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Bicycle Thieves (1948)

★★ — Bicycle Thieves (1948)

Vittorio De Sica made Bicycle Thieves at the height of Italian neorealism, the post-war movement that rejected studio artifice in favour of location shooting, non-professional casts, and stories drawn from ordinary working-class life. Shot on the streets of Rome in 1947 on a modest budget, the film cast factory worker Lamberto Maggiorani and a child, Enzo Staiola, discovered by chance during casting, in the two central roles. De Sica had already explored neorealist territory with Shoeshine (1946), but this follow-up, adapted from Luigi Bartolini's 1946 novel, became the movement's international calling card, winning an honorary Academy Award and influencing filmmakers across Europe, Japan, and the Americas for decades to come.

For such a hyped film I was really disappointed. Honestly... it's nothing really special at all. Not particularly well acted. Not particularly engaging story. The soundtrack was the best part of the film. Barely better than some of the silent movies from decades prior. Yes I'm probably being harsh to a 75 year old film but I found it boring.

Rating: ★★ | Year: 1948 | Watched: 2025-04-11

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Where to watch (UK)

Stream: Amazon Prime Video · Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Rent: Amazon Video · Curzon Home Cinema
Buy: Amazon Video
Physical: Amazon UK

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