MOVIE REVIEW Movie Genre Directed by Produced by Screenplay : Bicycle Thieves (Italian: Ladri di biciclette) : Drama : Vittorio De Sica

: Vittorio De Sica and Giuseppe Amato : Cesare Zavattini with Oreste Biancoli, Suso Cecchi d'Amico, Vittorio De Sica, Adolfo Franci, Gherardo Gherardi and Gerardo Guerrieri, from the novel by Luigi Bartolini. Cinematography Editor : Carlo Montuori : Eraldo Da Roma

Production Designer :Antonio Traverso Music Cast :Alessandro Cicognini : Lamberto Maggiorani (Antonio Ricci), Enzo Staiola (Bruno Ricci), Lianella Carell (Maria Ricci), Elena Altieri (The Lady), Gino Saltamerenda (Baiocco), Vittorio Antonucci (The Thief), Giulio Chiari (The Beggar), Michele Sakara (The Secretary), Carlo Jachino (Beggar) and Fausto Guerzoni.

Summary of the movie: Antonio (Lamberto Maggiorani) is a poor man who is unemployed. He is at last offered a job, delivering and putting up movie posters. But he needs a bicycle, so his wife Maria (Lianella Carelli) pawns the family's entire stock of bed linen to redeem the bicycle he had already hocked. On his first day at work, his bicycle is stolen and Antonio drops everything to go on search through the streets of Rome with his little boy Bruno (Enzo Staiola) to get his bicycle back. They face troubles wherever they go, pleading and overwhelming anger. They create confusion among the crowd in the streets, in a market, in a church mass. People started commenting, complaining and generally magnifying the father and son's distress. Antonio and Bruno were portrayed to be unusual father and son. The son is the witness of the father's humiliation. The scenes at the beginning of the film, when Antonio casually leaves his bicycle unlocked but it remains for the moment miraculously unstolen, have to be watched through your fingers. Antonio seems unable realise that his son is more important than his bicycle. Again and again, he ignores his little boy while searching for his bicycle. At one stage, he hears a sound from the riverbank about a "drowned boy". With a guilty feeling, he looks around. Do they mean Bruno? No: there he is, safe and sound. But the lesson is not learned. He doesn't even hold Bruno's hand! And, in a later scene, we see the poor boy almost run over by a car because his father isn't looking out for him.

The scene in the church showed the humiliation of Antonio and his son was again proved to be calm and pointed out the mistakes of his father. Brunos attitude and approach over his father depression showed to be matured and realistic. Finally Antonio was able to find the thief and was complaining about it to the local people, by the time Bruno called policemen. The policeman was investigating and searching for the stolen bicycle but he had no clue. Since there was not even a single witness he was not able to proceed with the case. The people who were against Antonio rushed him out of their place with a warning. Antonio and Bruno were hopeless had no other hope to find the bicycle back. Bruno's simple physical survival is the movie's speciality, and he finally saved his father. Antonio finally decides to steal a bicycle to get his job back. He is not capable enough to do a theft. Besides seeing his son the policemen and people caught him left for the sake of his son. Seen from the perspective of today, it is the restraint of the film in general and the performances in particular that make "The Bicycle Thief" such a powerful experience.

Review: Fine example of neo-realistic film: Bicycle Thieves is a Neo-realistic film directed by Italian master movie maker Vittorio De Sica. The harsh reality of World War Two was the concept of the film. After the defeat of Italy in world war to the economic status was pushed down and people were hardly lived in peace. So it is considered to be a fine example of neo realism. With no money available to produce his film, De Sica initiated the use of real locations and non-professional actors. Using available lights and natural location , he explored the relationship between working and lower-class characters in an indifferent manner. The result was the truth about the harsh conditions inflicted on Italy's poor situation, but also represented a different method of film making breaking the conventional way. Casting: Casting is one of the most important factors for the success of this artistic movie. Made with a cast of principals who were picked up in Rome's streets and had never faced a camera before in their life. The scenes between the father and the son have come upon so well due to the realistic acting of Enzo Stailo and Lamberto Maggiorani. The boy, Enzo Staiola, is the star of the film, if it has one. His funny face, serious but rogue like manner and ability to win laughs and sympathy with the minor troubles he gets himself into rank him as a top performer, despite lack of any previous experience. Likewise a leaner who turns in a magnificently touching performance is Lamberto Maggiorani as Antonio. Lioanella Carell is equally believable and appealing in the more or less minor role of his wife, while Vittorio An-tonucci is suitably evasive and fearful as the hunted thief. Screenplay : The bicycle thieves, screenplay by Cesare Zavattini, based on the novel of the same name, by Luigi Bartolini. In The Bicycle Thief" the gifted Vittorio de Sica has caught the desperation and turbulence of post-war Rome in a superlative screen tragedy. The director has thought and seen with his camera, making the slightest incident in a bizarre and anguished search for a stolen bicycle. With a nonprofessional company and natural settings, he has made a work of soaring artistry. Like a musical composition, "The Bicycle Thief" develops its central theme with expressive and cumulative power. The ending is somewhat unresolved, but the articulation of succeeding scenes, the sweep and

suspense of the action and the relationship of a frantic father and his small son make it a film of pictorial eloquence and beauty. De Sica has projected it with the utmost clarity and yet with a multitude of overtones. Technical support: Signor de Sica requires technique to serve the higher demand of art to understand deeply the people whose lives are being depicted. This is particularly evident in the fusion of pictorial atmosphere with human emotion. As Antonio and Bruno ride off on the cherished bicycle, the light of dawn is just straining to reach the city, splashing the distant buildings with hopeful light. But the return that night is in the deepening shadow of hopelessness. The imagery is not obvious. It is always artificial. Thus, on the day of the intense search through the crowded black market, the downpours of rain are broken by patches of soft sunlight; the desperate move is interrupted by a strange visit to a church. It is impossible to more than suggest the manner in which Signor de Sica develops the relationship between father and son. It is done with tenderness, with deep perception of motives and, of feelings held in tight, and of feelings which cannot be ruled. The same perception of relationships pervades the entire film. The Bicycle Thief" in regard to the techniques of its presentation of realism" but it is in fact a work of astonishing elegance and a grace. The perfection of the performances that De Sica elicited from non-professionals is well-known. Conclusion: Though the story is simple and express the reality in the city of Rome, the way De Sica bundled up to make an pure artistic film is astonishing. The travel of the story implies on the main concept and gives us a chance to understand the distance between poor and the rich and also the economic crises in Italy. The son character turned out to be the most impressive one. Humanity and everymans search for dignity is emphasised. The quality of the motion picture seems to be good. All these uniqueness makes the movie a real fusion of artistic nature. As it is evident, the movie won many awards almost 18 awards under various categories. It is considered as The worlds most honoured film.