Bicycle Thieves [DVD]

*Spoiler alert!* This film has stayed with me though I watched it months ago. I bought it because it was on the IMDb top 250 movies, and this has been one of my best 'finds' yet from that list. :) The plight of the father and son is so well observed in this social realist film. Increasingly, I felt for the poor boy, yet the urgency of the father whose bike was stolen is so sad and understandable. We're compelled to follow him through to an ending that appears inevitable as we see how society creates the moral demise of this family man honestly trying to make the most of his lot; oh how far he falls in his son's eyes! Painful. The everyday surroundings of Italy in the economic aftermath of WWII serve as an intriguing backdrop for the modern viewer. It's true that there are parts that are uncannily like Life is Beautiful, but having seen that most excellent film, it does not detract from this one which differs in style, nor (in my mind) from Life is Beautiful. They're both outstanding films in their own right. The only part of the story I was really unsure of was that surely he has lost his job anyway even if he finds his bike again?? All in all, a heart-tugging story that is equally thought-provoking and interesting to watch. The Bicycle Thieves is probably the oldest film that I will keep to watch again.

this film sticks in my mind as one of the best and purest films made. it is beautifully shot and subtley acted (by amateurs) and it gives out a message to its audience.this was the film that really defined the neo-realism movement. it was the first time that a style or movement could be clearly seen. the film seems so simple, and on one level it is, but at the same time it has underlying motives - humanism vs. fascism for example. but don't let this seemingly heavy subject put you off. the film is so good you can just WATCH the film and not SEE if you want.on one level this film aches with a beauty and heartbreack rarely captured in any text. i rate this higher than any other neo-realism films - rome,open city, paisa or ossessione - and that is because it is so watchable.the film offers up so many questions-about morality, responsibility, masculinity-and does it under the guise of reality-and reality is what is captured on screen in all its beauty and ugliness.please watch this film!

A timeless classic of how adversity can change your filter on life.During the recession a man is struggling to get a job until he finally lands one. Putting up ad's on boards and his only accomplice being his trusted bike. The glimmer of hope is soon transformed into darkness, after his bike is stolen during a job.This sets the backdrop for the movie as the man starts walking the streets with his son with the hope of finding his bike. Desperation and frustration is all but evident in the characters portrayal of a struggling father that is trying his best to provide for his family during a recession.His relationship with his son grows throughout the film as his son tries to provide the much needed hope and encouragement he needs to pursue his search.I love this film, i just wish i found it earlier!

When all has been revised and the cineastes and the opinion formers get asked And What Did You Do for the poor, they might ponder the sincerity of the sentiments before carping on about formalism and dubious politics of defeat. Indeed you would need defeet of clay and a heart of stone not to be grateful for the lad. I suppose it's a bit man and boy and the mama's a cold-hearted undercooked Italian stereotype. And the bit in Mystic Meg's soothsayer's parlour is heavy-handed. But I am a sucker for the Roman light and the man against the world morality tale and the strange vulnerability of the spindly lead in his tatty suit trying to do his best. There's a lot of that in Lincolnshire. And lastly, perhaps the real choker is the kindness of the guy at the end who has a modicum of understanding for the man and boy. If you know the end of The House at Pooh Corner, well it's nothing like that, but somehow very similar.

I was disappointed not to receive the DVD of this wonderful film but am pretty sure it was the fault of Royal Mail.The distributor (not Amazon) replied swiftly, helpfully and courteously to an earlier review, which simply asked where was the DVD.It would have counted as negative feedback for a small, good firm, so I'm correcting that.Of course Amazon's clumsy system will not, it seems, let me simply send round this message, so have had to rate the item as though ithad arrived.Best,Gill

I think this is a known as a film-buff's film but that's not me. I watched it more out of an interest in bicycles. This film certainly brings it home how important the bicycle was in that time and place.Story wise, I was a bit bored to begin with but then really got into it. This is no spoiler but the final scene in the marketplace (the father and son walking together) is very moving. Incredible acting in that scene.

The Italians produced a series of 'social realist' films in the immediate post war period. Today they would be called docu dramas. This is an outstanding example. Subtly revealing the poverty inequalies and sadness of those on the knife edge between survival and penury. The acting is extremely natural seemingly unrehearsed and many of the cast are clearly non-actors. The plot involves an unemployed man on the brink of destitution who is given a job on the basis that he has a bicycle, which is promptly stolen on the first morning of the new job. He and his son (brilliantly played) with increasing desperation try to get the bike back. Extremely sad, without tipping into over sentimentality (US film makes please note) or pathos.