Bicycle Thieves (Italian: Ladri di biciclette; sometimes known in the
United States as The Bicycle Thief) is a 1948 Italian neorealist drama
film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It follows the story of a poor
father searching post-World War II Rome for his stolen bicycle,
without which he will lose the job which was to be the salvation of
his young family.Adapted for the screen by Cesare Zavattini from the
1946 novel by Luigi Bartolini, and starring Lamberto Maggiorani as the
desperate father and Enzo Staiola as his plucky young son, Bicycle
Thieves received an Academy Honorary Award (most outstanding foreign
language film) in 1950 and, in 1952 was deemed the greatest film of
all time by Sight & Sound magazine's poll of filmmakers and critics;
fifty years later another poll organized by the same magazine ranked
it sixth among the greatest-ever films. The film was also cited by
Turner Classic Movies as one of the most influential films in cinema
history, and it is considered part of the canon of classic cinema.In
the post-World War II Val Melaina neighbourhood of Rome, Antonio Ricci
(Lamberto Maggiorani) is desperate for work to support his wife Maria
(Lianella Carell), his son Bruno (Enzo Staiola) and his small baby. He
is offered a job of pasting advertising bills but tells Maria that he
cannot accept because the job requires a bicycle. Maria resolutely
strips the bed of her dowry bedsheets†â€"‌prized possessions for a
poor family†â€"‌and takes them to the pawn shop, where they bring
enough to redeem Antonio's pawned bicycle.
United States as The Bicycle Thief) is a 1948 Italian neorealist drama
film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It follows the story of a poor
father searching post-World War II Rome for his stolen bicycle,
without which he will lose the job which was to be the salvation of
his young family.Adapted for the screen by Cesare Zavattini from the
1946 novel by Luigi Bartolini, and starring Lamberto Maggiorani as the
desperate father and Enzo Staiola as his plucky young son, Bicycle
Thieves received an Academy Honorary Award (most outstanding foreign
language film) in 1950 and, in 1952 was deemed the greatest film of
all time by Sight & Sound magazine's poll of filmmakers and critics;
fifty years later another poll organized by the same magazine ranked
it sixth among the greatest-ever films. The film was also cited by
Turner Classic Movies as one of the most influential films in cinema
history, and it is considered part of the canon of classic cinema.In
the post-World War II Val Melaina neighbourhood of Rome, Antonio Ricci
(Lamberto Maggiorani) is desperate for work to support his wife Maria
(Lianella Carell), his son Bruno (Enzo Staiola) and his small baby. He
is offered a job of pasting advertising bills but tells Maria that he
cannot accept because the job requires a bicycle. Maria resolutely
strips the bed of her dowry bedsheets†â€"‌prized possessions for a
poor family†â€"‌and takes them to the pawn shop, where they bring
enough to redeem Antonio's pawned bicycle.
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