A Brilliant film and insightful social commentary, THE BICYCLE THIEF shows a world of hope and suffering, a world in which poverty drives men to both the heights of selflessness and the lows of criminal and preditory behavior. In a plot as relatively simple and uncluttered as exists here, we nevertheless are presented with an epic film, and a masterpiece of neo-realism, continuing an artistic development beginning with OPEN CITY. It is no wonder that a maverick dirctor like Robert Altman would pay homage to this classic work in his marvelous THE PLAYER, and would point out, correctly, how contrastive this artistic masterpiece is to formulaic Hollywood dreck. Every serious student of film history should study this film, among others.
Review of Bicycle Thieves
