Criterion Year Week 39: The Bicycle Thieves

 The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover. We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with... Dazed and Confused Spine Number: 374 Director: Vittorio De Sica Genre: Italian Neo-Realism From the beginning filmmakers have attempted to capture real life. The earliest examples of film were just filmmakers recording every day occurrences. As the art form of film making evolved and ideas of style and artistic expression became part of the art there was still a desire to capture the reality of the human experience. Well, a couple of world wars came and went and changed the way people saw art. Some sought to provide escape, others sought to confront. Vittorio De Sica decided to use his voice to tell the stories that people lived every day, and that were never given voice. Nothing fancy, nothing flashy, no professional actors or dramatic contrivances, just a voice for those whose stories needed to be told. And he gave us a movie that, decades later, is still considered one of the greatest films ever made. Using real locations, non-professional actors, and a story of simple desperation De Sica gave the world "The Bicycle Thieves," one of the most amazing films ever produced. How great is this movie? Well, we actually talk about it for almost the entire show. No lead in, no real rambling digressions, just an honest discussion of an amazingly powerful film. Next Week: Spine number 381: Hate Also, check this out. The Life Masters is now it's own show with its own site and own dedicated feed. That's right, we have two completely different shows! Right now check it out at www.thelifemasters.podbean.com. You can also drink in our brilliance on Youtube for both The Film Thugs and The Life Masters. http://fantasymovieleague.com/ Looks like Summer Movie League has officially become Fantasy Movie League. It looks quite fun. Here's how it works. You have an 8 screen theater. Every week you pick movies and have a budget/salary cap you have to stay under. Then you compete against other theaters in your league. It's fantasy football for movie people. Our league is Film Thugs 2015 and the password is Porterhouse. And remember, you can be a part of the show any time you wild like. How's that? All you have to do is call or e-mail us. If you live in the US, or any place that makes calling the US easy, just dial 512-666-RANT and leave us a voicemail. We will read the Google Voice transcript and play your message. It's both funny AND informative. If you live outside the US you can call us on Skype at The_Film_Thugs. You can leave a message, or someone might actually answer. E-mail us at [email protected] and we will read/play whatever you send us, or you can e-mail [email protected] to be part of  an upcoming "Ask the Film Thugs" show, where we answer questions on any subject without having heard them first. Also, we are on twitter @thefilmthugs and on Facebook and Vine. Also, be sure to check back often for our new endeavor The Life Masters, where we answer questions to other advice columnists. Thanks for listening, and until next week...