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 Pauline Kael wrote, "Beautiful, sometimes funny, and full of love, it brought a new vision of India to the screen". Basil Wright considered it "a new and incontrovertible work of art". James Berardinelli wrote in 1996 that the film "touches the souls and minds of viewers, transcending cultural and linguistic barriers". In 2006 Philip French of "The Observer" called it "one of the greatest pictures ever made". Twenty years after the release of "Pather Panchali", Akira Kurosawa summarised the effect of the film as overwhelming and lauded its ability "to stir up deep passions". The reaction was not uniformly positive.