The picture of poverty in post-war Italy is masterfully captured in this story about a father whose job depends on having a bike which is stolen from him. “Bicycle Thieves is delicate, poetic, and pardon the big word, universal. It’s Sunday in Rome, with sun and rain, soup kitchens and rough neighbourhoods, markets and trattorias, and this father and son cross the city in one of the most moving walks in film history. One of De Sica and Zavattini’s masterpieces, shot on the street with amateur actors, Bicycle Thieves is – in the words of André Bazin – “the ideal centre around which gravitate, each in his own orbit, the works of other great directors.”
About the film
Details
- Running time
- 1 hr. 33 min.
- Country, year
- Italy, 1948
- Genre
- Drama
- Language
- Italian, English, German
- Subtitles
- English, Lithuanian
- Age rating
- Pegi 13
Credits
- Director
- Vittorio De Sica
- Screenplay
- Oreste Biancoli, Vittorio De Sica, Adolfo Franci, Gherardo Gherardi, Gerardo Guerrieri, Cesare Zavattini
- Producers
- Giuseppe Amato, Vittorio De Sica
- Cinematography
- Carlo Montuori
- Cast
- Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell
Festivals and awards
- Honorary Award
- geriausias filmas užsienio kalba
- specialus žiuri prizas
Director
Vittorio De Sica
Best known for the 1948 film The Bicycle Thieves, Vittorio de Sica directed more than 40 films, starred in more than 150 and gained critical recognition in both these roles. From the light-hearted, fluffy comedies to more arresting subjects in the wake of WWII and later mainstream endeavours, his works were instrumental in the forming of the canon of post war Italian cinema, their influence still being felt decades later.
