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Bicycle Thieves
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Our DVD Price: £15.99 RRP: 
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Film Description
A simple yet profoundly moving story of one man's struggle for employment and self-respect. The raw and frequently heart-wrenching performances from amateurs Maggiorani and Staiola give the film a natural quality which, along with the underlying social criticism, resulted in an unforgettable milestone film that won an Academy Award for 'most outstanding foreign film' in 1948.
Film Information
| Director | Vittorio De Sica | ||||
| Starring | Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola
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| Genre | World Cinema
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| Country | Italy | Language | ITALIAN | Year | 1948 |
DVD Extras
Restored and remastered; Documentary on director Vittorio de Sica; Orignal theatrical trailer; Original poster artwork and lobby stills.
Technical Details
| Certificate | PG | Length | 94 mins | Label | ARROW | ||
| Cat No | FCD251 | Format | DVD | Black & White | |||
| Region | 0 | Aspect | 1.33:1 | ||||
| Subtitles | English. | ||||||
1 Still
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Share your thoughts and opinions - write a review
Review by cj on 3rd May 2000
Bicycle Thieves is Vittorio De Sica’s most celebrated film and one of the key works of the neo-realist movement, a deceptively simple tale of a working class family man, Antonio Ricci, struggling to make ends meet. His joy and relief at finally obtaining a job bill posting after a period of unemployment is shattered when his bicycle, crucial to his job and only recently rescued from the pawn shop, is stolen on the very first day of his new post. A fruitless search for the bike with his young son Bruno ensues, which serves as a powerful visual chronicle of the humiliating effects of unemployment in post-war Rome and the alienation of proletarian life. De Sica shows ironic tenderness for his characters, observing humanity with sympathetic compassion but without illusion. This wonderful movie remains compelling and moving in equal measure. Once a fixture in all-time top ten polls, Bicycle Thieves has been unfairly neglected in recent years, yet it remains one of the great post war films and essential viewing.
Review by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith on 31st January 2006
Once voted the greatest film of all time, then for a long while out of fashion and more or less out of circulation, Cesare Zavattini and Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves is finally out on DVD. This is a great event, if only because the DVD release gives the lie to the widespread notion that Italian neo-realist films were grainy and ugly to look at. On the contrary, Bicycle Thieves was beautifully shot (on 35 mm Gevaert negative, if you want to know) and is altogether a beautiful film. Its simple story of a man who can only get a job if he has a bike and whose bike is stolen on his first day at work is told economically but with great narrative tension. The acting, by the non-professionals and professionals alike, is wonderfully adapted to the needs of the drama. But what impresses above all is the straightforward and unemphatic picture the film gives of everyday existence in the Italy of 1948, where poverty for most people was a fact of life and the efforts of politicians and charities to alleviate it ineffective it at best. It is clear enough where the film-makers’ political sympathies lie, too far left for the government at the time but not far enough for the young radicals of the next generation. But, like everything else in the film, the politics are worn lightly. There is comedy too, to alleviate the weight of supposedly solemn realism. Watching it now, it is easy to see both why the film was once so highly rated and why it fell out of favour. For modern viewers it inevitably has the air of a period piece, but fifty years on this has become a strength. Bicycle Thieves may no longer be the world as it is, but very vividly it is the world as it was.
View more reviews by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith
Review by Rena Markogiannaki on 25th May 2006
By using untrained actors, natural lighting, a straightforward plot and outdoors filming, the director Vittorio de Sica and writer Cesare Zavattini created one of the best films ever made and an exceptional representation of Italian Neo-Realism.
Italian Neo-Realism emerged in Italy towards the end of the Second World War. Its main characteristics were the representation of everyday life; a style of shooting that endeavoured to depict reality and the use of ordinary people instead of professional actors.
The film focuses on Antonio (Lamberto Maggiorani), an unemployed man who has been offered a job that requires a bicycle. On his first day at work, the bicycle is stolen and Antonio, accompanied by his young son Bruno (Enzo Staiola) is forced to embark upon an anxious search for his stolen bicycle.
By using unique filming techniques and delivering an extremely simple yet truly engaging plot, De Sica makes the viewer aware of the contemporaneous socio-economic reality of post-war Italy. Moreover, the excellent performances of the untrained actors enable viewers to vividly experience the desperation and raw emotions of the inhabitants of post-war Italy.
View more reviews by Rena Markogiannaki
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This film is part of the following Film Collections
A Beginner's Guide to Italian Neo-realism
Including: Bicycle Thieves, La Terra Trema, Miracle In Milan, Ossessione, Rome, Open City, Shoeshine, Umberto D.
Sight and Sound Critics Choice 2002
Including: 2001: A Space Odyssey, Andrei Rublev, Au Hasard Balthazar, Bicycle Thieves, Breathless (Godard, 1959), Charlie Chaplin - City Lights, Fanny and Alexander, Fellinis 8 1/2, Intolerance, Ivan The Terrible (Parts 1 & 2).
This film is part of the following Customer Film Lists
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For Discovery Comments.
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This is your list: the 100 films you've bought the most of in the 10 years of MovieMail's existence. There are some surprise entries and some glaring omissions – but it’s all true, and, frankly, you’ve got very good taste! It’s such a good list that we're going to make it a permanent fixture on our website and to celebrate the launch we’ve slashed many of the prices on these wonderful films. Enjoy!
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The films that MovieMail customers bought in the greatest quantities.
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