No budget film post-production. Satyajit Ray's debut film, "Pather Panchali" (1955), which was produced on a budget of Along with the other films in Ray's "The Apu Trilogy" the film is frequently listed among the greatest films of all time. In 1960, Ron Rice released "The Flower Thief", starring Taylor Mead, to a positive reception. The film was produced for less than $1000 using black-and-white 16mm 50' film cartridges left over from aerial gunnery equipment used during World War II. In the early 1960s, filmmaker Jack Smith used discarded color-reversal film stock to film "Flaming Creatures". John Waters' 1964 black-and-white film "Hag in
Pather Panchali reception was enthusiastic. "The Times of India" wrote, "It is absurd to compare it with any other Indian cinema ... "Pather Panchali" is pure cinema". Chief Minister Roy arranged a special screening in Calcutta for Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who came out of the theatre impressed. Despite opposition from some within the governments of West Bengal and India because of its depiction of poverty, "Pather Panchali" was sent to the 1956 Cannes Film Festival with Nehru's personal approval. It was screened towards the end of the festival, coinciding with a party given by the Japanese delegation, and only a small