Director: Vittorio De Sica Cinematographer: Carlo Montuori
One of the major achievements of neo-realism and the film that convinced Satyajit Ray to become a filmmaker, Bicycle Thieves sees De Sica using a non-professional cast to tell the story of a poor father searching post-World War II Rome for his stolen bicycle, without which he will lose the job which was to be the salvation of his young family. It touches broadly on Italy’s institutions and cultures but at its centre is always the grinding poverty of the family, exemplified in the relationship between the well meaning father and the young plucky son who helps him look for the bicycle. It’s the balance between the careful direction with its intricate mise-en-scene, the use of the inexperienced actors, and the input of writing collaborator Cesare Zavattini, who championed the poetics of everyday life and the normal man, that makes Bicycle Thieves the most well known and successful work of De Sica’s long and varied career.
The Criterion Collection (DVD)
The Criterion Collection [Blu-ray]
Filmbox (free trial followed by subscription)
Gold of Naples / Bicycle Thief (1948/1954)
Laser Disc
Blu-ray
Bicycle Thieves (BFI Film Classics) Book
(Italian) POSTER (11″ x 17″)
Bicycle Thief Limited Edition Gold 45 Record Display
- No. 20 on The Pendragon Society’s 1000 Greatest Films of All-Time (2018)
- No. 10 on Sight and Sound Directors Poll Top 100 Films (2012)
- Listed among the top 10 of BFI’s The 50 films you should see by the age of 14 (2005)
CAST
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Directed by Vittorio De Sica
Produced by Ercole Graziadei, Sergio Bernardi, Count Cicogna
Screenplay by Vittorio De Sica, Cesare Zavattini, Suso Cecchi d’Amico, Gerardo Guerrieri, Oreste Biancoli, Adolfo Franci
Music by Alessandro Cicognini
Cinematography Carlo Montuori
Edited by Eraldo Da Roma
Running time 93 minutes
Country Italy
Language Italian