Bicycle Thieves

Bicycle Thieves

  • Director: Vittorio De Sica
  • Writer: Cesare Zavattini,Luigi Bartolini,Oreste Biancoli
  • Countries of origin: Italy
  • Language: Italian, English, German
  • Release date: December 13, 1949
  • Runtime: 1h 29min
  • Sound mix: Mono
  • Aspect ratio: 1.37 : 1
  • Also known as: The Bicycle Thief
  • "Ladri di biciclette" is a feature film directed by the Italian director Vittorio De Sica , starring Lamberto Maziolani and Enzo Steola.
    After World War II, Rome, like many cities, was full of unemployment and poverty. People often struggled for a job opportunity. The film reflects the sad experience of Italian workers after World War II and reflects the social conditions in Italy at that time. 

    Details

    • Release date December 13, 1949
    • Filming locations Citta Valmelaina, Via Salaria, Rome, Lazio, Italy
    • Production companies Produzioni De Sica (PDS), Produzioni De Sica

    Box office

    Budget

    $133,000 (estimated)

    Gross US & Canada

    $371,111

    Opening weekend US & Canada

    $25,377

    Gross worldwide

    $436,655

    Movie reviews

     ( 106 ) Add reviews

    • By Delmer 2022-04-24 07:01:05

      movie in the crowd

      This film can be regarded as one of De Sica's representative works, and it is also a pioneering and great work on par with neo-realistic films such as "Rome, the Unstoppable City", "Tears of the Wind and Candle" and "The Sinking". For all the meaning of the film, you have to go back and read the history of Italy.
      As a defeated country in 1948, Italy can be considered to be in a state of ruin. People still have not come out of the pain of the war. Although it is not in the war era, Italy,...

    • By Antonina 2022-04-24 07:01:05

      Italian neorealism, realistically distressing


        Actually, I knew the outline of the story before I watched it: a family forced by life, a bicycle that brings hope to the whole family, the hateful thief stole the bicycle from the man, and stole the hope of the family, man Finally had to be a bike thief too. So, before I read it, I knew that this was a tragic little story of a low-level character, so small that you didn't know it at all.
        
      1 Realism and Expressionism
        It is said that the two father and son in the play...

    • By Erna 2022-04-23 07:01:40

      Our reality, at least, should be the reality that allows good people to be good people all the time

      After watching this movie, I wanted to tell my friends what kind of miracle I witnessed, but I found that I couldn't express my emotion in one or two words, or even one or two sentences. So, I wrote this topic.

      I think of my dad. He drove a car all his life, worked as a driving school instructor, drove a taxi, and finally drove a bus until retirement. He's skilled and calm, and I've never heard of him having an accident with his car, even a scratch. He has almost all the good old...

    • By Retha 2022-04-23 07:01:40

      Some thoughts on Bruno

      The study of film history has not yet reached the new realism, and I only express my personal feelings.

      After watching the video first, I found that many friends in the discussion forum were discussing why Richie couldn't rent or buy a new bicycle. Although I don't know much about the Italian economic situation in the time of the film, it is not difficult to see that the Ricci family belongs to the lower class of the big city of Rome, and the...

    • By Jade 2022-04-23 07:01:40

      It was originally to deal with homework, the desperate elegy of the people at the bottom.

      The abrupt stop at the end of the movie is really shocking. Legend has it that the movie is a dream-making process. I am still expecting the wicked to be punished and the protagonist to move towards a happy ending in a bright future, but the ending appears after the hero fails to steal a bicycle and his son wipes his tears. Instead of feeling the beauty of the dream, it was the despair and confusion brought about by the dim reality, which also made me understand that it was neorealism. At...

    User comments

      ( 92 ) Add comments

    • By Crawford 2023-09-30 20:07:54

      I finally made up my mind to watch this movie, and I felt very stuck in my heart. It was the feeling that my beliefs had collapsed, and I was very helpless. Thinking about it carefully, in fact, it tells a story that is too simple to be impossible. Many Italian films are like this. They are...

    • By Carolyn 2023-09-23 13:27:33

      Criticism of realism, ordinary people in corrupt Western countries will always live in darkness, and the situation in our country is getting better every...

    • By Jerald 2023-09-13 20:46:29

      A masterpiece of true realism, I feel the helplessness of reality, and the characters are so delicately portrayed, which surpassed the filming level of the film at that...

    • By Oliver 2023-08-01 19:19:12

      Cried. In fact, the structure is more refined. The title of the film brings out a lot of suspense. Ricci said "I had a bicycle" when looking for a job, which made people think that this is a flashback story. Later, when the car was redeemed, the suspense of when the car was lost pushed the story forward. After the car is lost, whether the car is found or not becomes a new motivation for the story. Why is thief plural and smells of destruction when Ricci and Bruno are on the brink of...

    • By Danielle 2023-07-17 05:44:21

      8.5/10. The so-called realism, amateur actors in the 1940s performed such a heart-wrenching story. It is absolutely impossible to say how superb their acting skills are, and they can be said to be in place everywhere. More tears are on the son , Cute-looking people always strengthen the audience's tears, especially watching their father steal a bicycle and get caught, and then beat and abuse the crowd, that kind of...

    Movie plot

    The story takes place in Rome after World War II. The crowd in front of the employment agency was surging, and countless people were waiting for work. Anton, who had been idle for two years, was finally introduced to work at the advertising agency, but there is a condition that he must have a bicycle to work. The wife pawned all the sheets in the house before redeeming the pawned bicycle. Early the next morning, his son Bruno cleaned...
    more about Bicycle Thieves Movie plot

    Movie quotes

    • Employment Officer: Hey, Ricci, remember your bike! You have to have a bike.

      Antonio Ricci: A bike? I have and I haven't. I can't get my hands on it right now. Perhaps in a few days time.

      Employment Officer: You need one straight away or they won't take you on.

      Antonio Ricci: I can do it on foot for the first few days.

      Employment Officer: If you haven't got a bike, you'll have to let someone else take it.

    • Employment Officer: Have you got a bike or haven't you?

      Antonio Ricci: I've got one. I've got one.

      Employment Officer: Remember if you haven't got a bike, there's nothing doing, right?

      Antonio Ricci: Think I'm going to wait another two years? I'll be there with a bike.

    • Maria: You shouldn't have pawned your bike!

      Antonio Ricci: And how were you supposed to eat?