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Bicycle Thieves

8.3

35,612

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Original title: Ladri di biciclette
Year: 1948
Running time: 93 min.
Country: Italy
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Screenwriter: Cesare Zavattini, Vittorio De Sica, Gherardo Gherardi, Suso Cecchi d'Amico, Oreste Biancoli, Adolfo Franci, Gerardo Guerrieri. Novel: Luigi BartoliniSee 4 More
Music: Alessandro Cicognini
Cinematography: Carlo Montuori (B&W)
Cast: Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell, Gino Saltamerenda, Vittorio Antonucci, Giulio Chiari, Fausto Guerzoni, Elena Altieri, Sergio Leone
Producer: Produzioni De Sica (PDS)
Genre: Drama | Neorealism. Job/Employment
Synopsis: After nearly two years of unemployment, Antonio (Lamberto Maggiorani) finally finds work posting bills. But he needs a bicycle to do the job. Unfortunately, he was forced to pawn his own bicycle long ago, so Antonio has to exchange his family's linen for his bicycle. But when the bike is stolen on his first day of work, he must comb the streets of Rome in search of the bike: his family's only means to survival.

Rankings Position

#3 Best Italian Movies of all time
#34 Best Drama Movies
#43 Best Movies in the history of film

Awards: 1949: Oscar: Honorary Award for Best Foreign Lang. Picture. Nom. for Screenplay

1949: Golden Globe: Best Foreign Language Picture

1949: BAFTA Awards: Best Film

1949: 6 Awards from Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists: Incl. Movie, Director

1949: 2 Awards National Board of Review: Best Movie, Director

1949: Film Critics Circle of New York: Best Foreign Language Film

Show 1 more awards

1949: Locarno Film Festival: Special Prize of the Jury

Critics' reviews

"The most important neorealist film after Rossellini's Open City"

Don Druker: Chicago Reader
"A brilliant and devastating film"

Bosley Crowther: The New York Times
"A pure exercise in directorial virtuosity"

Variety
"It's even more involving now than it was then, a singular emotional juggernaut that has the kind of unrestrained power contemporary films can only dream about."

Kenneth Turan: Los Angeles Times
"It is still alive and has strength and freshness (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"

Roger Ebert: rogerebert.com
"[It] remains pure and bracing, an indelible look at postwar Italy (...) 'Bicycle Thieves' gains much of its power from De Sica’s exceptional gifts as an image-maker"

Scott Tobias: AV Club
"The film is a landmark, and one of the greatest humanist films ever made (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"

Clayton Dillard: Slant
Show 4 more reviews

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Ranking Lists Position

3 My Favorite Italian Movies (239)
27 My Favorite Movies from Europe & Latin America (76)
87 My Favorite Dramas (158)

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