Bicycle Thieves
1948
Vittorio De Sica's remarkable 1947 drama of desperation and survival in Italy's devastating post-war depression earned a special Oscar for its affecting power. Shot in the streets and alleys of Rome, De Sica uses the real-life environment of contemporary life to frame his moving drama of a desperate father whose new job .. Read more
| Starring | Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell |
|---|---|
| Director | Vittorio De Sica |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
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Bicycle Thieves
Vittorio De Sica's remarkable 1947 drama of desperation and survival in Italy's devastating post-war depression earned a special Oscar for its affecting power. Shot in the streets and alleys of Rome, De Sica uses the real-life environment of contemporary life to frame his moving drama of a desperate father whose new job delivering cinema posters is threatened when a street thief steals his bicycle. Too poor to buy another, he and his son take to the streets in an impossible search for his bike. Cast with nonactors and filled with the real street life of Rome, this landmark film helped define the Italian neorealist approach with its mix of real life details, poetic imagery, and warm sentimentality..
| Starring | Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell |
|---|---|
| Director | Vittorio De Sica |
| Studio | ARROW FILMS |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 34 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
| Language | Italian |
| Subtitles | English |
| Released | DVD: 20 Feb 2006 Production year: 1948 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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Scripted by Cesare Zavattini and directed by Vittorio De Sica, this urban parable is the masterwork of the neorealist movement. Exploring the response of ordinary people to the socio-political changes sweeping postwar Italy, the film adopts a “flow of life” structure, comprising vignettes of differing emotional intensity as it follows long-unemployed Lamberto Maggiorani and his son, Enzo Staiola, around Rome in search of the stolen bicycle on which the family depends for its livelihood. Alternating travelling shots of poetic symbolism with stark close-ups of his non-professional leads, De Sica achieves an ironic humanism that can't fail to touch the heart.
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The epitome of Italian neo-realism, the slight human drama is developed so that it has all the force of King Lear, and both the acting and the backgrounds are vividly compelling.
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Most helpful member's review
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36 out of 36 people found this review helpful
If you haven't seen this classic, get it!!
This is a classic movie that I remember seeing 30 years ago with my grandfather, and every 10 years try to see it again. It is one which the images and 'simple' story have stayed with me over many years. Over half a century later, this movie is still powerful, and well worth getting if you have not seen it.
Vittorio De Sica has directed this movie depicting Italy's post WWII depression. Shot in the streets of Rome, using contemporary life of the time, the 'simple' story is of a father whose new job delivering cinema posters is threatened when a street thief steals his bicycle. The father is too poor to buy another bicycle, and he and his son scour the street trying to find another bicycle. The movie has power in in its filming of 'everyday' life and people, and is one of my all favorite movies. The images will stay with you for years later. -
Most recent members' review
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8 out of 9 people found this review helpful
Wish I understood Italian
I think this was probably a great film but only parts of the dialogue, roughly 50%, are subtitled on this edition and it was frustrating not knowing what was being said. There are quite long sequences where there are no subtitles at all. I've always believed that a good director only includes in a film what is important and therefore we don't get the full story if we don't understand the script. Very disappointing.
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