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Bicycle Thieves (1948)

Director: Vittorio De Sica

Time Out rating

Average user rating

7 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

All you ‘Concerned of Actons’ can put down those Biros and half-cocked sawn-offs right now: yes, two stars for one of the Greatest Films of All Time may seem a little derisive, but what a time to reissue this bleak and emotionally manipulative (sorry, ‘poignant’) vision of humanity crushed under the jackboot of destitution and economic downturn! Celebrating its sixtieth, De Sica’s neo-realist lodestone may have retained its vitality over the decades, but whatever sense of anger it whipped up in the disgruntled masses of postwar Rome feels lost to the excessively syrupy score and ‘doe-eyed kid’ sidekick. Sure, the stark location shooting and a yearning central performance from Lamberto Maggiorani – a regular stiff who needs to get his stolen bike back – are beautifully measured, but the laissez-faire approach to metaphor jettisons detail in favour of broader commentary. Why not seek out a DVD of something like ‘The Treasure of the Sierra Madre’ – also 60 this year – to really stoke those feelings of withering disenfranchisement?

Author: David Jenkins

Time Out London Issue 2000/2001, Dec 18-31, 2008

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User reviews of this film

frank said...

Posted on Dec 12 2011 15:19 Trolls should write comments to articles, not the articles themselves... You're havin' a larf...

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Robert said...

Posted on Oct 16 2011 02:43 I do not get it! This is a DULL film, nothing special at all. What the heck is all the rage over this run of the mill film? Oh well, to each his own.......

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Thomas Adès said...

Posted on Aug 17 2011 05:46 This absurd review is a disgraceful cry for attention by a desperate minor critic. Few films have more power to evoke sympathy for the underclass than The Bicycle Thieves, which moves the heart and the head with effortless humanity. Anyone who can't deal with period characteristics like the
beautiful and empathetic score, utterly of its time and place, has no business setting himself up as an expert. This film is a deeply humane plea against injustice. That someone like this critic is able to crap on it so easily shows that it is more relevant than ever.

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cristina said...

Posted on Oct 05 2010 02:54 Although you are certainly entitled to your own opinion, it is apparent that those few whose comments were rather on the negative side have no real understanding of the Italians, Italy, WWII history of Italy, or of this time in Italy's cinematic history. Why bother to even comment? I certainly would not have the background to give an official review of films for which I have no knowledge of historical background or understanding.,,In Italy, I ladri... is considered "mitico".

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Jasperlo said...

Posted on Feb 06 2010 00:33 Don't you realize you're not entitled to have your own opinion? You must like what the cogniscenti dictate, or you have no humanity.
But seriously... I'm with you. I despise this maudlin piece of unsubtle manipulation. (And I like plenty of other slow, bleak movies). de Sica just piles it on. Stupid movie full of cardboard bathos. The only thing it lacks is a puppy in peril, which de Sica gets around to in Umberto D.

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Eric said...

Posted on Jun 19 2009 05:21 You have no idea what you are talking about. De Sica shows social mechanisms by only showing the characters, that is the basis of neo-realism! Go read Zavattini's essay "Some Ideas on Cinema" and then maybe you will finally understand what the hell neo-realism is.

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Anna Moran said...

Posted on Dec 19 2008 11:35 This film is a classic slice of cinema history and has to be the best film from the Italian neo-realist period. I cannot understand why time out has given it 2 stars, yes it's no blockbuster but if you understand the history and the making behind the film, it's attempt to shun fake Hollywood films of the period and address the real life issues that were occuring at the time such as poverty, unemployment and the simple mans struggle to survive in life. In attempt to capture the gritty real life of Italy at the time, no trained actors were used, only natural light was used and no staging. This film really is a masterpiece and paved the way for other filmmakers to start capturing real life in film and not glossing over real life by creating films for escapism. I would recommend this film to anyone, I had to watch it as part of my university course and it is now my favourite film. Not a great deal happens in the film, it's one man and the quest for his bicycle, however its power is in the story and the filming, you are getting an insight into one man's life and his struggle to survive in poverty striken Italy. It's powerful, moving and subtle, a truely great film. Whoever wrote the review for time out, you should maybe learn about neo-realism, I think you're missing the point of the film and discouraging people to see a classic which isn't in the cinema for very long!

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