Bicycle Thieves (1948) (Ladri di Biciclette)

56 Pictures

8.4	Rating (766 ratings)
8.3	IMDB rating

Add to favorites

Edit page

Buy at Amazon

Directed by

Vittorio De Sica

Starring (View all)

Lamberto Maggiorani
Antonio

Enzo Staiola
Bruno

Lianella Carell
Maria

Elena Altieri
The Charitable Lady

Gino Saltamerenda
Baiocco

Giulio Chiari
The Beggar

Vittorio Antonucci
The Thief

Carlo Jachino
A Beggar

Written by (View all)

Cesare Zavattini
(story)

Suso Cecchi D'Amico

Lists

508 votes

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (1001 items)
list by upidipi

Published 15 years, 7 months ago

874 comments

170 votes

Maybe not the best Films, but my favorites (200 items)
list by Drako Z

Published 13 years, 7 months ago

17 comments

155 votes

Let It Rain - Choose Your favorite rainy scenes (69 items)
list by Villiana

Published 12 years, 2 months ago

83 comments

148 votes

About 350 great films (369 items)
list by The Wolf

Published 15 years, 10 months ago

16 comments

133 votes

6,006 Movies For a Post-Covid World... (6013 items)
list by ToonHead2102

Published 13 years, 6 months ago

14 comments

View all Bicycle Thieves (1948) lists

Bicycle Thieves (1948) Videos

Ladri Di Biciclette (The Bicycle Thieves) Trailer

270 Views

Added 15 years ago

View all Bicycle Thieves (1948) videos

Cover art, photos and screenshots

12 votes

9 votes

5 votes

4 votes

3 votes

View all Bicycle Thieves (1948) pictures (53 more)

Reviews

Unfathomably overrated.

16 years, 7 months ago at May 7 4:52

PvtCaboose91

2 votes

"There's a cure for everything except death."

I know I'm in the severe minority here, but The Bicycle Thief is a film I found to be just tolerable as opposed to great. The film is a poignant character study that was an intrepid move at the time of its release. Critics have hailed it as being an all-time classic and the film even won a special Oscar at the Academy Awards of 1949. read more

bicycle thieves

13 years ago at Dec 1 7:47

bharath

1 vote

Antonio Ricci is an unemployed man in the depressed post-World War II economy of Italy. With a wife and two children to support, he is desperate for work. He is delighted to at last get a good job pasting up posters, but he must have a bicycle. He is told unequivocally, "No bicycle, no job." His wife Maria pawns their bedsheets in order to get money to redeem his bicycle from the pawnbroker.
... read more

Neorrealismo bien hecho

4 years, 11 months ago at Dec 23 17:55

Pacifista O

1 vote

No soy muy fan del neorrealismo italiano, principalmente por la profunda relación que tiene el movimiento con las perspectivas tanto liberales como comunistas, pero eso no quita que pueda apreciar su innovación histórica o los esfuerzos por representar la decadente sociedad post-guerra en la que el abandono del trabajador por parte del gobierno y la ausencia de unidad espiritual hacen que los h... read more

View all Bicycle Thieves (1948) reviews

Description: The recipient of international acclaim, Vittorio de Sica's Italian Neorealist masterwork, THE BICYCLE THIEF, is a treasure of world cinema. After nearly two years of unemployment, Antonio (Lamberto Maggiorani) ... Full Descriptionfinally finds work posting bills. But he needs a bicycle to do the job. Unfortunately, he was forced to pawn his own bicycle long ago. In a humbling, tragic scene, Antonio exchanges 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. After three days of hunting, Antonio a The recipient of international acclaim, Vittorio de Sica's Italian Neorealist masterwork, THE BICYCLE THIEF, is a treasure of world cinema. After nearly two years of unemployment, Antonio (Lamberto Maggiorani) ... Full Descriptionfinally finds work posting bills. But he needs a bicycle to do the job. Unfortunately, he was forced to pawn his own bicycle long ago. In a humbling, tragic scene, Antonio exchanges 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. After three days of hunting, Antonio and his son, Bruno (Enzo Staiola), find the thief (Vittorio Antonucci)--but without witnesses or evidence, the police are unwilling to help Antonio. Hopeless, Antonio and Bruno wander aimlessly through Rome, landing outside of a soccer stadium where hundreds of bicycles are parked. His will broken, Antonio attempts to steal a bike but is caught in the act. Thematically, Vittoria de Sica's THE BICYCLE THIEF details an everyman story of loss of innocence in the face of a destitute society, while the film's poignant acting and directing creates an individual and heart-wrenching tale of one man's struggle to feed his family. The film is often considered one of the masterpieces of 20th century cinema.

