Time ranks 'Pather Panchali' among best films of past ten decades

Time Magazine has unveiled the list of 100 best films from the last ten decades from 1920's to 2010 as per critic Stephanie Zacharek.

Only one Indian film made Time's selection of the top ten films of the last ten decades, that is Satyajit Ray's "Pather Panchali." Robert Weine's "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (1920) is at the top of the list, followed by "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)."

Ray's directorial debut, "Pather Panchali" was based on Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's 1929 Bengali novel of the same name. It has now been included on various lists of the finest films of all time. It is the first installment in Ray's Apu trilogy, which also contains Aparajito and Apur Sansar.

"Pather Panchali" was one of the first Indian films to garner international attention, and it helped to establish the cultural movement known as parallel cinema. 

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The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and Time magazine named it one of the top 100 films of all time in 2005. It was recently the only Indian film to be named to Sight & Sound magazine's prestigious list of the finest films of all time. The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) named it the best Indian film ever made.

Stephanie of Time magazine revealed the process of selecting these 100 films. She sought for films that brilliantly integrate workmanship with an indomitable spirit after more than five decades of discernment. These cinematic treasures typically have outstanding performances that leave a lasting impression on her heart for reasons dear to her.

The list she compiled is not in any specific order, but rather a chronological compilation of what she considers to be the greatest films in history. Among these prestigious selections are timeless classics such as "Bicycle Thieves," "Breathless," "Gone with the Wind," "Seven Samurai, " "Taxi Driver," snd "The Godfather Part II."

Furthermore, blockbuster successes such as "ET the Extra-Terrestrial" and "The Empire Strikes Back" appear on the list, as do two outstanding films by Wong Kar-wai - "In the Mood for Love" and "Chungking Express." More recent additions to the list include Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" and Greta Gerwig's "Little Women."