Customer Reviews

Bicycle Thief, the

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Bicycle Thief / Bicycle Thieves (1949)
Drama, Crime, 93 minutes, Italian Language
Directed by Vittorio De Sica
Starring Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola and Lianella Carell

This film shouldn't work. The story is so simple and the actors aren't professionals. But I kept hearing about the film and gave it a try when I found a copy at my local library. That proved to be one of my better decisions.

The story is set in post-war Rome. Jobs are scarce and people queue desperately each day for the chance to earn enough money to feed their families. Antonio Ricci (Maggiorani) accepts a job one morning, but one of the requirements is a bicycle. Although his has been pawned, he lies and says that he has one. His wife helps him pawn other items and he manages to get the bicycle back. That doesn't sound like much of an event, but it's a triumphant moment in the film.

Antonio is so happy to have the job hanging posters and the joy and relief is evident on his face. We feel happy for him. The problem is, someone steals his bicycle. By this point, we are fully invested in the story and the loss feels personal. We realize how important the bicycle is to his survival. The police don't seem interested so Antonio searches the streets with his son.

The film is ranked No. 85 in IMDBs Top 250 at the time or writing and not one of the films above it has fewer votes. It's a shame that it hasn't been seen by more people. I understand that it's over 60 years old, in black and white, and that the language is Italian, but the story is so pure that it's worth seeing. Let's hope for a Criterion Blu-ray release in the near future.

Imagine your family's livelihood depending on a bicycle. In post-war Italy, you compete with hundreds for a job where 25% of the work force is unemployed. The job is yours but it requires you to have a bicycle, something so simple as a bicycle and that bicycle gets stolen on the first day.

Neorealism - This wonderful Italian 1948 classic directed by Vittorio de Sica is an emotional depiction of degradation of the soul, loss of humanity and dignity. The film, one of the best in cinematic history, captures neorealism at its best.
Neorealism involves the use of location settings, non-actor roles, and conversational dialogue instead of literary dialogue, simple camerawork and editing. Neorealism offers a compassionate point of view with morality.

Here, we wish an innocent man with a family to support could find relief, satisfaction, comfort and justice. As for literary dialogue, there isn't anything great said here, it is simple conversation. No great special effects takes place, no shoot-um up bang bang, just plain old post-war Italy depicting real life, poverty, degradation and humanity. The VHS 50 year-old film is gritty and at times it is difficult to read the words.

Desperate - Antonio, a father and husband lands a job and on the first day posting movie billboard posters, the bicycle is stolen! Antonio frantically scours the streets and his little son Bruno tenderly tags along to recover the stolen bicycle. Now keep in mind that little Bruno is in the picture for one reason, and without him, we, the audience, would have a more callous attitude to the ending.

We see signs of post-war economic hard times, like the rows and rows of bicycle parts or hundreds of bedsheets that were pawned. The characters are non-actors in the real streets of Italy. You may need to see it more than once to catch everything or to understand its deeper meaning.

Neorealism Director Vittorio de Sica directed 34 feature films and won numerous international prizes. He was honored with four Academy Awards for "Shoeshine" in 1947 and "Bicycle Thief" in 1949 and other film awards for "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow" in 1964 and "Garden of the Finzi-Continis" in 1971. He died in 1974. I believe "Bicycle Thief" is one of the best.

"The Bicycle Thief" is emotional, prodding one to think explicitly into the actions taken. ...MzRizz

The Bicycle Thief: a very simple, straightforward story, told straight, no plot-twists or fancy story tricks like false endings, etc. This is a simple story: a man who's work requires him to use his own bicycle or lose his job has his bike stolen from him. The rest of the movie is his and his son's attempt to find the thief and get the bike back.
I understand the plot, but I find it just a little hard to imagine life being so harsh as to put a man out of work for having his bike stolen. I'm not saying it's unrealistic; I didn't live in Italy after WWII. But I found it a tad extreme to be honest. It's a great movie, but I don't think it hits its point home as sharply as Rossellini's "Rome Open City".

The DVD is ok - I agree with some reviewers that it could (and indeed should) be transferred at a higher bit-rate with less compression. This film truly derserves the Criterion Treatment if any Italian classic does! It is a better transfer than "Open City", but that's not an excuse. I agree it's time for a quality restoration with more extras and a nice commentary track.

But overall, this is a wonderful classic film full of heart and is a fine product worthy of inclusion in any tasteful home movie collection.

I've been holding off reviewing this film for a long time now. I can't put it into words. I get too scared that I might do it injustice by being pretentious and talkng out of my ass. So I'll just sort of kiss this films ass instead cause if it had an ass it would probably smell like roses.

This is the greatest movie ever made. In my opinion Cinema went downhill after this film cause nothing ever made after this can compare.

