Considered by many to be the masterpiece of Italian neorealism.
A few months ago there was a lot of talk about how ‘Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles’ had been chosen as the new best film in history in the survey that the magazine does every ten years Sight and Sound, thus snatching the first position from ‘Vertigo (from the dead)’. Prior to the acclaimed feature film Alfred Hitchcock‘Citizen Kane’ remained at the forefront for 50 years, but the truth is that the first film that had that privilege was another: ‘Bicycle thief’.
The peak of neorealism
Considered by many to be the pinnacle of Italian neorealism‘Bicycle Thief’ tells the story of Antonio, a man who gets a job putting up posters. The problem is that in order to do so he needs a bicycle and on his first day it is stolen, which will force him to do everything in his power to get it back with the help of his son Bruno.
Based on a novel by Luigi Bartolini‘Bicycle Thieves’ is a portrait of the situation in Italy during the post-war period, opting for a documentary approach that focuses on the harshness of the era. The successful simplicity with which the characters that appear are approached and the stimulating notes on the reflection between father and son elevate a proposal marked by pessimism in the face of the situation shown in images.
This film directed by Vittorio De Sica had the honor of top the first list of the best films in history made by Sight and Sound magazine in 1952. In 1962, it lost its first position due to the revaluation of ‘Citizen Kane’.
In fact, it then dropped to seventh place, but its prestige remains intact, since in the most recent list it was ranked 41 on the list drawn up based on the critics’ votes. Not bad, especially if we take into account that it had already been 70 years since it had the honour of being the first film recognised as the best in history.
If you want to watch ‘Bicycle Thief’ in streamingyou have it available in both the Flixolé and Acontra+ catalogs.
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