Shot on location in Rome, De Sica purposefully avoided the city's most striking monuments in order to make the story more universal. Unable to gain studio funding, De Sica produced the film himself, using the financial support of his friends for backing. Most Neorealist films used non-actors as a means of heightening the reality of the film. Lamberto Maggiroani, the film's lead, was a 39 year old steelworker who lost his real job after the film finished production. THE BICYCLE THIEF won awards from the British Film Academy and the New York Film Critics. It also received the grand prize at the Brussels Film Festival, and an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.

... (more)

Release date: 13 December 1949
UPC: 014381457223

Tags: Italy (26), Drama (24), Italian (17), 1940s (17), 1948 (16), Neorealism (16), Crime (9), Bicycle (8), Unemployment (7), Thief (7), Poster (6), (6), Foreign (5), Chase (5), Social Issues (5), Face Slap (5), Ladder (4), Poverty (3), Catholic Church (3), Father Son Relationship (3)

My tags:

Add tags

Update feed

sdepy83 added this to a list 7 months, 2 weeks ago

Contemplative/Unspoken Movies (1006 movies items)

Stehako added this to a list 7 months, 3 weeks ago

Top Ten Films - Vittorio De Sica (11 movies items)

amongus added this to a list 8 months, 2 weeks ago

My Favorite Movies 2 (111 movies items)

Stehako added this to a list 1 year ago

Favorite Movies of All Time (2021 Edition) (1002 movies items)

" 2020: 407 2019: 403 2018: 399 2017: 400 2016: 396 2015: 388 2014: 387 2013: 385 2012: 381 2011: 380 2010: 374 2009: 371 2008: 364 2007: 355 2006: 359 2005: 367 2004: 370 2003: 418 2002: 465 "

Tirehtoori added this to a list 1 year, 1 month ago

Watched Films - Anno 2023 (167 movies items)

Leviathan added this to a list 1 year, 1 month ago

Favorite Movies (895 movies items)

Leviathan added this to a list 1 year, 1 month ago

Favorite Movies (895 movies items)

moviebuff added this to a list 1 year, 1 month ago

101 Influential Movies You Must See Before You Die (101 movies items)

Leviathan added this to a list 1 year, 1 month ago

Favorite Movies (895 movies items)

amongus added this to a list 1 year, 2 months ago

My Favorite Movies (158 movies items)

diabolical dr voodoo added this to a list 1 year, 3 months ago

Acervo Versátil Home Video (2440 movies items)

Stehako added this to a list 1 year, 3 months ago

Favorite Movies of All Time (2020 Edition) (1001 movies items)

" 2019: 403 2018: 399 2017: 400 2016: 396 2015: 388 2014: 387 2013: 385 2012: 381 2011: 380 2010: 374 2009: 371 2008: 364 2007: 355 2006: 359 2005: 367 2004: 370 2003: 418 2002: 465 "

Stehako added this to a list 1 year, 7 months ago

Favorite Movies of All Time (2019 Edition) (1001 movies items)

" 2018: 399 2017: 400 2016: 396 2015: 388 2014: 387 2013: 385 2012: 381 2011: 380 2010: 374 2009: 371 2008: 364 2007: 355 2006: 359 2005: 367 2004: 370 2003: 418 2002: 465 "

Texal added this to a list 1 year, 7 months ago

Best movies of the 20th century (155 movies items)

Stehako added this to a list 1 year, 8 months ago

Best Movies of the 1940s (100 movies items)

Stehako added this to a list 1 year, 9 months ago

Favorite Movies of All Time (2018 Edition) (1001 movies items)

" 2017: 400 2016: 396 2015: 388 2014: 387 2013: 385 2012: 381 2011: 380 2010: 374 2009: 371 2008: 364 2007: 355 2006: 359 2005: 367 2004: 370 2003: 418 2002: 465 "

ramsobrien added this to a list 1 year, 9 months ago

100ish Films to Return to (793 movies items)

Pacifista O added this to a list 1 year, 10 months ago

The Time-Image (379 movies items)

