Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- witty
- irreverent
- satirical
- classic cinema night
- arthouse film evening
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as an inventive and highly enjoyable entry in Satyajit Ray's work, while noting rough edges from its rapid production and humor that may not travel easily across cultures.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Paresh Chandra Dutta's discovery of a stone that turns iron into gold fuels his transformation from underpaid clerk to socially ambitious opportunist.
The clerk's new riches place his aspirations and public behavior under comic scrutiny, linking personal greed to class hierarchy.
Alchemy enters the mundane life of a middle-aged Bengali clerk, creating contrast between ordinary surroundings and impossible wealth.
The parash pathar directly causes the story's reversals by converting iron into gold on contact.
Films like The Philosopher's Stone, and why
The Devil and Daniel Webster
shared comic fantasy premise, social satire, and critique of greed
The Man Who Could Work Miracles
shared absurdist transformation, moral satire, and escalating farce
Being There
shared magical realism, comic social observation, and middle-class wish fulfillment
Movie Details
- Director
- Satyajit Ray
- Release Date
- 1958-01-17
- Runtime
- 111 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (12)
Cast
- Tulsi Chakraborty
- Kali Bannerjee
- Ranibala
- Gangapada Basu
- Haridhan Mukhopadhyay
- Jahar Roy
- Bireswar Sen
- Mani Srimani
- Santosh Dutta
- Chhabi Biswas
Common questions
- What is The Philosopher's Stone about?
- An impecunious Bengali clerk’s miraculous shortcut to wealth becomes a gleeful satire of greed, status, and social pretension.
- What is The Philosopher's Stone like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Philosopher's Stone as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Philosopher's Stone violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in The Philosopher's Stone.
- What did critics think of The Philosopher's Stone?
- Critics broadly regard the film as an inventive and highly enjoyable entry in Satyajit Ray's work, while noting rough edges from its rapid production and humor that may not travel easily across cultures.
- Which films are like The Philosopher's Stone?
- Films with a similar feel include The Devil and Daniel Webster, The Man Who Could Work Miracles, and Being There.
- How long is The Philosopher's Stone?
- The Philosopher's Stone runs 111 minutes.
