The work of screenwriter Cesare Zavattini, director Vittorio De Sica, the nonprofessional actors, and many others is so charged with a common purpose that there's no point in even trying to separate their achievements.
Bicycle Thieves
The Prize Picture They Want to Censor!
1948 · 1h 29m · Not Rated
Drama
Directed by
Vittorio De Sica
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Bicycle Thieves
Overview
Unemployed Antonio is elated when he finally finds work hanging posters around war-torn Rome. However on his first day, his bicycle—essential to his work—gets stolen. His job is doomed unless he can find the thief. With the help of his son, Antonio combs the city, becoming desperate for justice.
Director and cast
- Vittorio De Sica Director
- Lamberto Maggiorani as Antonio
- Enzo Staiola as Bruno
- Lianella Carell as Maria
- Gino Saltamerenda as Baiocco
- Vittorio Antonucci as Alfredo Catelli, The Thief
- Giulio Chiari as The Beggar
- Elena Altieri as The Charitable Lady
- Carlo Jachino as A Beggar
- Michele Sakara as Secretary of the Charity Organization
- Emma Druetti Cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
Undeniably the most important neorealist film after Rossellini's Open City.
De Sica carefully balances a generally tragic sensibility with a quiet undercurrent of hope, all the while sucking us into the story with the sheer urgency of the search for a stolen bicycle.
The picture is a pure exercise in directorial virtuosity.
This film manages to appeal to the better angels of our nature in a way that only deepens as we grow older along with the film.
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