Pacifista O added this to a list 1 year, 10 months ago

The Movement-Image (396 movies items)

mirinbuddy added this to a list 2 years, 2 months ago

1001 Fav Movies : My History of Film Lover (1011 movies items)

Mr. Saturn added this to a list 2 years, 6 months ago

Socialism (65 movies items)

Stehako added this to a list 2 years, 10 months ago

Favorite Movies of All Time (2017 Edition) (1001 movies items)

" 2016: 396 2015: 388 2014: 387 2013: 385 2012: 381 2011: 380 2010: 374 2009: 371 2008: 364 2007: 355 2006: 359 2005: 367 2004: 370 2003: 418 2002: 465 "

moviebuff added this to a list 2 years, 11 months ago

101 Drama Films You Must See Before You Die (100 movies items)

moviebuff added this to a list 3 years, 1 month ago

Movies Aspiring Filmmakers Should Watch (126 movies items)

Stehako added this to a list 3 years, 2 months ago

Favorite Movies of All Time (2016 Edition) (1001 movies items)

" 2015: 388 2014: 387 2013: 385 2012: 381 2011: 380 2010: 374 2009: 371 2008: 364 2007: 355 2006: 359 2005: 367 2004: 370 2003: 418 2002: 465 "

samira added this to a list 3 years, 4 months ago

L (322 movies items)

rewster voted for an image 3 years, 5 months ago

Stehako added this to a list 3 years, 5 months ago

Favorite Father and Son Movies (50 movies items)

Toby White added this to a list 3 years, 6 months ago

Italian Cinema Watched (58 movies items)

Anautix added this to a list 3 years, 7 months ago

Anautix' Movie Diary 2021 (153 movies items)

"18.04.2021 my rating: 7,0"

JxSxPx added this to a list 3 years, 7 months ago

TCM's Essentials: 52 Must See Movies (52 movies items)

"“The Bicycle Thief is such an important movie and such a devastatingly good movie, maybe the best foreign language film that I’ve seen…. Nonprofessional actors are not used to hitting marks or doing the kind of things that a pro actor would learn to do. So I think it’s all the more amazing that they were able to do it as quickly…and as well as they did.” -Robert Osborne “It is amazing how necessity is the mother of all this fantastic work they do…. I would love to have been on t"

- WreckMe - added this to a list 3 years, 11 months ago

WreckMe's Movie Journal - 2020 Edition (194 movies items)

El Zumbador posted a review 4 years ago

“Mientras que algunas películas se centran en presentar una perspectiva desde el mundo de la gente altamente adinerada, mostrando el cómo los lujos, el hedonismo y la comodidad pueden hundir a un hombre en lo más bajo y la decadencia que para uno todo eso representa, existen otro tipo de cintas que, en su lugar, dan a entender una visión desde la otra cara de la moneda, es decir, desde la bajeza que representa la agonía que se vive entre los pobres.

Ladri di Biciclette, por ejemplo, nos enseña una realidad desde la misma miseria, dándonos una imagen bastante acertada acerca de la desesperación y decadencia que se vivía en aquellos tiempos en Italia.

Comenzando con el apartado técnico, he de decir que me pareció algo bien logrado por la obra.

Muchas d” read more

Maciej-Jakub added this to a list 4 years, 1 month ago

Best Movies 1919-55, 1994- (68 movies items)

"1947 Top10 1. Ladri di biciclette 2. The Follen Idol 3. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 4. Rope 5. The Winslow Boy 6. Germania anno zero 7. The Snake Pit 8. Kaze no naka no mendori 9. Yoidore tenshi 10. The Search"

Stehako added this to a list 4 years, 1 month ago

Favorite Movies of All Time (2015 Edition) (1001 movies items)

" 2014: 387 2013: 385 2012: 381 2011: 380 2010: 374 2009: 371 2008: 364 2007: 355 2006: 359 2005: 367 2004: 370 2003: 418 2002: 465 "

johanlefourbe added this to a list 4 years, 2 months ago

1001 Movies ... my own version (1940's) (90 movies items)

" Notes: To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this flick and I should probably re-watch it at some point. Anyway, it is probably the most famous movie coming from the Italian neo-realist genre and since it is such a classic, I was really glad to finally watch the damned thing. Well, the first thing that stroke me was how simple the story actually was. However, even though it was a simple tale, I was actually impressed by how damned efficient it was. Indeed, I am often amazed and e"

johanlefourbe added this to a list 4 years, 2 months ago