Biography - 'Bicycle Thieves' Effect :: SatyajitRay.org

   "A business trip to London in 1950 proved a turning point. Ray and
    wife travelled to London by ship, a journey that took 16 days.
    With him, he was carrying a notebook in which he had made some
    notes on making a film of Pather Panchali. He wanted the film to
    be shot on actual locations, no make-up with new faces. The
    reaction to this had been negative from his friends. Shooting on
    locations with unknown actors was thought be a totally unfeasible
    idea. In this six-months long stay abroad, Ray saw about a
    hundred films including Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves.
    Bicycle Thieves made a profound impression on Ray. Later, in the
    introduction of 'Our Films, Their Films', he wrote- "All through
    my stay in London, the lessons of Bicycle Thieves and neo-realist
    cinema stayed with me". The film had reconfirmed his conviction
    that it was possible to make realistic cinema with an almost
    entirely amateur cast and shooting at actual locations. He had
    completed his treatment of Pather Panchali on the return journey
    to India by a ship"
 
 - Biography - 'Bicycle Thieves' Effect :: SatyajitRay.org
   http://r4.sharedcopy.com/3djhk