I pray that there is one day a DVD re-release of this film that does it justice as so many of you have pointed out. Criterion, where the hell are you? The money you spent on crap like "The Rock" or "Armageddon" could have been spent here.

I have never seen a film with so much raw emotion. Watching this film for me is like an emotional rollercoaster. I must have watched this at least 100 times. This film never fades and has the power to change the lives of those who watch it. It's one of my missions in life to get people to watch this film. Every person I have shown this film to has thanked me.

Anybody who disagrees with me can meet me in the Amazon parking lot. Bring friends.

Interesting note: Sergio Leone (The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly) was assistant director on this film. Though he is uncredited for his work.

A classic of world cinema, "The Bicycle Thief" deals with postwar Italian circumstances with searing impact. Some of the elements may remind you of "It's A Wonderful Life," but let's just say: Frank Capra it ain't! This work is uncompromising, and, as famed playwright Arthur Miller put it, "remorseless." It's a wake-up call, effectively arguing that good, sound minded people can be morally destroyed by obsession and despondency; that what is of no consequence to many is vital to some. Don't jump into buying this movie on the opinions of those who love it; it's not for everyone's taste. Rent it first. If you're looking for "entertainment," look elsewhere. But if you value artistically fine movies that address harsh realities, you will be bowled over by this poignant, involving look into one man's snowballing desperation. This film is a friend for life if you appreciate it!

This DVD version of an important film is terrible. Image Entertainment usually makes good digital transfers, and this disc is no exception. But the cause of my gripe isn't the transfer, it's the print used. The copy that Image offers on this DVD is in DESPERATE need of restoration. There are all manner of imperfections in this print -- blotches, streaks, jumps (sometimes for several frames!), scratches, etc. This makes for a visual and audio shadow of a great movie. As if this weren't bad enough, the subtitles are poor. Too many words are left out in the translation, and the subtitles sometimes come late in relation to the dialogue. On the other side of the ledger, the English dub is excellently done (except for a brief section late in the film, seemingly due to the print). The voices are expertly in sync with the lip movement, and dramatic consistency is achieved by what appear to be Italian actors.

Since there are no special features to speak of on the DVD, I'll share some facts about this film that aren't included on the disc. David O. Selznick (producer of "Gone With The Wind") is reported to have offered backing to "The Bicycle Thief," on condition that Carey Grant play the father. The star, Lamberto Maggiorani, was actually a steel factory worker. When he was done with the film, he went back to work at the factory. There he became somewhat unpopular with his co-workers, who were apparently envious of his newfound fame and fortune. Soon thereafter, he found himself unemployed. The little boy, played by Enzo Staiola, was discovered in a crowd watching work on the movie.

Classic movie about the cruel nature of life, of inescapable fate. The dvd itself is pretty bad, with defects shown in the transfer, along with terrible audio.

Hopefully a re release will be offered, with the latest restoration software being used. The dvd came out early on, before the current restoration techniques were used.

And the audio/subtitles just suck!

I had never heard of this movie when I stumbled on it late one night right before I went to bed. Instead of turning off the TV because it was late and I needed to go to work the next day, I found myself glued to the screen. This movie was unlike any I'd ever seen. Filmed in Italy after WWII, I felt like I caught a glimpse of Italian life in the late 40's. This was not a Hollywood made movie. There was little if no music in the background to manipulate emotions from the viewer yet I was extremely moved by the silence in between the dialogue. There is no Hollywood ending. The movie just ends, but it is not the end of this father and son story. I'm not sure who to reccommend this film too, but I loved it. It was different. I really felt like I was in Rome in the late 40's.

Image Entertainment has done an overall mediocre job on "The Bicycle Thief DVD." On the one hand, the video is excellent: crisp, sharp, a pleasure to behold.On the other, the audio has muted music, diffuse and dull throughout. The memorable, classic film score is rendered a serious blow here. Whereas dialoge is clear and full, the music, so important to this film, is actully of poor quality.To test what could have been, click on the trailer and note the fullness of the score. That's what should have been the case for the film.The overall rating of Image Entertainment's work here is below average. How unfortunate to ruin this great classic.

It's a wonderful movie, but beware: on this DVD, the subtitles are not optional, they're always there, distorting the picture and getting on one's nerves...

There can only be three things that can summarize this film, in my opinion. The expression of the human soul, the strength of love between father and son, and the life of poverty. This film, the director and the players truly have done a superb job in expressing and revealing the human soul, however the audience interprets it to be. Taking kindly to stranger but yet having the need to do the immoral; the love of the father for his son both expressed deeply here and reveals them through their eyes by both actors; the timeliness (post-WWII Italy) of the setting could not be any better to express and develop the character of this film. The Bicycle Thief is an extraordinary film that touches the viewer's intrinsic soul. I highly recommend buying this film in any format or platform. Just see and enjoy.