Bicycle Thieves (1948)

This week on The Spectator Film Podcast… Bicycle Thieves (1948) 6.7.19 Featuring: Austin, Maxx Commentary track begins at 18:20 — Notes — We watched the Criterion Collection release of Bicycle Thieves for the show this week. It’s a wonderful release full of bonus features and essays and the bluray looks incredible. Bicycle Thieves is also available on The Criterion Channel. ‘Bicycle Thieves: Ode to the Common Man’ by Charles Burnett for The Current — Here’s a link to an insightful essay on Bicycle Thieves from filmmaker Charles Burnett. This essay was included in the original CC DVD release of Bicycle Thieves, but was cut from the Bluray. ‘Bicycle Thieves: A Passionate Commitment to the Real’ by Godfrey Cheshire from The Current — Here’s another essay that accompanies the Criterion Collection release of the film. Bicycle Thieves by Robert S.C. Gordon — Here’s the BFI film classics book on Bicycle Thieves, and it’s as informative and intelligent as you’d expect. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a primer on this monolithic film. André Bazin and Italian Neorealism by André Bazin — Here’s a link to a collection of André Bazin’s writing on Neorealism. Bazin produced some fantastic writing on film and his thoughts on the neorealist movement are not to be missed. Vittorio De Sica: Contemporary Perspectives edited by Howard Curle and Stephen Snyder — Here’s a wonderful collection of essays that cover Vittorio De Sica’s entire career, not merely limiting itself to his path as a director but also dedicating space to examine his acting career. Highly recommended. A History of Italian Cinema by Peter Bondanella — This book is a wonderful tour of the progression of Italian cinema throughout the 20th century. It works as both an introduction and re-examination, and anyone looking to learn more about Italian cinema will enjoying starting with this book.