Bicycle Thieves
A desperate Roman father and his young son scour a battered city for the stolen bicycle that stands between a fragile job and ruin.
Overview
A father's desperate search for his stolen bicycle becomes a poignant journey through post-war Italy.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- austere
- melancholic
- intimate
- classic film night
- cinephile viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Vittorio De Sica's restrained, devastating portrait of postwar working-class hardship as a landmark of Italian neorealism and one of cinema's great humanist dramas.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film uses nonprofessional performers, location-based urban observation, and a working-class crisis in postwar Rome.
Antonio's bicycle is required for his poster-hanging job, making its theft an immediate economic catastrophe.
Antonio and Bruno traverse Rome pursuing the stolen bicycle while encountering police, crowds, churches, and marginalized citizens.
Black-and-white photography and street-level observation render Rome's neighborhoods and poverty with stark immediacy.
Films like Bicycle Thieves, and why
Rome, Open City
shared italian neorealism, postwar poverty, nonprofessional performances, and compassionate social realism
Umberto D.
shared postwar italian neorealism, working-class hardship, moral pressure, and documentary-like urban realism
The Kid with a Bike
shared austere social realism, economic desperation, and a vulnerable parent-child relationship
Movie Details
- Director
- Vittorio De Sica
- Release Date
- 1948-07-21
- Runtime
- 89 min
- Rating
- 8.2 / 10 (2761)
Cast
- Lamberto Maggiorani
- Enzo Staiola
- Lianella Carell
- Gino Saltamerenda
- Vittorio Antonucci
- Giulio Chiari
- Elena Altieri
- Carlo Jachino
- Michele Sakara
- Emma Druetti
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Bicycle Thieves about?
- A desperate Roman father and his young son scour a battered city for the stolen bicycle that stands between a fragile job and ruin.
- What is Bicycle Thieves like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Bicycle Thieves as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Bicycle Thieves violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Bicycle Thieves as mild.
- What did critics think of Bicycle Thieves?
- Critics broadly regard Vittorio De Sica's restrained, devastating portrait of postwar working-class hardship as a landmark of Italian neorealism and one of cinema's great humanist dramas.
- Which films are like Bicycle Thieves?
- Films with a similar feel include Rome, Open City, Umberto D., and The Kid with a Bike.
- How long is Bicycle Thieves?
- Bicycle Thieves runs 89 minutes.
- Where can I watch Bicycle Thieves?
- In United States, Bicycle Thieves streams on Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
