Low-budget film popular 1992 film "El Mariachi", in which the director Robert Rodriguez was unable to afford second takes due to the $7000 budget. Despite this, it was a success both critically and commercially, and started the young director's career. Some of the most critically acclaimed micro-budget films were by the Bengali film director Satyajit Ray, his most famous being "The Apu Trilogy" (1955–1959). The first film in the trilogy, "Pather Panchali" (1955), was produced on a shoestring budget of Rs.200,000 ($3000) using an amateur cast and crew. The three films are now frequently listed among the greatest films of all time.
Pather Panchali Greatest Films of All Time" and 48th in its 2012 directors' poll. In 1998, in a similar critics' poll from Asian film magazine "Cinemaya", "Pather Panchali" was ranked the second-greatest film of all time. "The Village Voice" ranked the film at number 12 (tied with "The Godfather") in its Top 250 "Best Films of the Century" list in 1999, based on a poll of critics. "Pather Panchali" was included in various other all-time lists, including "Time Out"s "Centenary Top One Hundred Films" in 1995, the "San Francisco Chronicle" "Hot 100 Films From the Past" in 1997, the "Rolling Stone" "100