introduction: Getting to know Ray
1 A Bengali Banyan Tree: The Ray Family
2 Early Years 1921-40
3 Santiniketan and Tagore 1940-2
4 Commercial Artist and Critic 1943-50
5 The Making of Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road) 1950-5
6 The Apu Trilogy 1955-9: Pather Panchali, Aparajito (The Unvanquished), The World of Apu
(Apur Sansar)
7 Comedies: The Philosopher's Stone (Parash Pathar) 1958, Mahapurush (The Holy Man) 1964
8 The Music Room (Jalsaghar) 1958
9 The Goddess (Devi) 1960
10 Three Daughters (Teen Kanya) 1961
11 Kanchenjungha 1962
12 Abhijan (The Expedition) 1962
13 Mahanagar (The Big City) 1963
14 Charulata (The Lonely Wife) 1964
15 Kapurush (The Coward) 1965
16 Nayak (The Hero) 1966
17 Musicals: The Adventures of Goopy and Bagha (Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne) 1969, The
Kingdom of Diamonds (Hirak Rajar Dese) 1980
18 Days and Nights in the Forest (Aranyer Din Ratri) 1969
19 The Calcutta Trilogy: The Adversary (Pratidwandi) 1970, Company Limited (Seemabaddha)
1971, The Middle Man (Jana Aranya) 1975
20 Distant Thunder (Asani Sanket) 1973
21 Detective Films: Chiriakhana (The Zoo) 1967, The Golden Fortress (Sonar Kella) 1974, The
Elephant God (Joi Baba Felunath) 1978
22 The Chess Players (Shatranj ke Khilari) 1977
23 Two 1964, Pikoo 1980
24 Deliverance (Sadgati) 1981
25 The Home and the World (Ghare Baire) 1984
26 Documentaries: Sikkim 1971, Sukumar Ray 1987, Rabindranath Tagore 1961, Bala 1976, The
Inner Eye 1972
27 Unmade Films: Ravi Shankar, The Mahabharata, A Passage to India, The Alien
28 Ray as Designer, Illustrator and Writer
29 'Some Aspects of His Craft': Ray as Film-maker
30 'The Inner Eye'
31 Koh-i-noor: An Enemy of the People (Ganasatru) 1989, Branches of the Tree (Sakha Prasakha)
1990, The Stranger (Agantuk) 1991, and the Legacy of Satyajit Ray
Epilogue: A Century of Satyajit Ray, 1921-2021
A Conversation with Ray
Glossary
Filmography
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Preface to the Second Edition and Acknowledgements vii
List of Illustrations x
Note on the Pronunciation and Spelling of Bengali xii
Introduction: Getting to know Ray
1 A Bengali Banyan Tree: The Ray Family
2 Early Years 1921-40
3 Santiniketan and Tagore 1940-2
4 Commercial Artist and Critic 1943-50
5 The Making of Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road) 1950-5
6 The Apu Trilogy 1955-9: Pather Panchali, Aparajito (The Unvanquished), The World of Apu
(Apur Sansar)
7 Comedies: The Philosopher's Stone (Parash Pathar) 1958, Mahapurush (The Holy Man) 1964
8 The Music Room (Jalsaghar) 1958
9 The Goddess (Devi) 1960
10 Three Daughters (Teen Kanya) 1961
11 Kanchenjungha 1962
12 Abhijan (The Expedition) 1962
13 Mahanagar (The Big City) 1963
14 Charulata (The Lonely Wife) 1964
15 Kapurush (The Coward) 1965
16 Nayak (The Hero) 1966
17 Musicals: The Adventures of Goopy and Bagha (Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne) 1969, The
Kingdom of Diamonds (Hirak Rajar Dese) 1980
18 Days and Nights in the Forest (Aranyer Din Ratri) 1969
19 The Calcutta Trilogy: The Adversary (Pratidwandi) 1970, Company Limited (Seemabaddha)
1971, The Middle Man (Jana Aranya) 1975
20 Distant Thunder (Asani Sanket) 1973
21 Detective Films: Chiriakhana (The Zoo) 1967, The Golden Fortress (Sonar Kella) 1974, The
Elephant God (Joi Baba Felunath) 1978
22 The Chess Players (Shatranj ke Khilari) 1977
23 Two 1964, Pikoo 1980
24 Deliverance (Sadgati) 1981
25 The Home and the World (Ghare Baire) 1984
26 Documentaries: Sikkim 1971, Sukumar Ray 1987, Rabindranath Tagore 1961, Bala 1976, The
Inner Eye 1972
27 Unmade Films: Ravi Shankar, The Mahabharata, A Passage to India, The Alien
28 Ray as Designer, Illustrator and Writer
29 'Some Aspects of His Craft': Ray as Film-maker
30 'The Inner Eye'
31 Koh-i-noor: An Enemy of the People (Ganasatru) 1989, Branches of the Tree (Sakha Prasakha)
1990, The Stranger (Agantuk) 1991, and the Legacy of Satyajit Ray
Epilogue: A Century of Satyajit Ray, 1921-2021
A Conversation with Ray
Glossary
Filmography
Notes
Bibliography
Index