In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Its just a simple story, with a simple point. this is one of my favorite classic movie!

On the surface Vittorio de Sica's Bicycle Thieves doesn't appear to have a story worth filming about, since it is about a poor man whose bicycle gets stolen while on the job, but de Sica has somehow given this neorealistic motion picture such depth and such emotion that it has turned into such a great and personal film which is loved by many.It has to be noted that this is a neorealism picture, meaning that none of the actors in the film were really actors, but random people who are usually associated with their respective role. I did not find out about this until after i watched it, and i was not beginning to doubt it since the actors in this film are just as good as professional ones. Lamberto Maggiorani, who was a steel worker, captures the inner struggles and desperation of his character perfectly with his exceptional facial acting and his true energetic relentlessness in searching for his stolen bicycle.One has to ofcourse understand the struggles of post WWII italy in order to relate to the financial situation of this film, since there were a lot of poor struggling families like the one we follow in the film, and their tale of forlorn attempts to improve. We also have some great black and white cinematography which visually also creates a narrative of its own of how poverty seems to reign in Rome, with many shots of poor homes. The screenplay is as simple as the movie but still consists of so many morally questionable and realistic dialogue such as 'There's a cure for everything, except death'. Also worth a mention is the incredible score by Alessandro Cicognini, whose violins accurately enhance the sad story that is being played out on screen.Especially the final thirty minutes are absolute world class, and the final climax ( Without spoiling anything ) shows its inevitable ending so greatly. The events that unfold in the film might be simple, but it's the kind of film that will make a great emotional impact on you even when the simplest things happen due to the truly realistic depressing feeling and the great connection with the characters.

Bicycle Thieves is directed by Vittorio De Sica. It's also the 2,000th film I've logged on this site, and I can't of a better film to mark this milestone. Bicycle Thieves is a wonderful piece of neo-realism. It's a film that has influenced countless film-makers from Ken Loach to Isao Takahata. Set during the aftermath of post war Italy, it tells the story of a poor working class father that just wants a job so he can support his family. When Antonio is offered a job posting advertising bills, he gladly accepts. The only problem is the job requires a bicycle, which he had previously pawned to keep his family afloat.Without his bicycle he still accepts the job, Antonio and his wife decide to sell all their bed linens towards re-buying his bicycle for his new job. On his first day of work, he gets distracted and a thief steals his bicycle. After getting no help from the Police, Antonio and his young son Bruno set about finding his bicycle before it's gone forever.Bicycle Thieves is a film that is still as relevant today as it was back in 1948. It shows the struggles of the working class post war. It's heartbreaking to watch as Antonio slowly starts to break down and become increasingly more desperate to find his bicycle, just so he can keep hold of his job. The film is a universal story about a working class man that simply wants a job to better his families lives, and despite all his best efforts his desperation turns him towards corruption.The film is held up wonderfully by the two main performances from the father Antonio(Lamberto Maggiorani) who gives a heart-wrenching performance as man close to breaking down, and his son Bruno(Enzo Staiola) who gives a stand-out performance. Enzo Staiola gives one of the best child performances I've seen. His reactions and facial expressions sell the struggles he and his father face, especially when his fathers desperation get him into trouble.Bicycle Thieves is also beautifully shot, again it's another film I've had the pleasure to watch courtesy of Arrow Video's wonderful Blu-ray restoration. Bicycle Thieves is a film that is worthy of all of it's acclaim, and is the definition of a true classic.

Set in Italy after the second world war, Bicycle thieves is an example of Neo-Realism Italian cinema, looking at broken Italy and its broken people trying to survive in poverty.From the opening shot we can see Antonio Ricci as lost all hope. He is in the margins of society and suddenly there is a job opening for putting up posters that requires having a bicycle. However he has no bike, he pawned it. His wife Maria pawns their bed sheets and uses the money to get the bicycle back.For the first time in a long time Antonio believes life is on the up. With the wages and the family allowance he reckons he can look after his family. He finally has hope.This hopes come crashing down when his bicycle is stolen by an opportunistic thief and he searches all over Rome with his son Bruno looking for the bike and thief.Antonio gets increasingly desperate in the search for his bike, by the end he is humiliated and fatalistic. See Antonio almost get knocked over by a truck he does not care.There is a key scene at a restaurant with his son where Bruno eats a pizza and drinks water and Bruno sees a wealthy family eating a sumptuous lunch. Antonio explains to him how important this job was and the money he was going to make meaning he could afford treats like this for the family.Antonio may not had been good in his job but the film explored the men who were marginalized in Italian working class society and it was their wives who had to be practical in order for the families to survive.This is a raw film it is not an easy watch, you suffer as Antonio goes on his fruitless search and you will him to steal a nearby bike and just ride off.