BICYCLE THIEVES Heralded as the greatest film ever made on release, winning an Oscar in 1949 and topping the Sight & Sound film poll in 1952, De Sica’s seminal work of Italian neorealism has had an impact on cinema worldwide from release to the present day, with filmmakers such as Satyajit Ray and Ken Loach claiming the film as a direct influence on their work. Bicycle Thieves tells the story of Antonio, a long unemployed man who finally finds employment putting up cinema posters for which he needs a bicycle. His wife pawns all the family linen to redeem their already pawned bicycle and for Antonio salvation has come, until it is stolen. Antonio and his son take to the streets in a desperate search to find the bicycle which is so crucial to his livelihood. As much about the position of Italians in post-War, post-Fascist Italy as the relationship between father and son, Bicycle Thieves is told through the labyrinth of the cinematic city with De Sica’s arresting visual poetry. Defining neorealism, a small period of filmmaking that focused on simple, humanist stories, Bicycle Thieves was one of the most captivating and moving.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS. RESTORED HIGH DEFINITION DIGITAL TRANSFER OF THE FILM NEWLY TRANSLATED AND MORE COMPLETE ENGLISH SUBTITLES FEATURE LENGTH AUDIO COMMENTARY BY ITALIAN CINEMA EXPERT ROBERT GORDON, AUTHOR OF BFI MODERN CLASSICS ‘BICYCLE THIVES’. TIMELESS CINEMA – A DOCUMENTARY PORTRAIT OF DIRECTOR, ACTOR AND SCREENWRITER VITTORIO DE SICA ORIGINAL TRAILER ADVERTISING DE SICA’S FILMS, FEATURING BICYCLE THIEVES STAR LAMBERTO MAGGIORANI AND FRANCESCO GOLISANO PRESENTING MIRACLE IN MILAN REVERSIBLE SLEEVE FEATURING ORIGINAL AND NEWLY COMMISSIONED ARTWORK BY SAMUEL WEBSTER
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