The Bicycle Thief



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Budman

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If anyone is interested. Turner Classic Movies is running the classic movie "The Bicycle Thief" at 2
AM EST. Here's a brief synopsis of the movie. Italian director Vittorio De Sica's Oscar-winning 1948
drama follows a father and son through the streets of Rome in search of a stolen bicycle. Lamberto
Maggiorani plays Antonio, a bill-poster whose bicycle is crucial to keeping his new job. With a
sense of desperation, he sets off with his son, Bruno (Enzo Staiola), on a hunt that takes them to a
religious mission, a secondhand bicycle mart and even a brothel in a search that's continually met
with indifference.

From what I understand you ain't a real cyclist until you have read "The Yellow Jersey", seen "A
Sunday In Hell" and "The Bicycle Thief"...after tonight I guess I'll be a real cyclist.
 
BudMan wrote:
>
> From what I understand you ain't a real cyclist until you have read "The Yellow Jersey", seen "A
> Sunday In Hell" and "The Bicycle Thief"...after tonight I guess I'll be a real cyclist.
>

I thought it wasn't until you saw "Breaking Away", "American Flyers", and "Quicksilver" all in one
sitting, wearing lycra, drinking your refreshments from water bottles, eating snacks from a musette,
and without any trips to the bathroom.

Greg
--
"Destroy your safe and happy lives before it is too late, the battles we fought were long and hard,
just not to be consumed by rock n' roll..." - The Mekons
 
Well I finally finished watching The Bicycle Thief. All the Italian that I need to know I learned
from that movie. Look out Giro! Also, I watched it while riding my fixed gear on rollers. Can I join
the 'real bicyclists' club now? "BudMan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> If anyone is interested. Turner Classic Movies is running the classic
movie
> "The Bicycle Thief" at 2 AM EST. Here's a brief synopsis of the movie. Italian director Vittorio
> De Sica's Oscar-winning 1948 drama follows a father and son through the streets of Rome in search
> of a stolen bicycle. Lamberto Maggiorani plays Antonio, a bill-poster whose bicycle is crucial
to
> keeping his new job. With a sense of desperation, he sets off with his
son,
> Bruno (Enzo Staiola), on a hunt that takes them to a religious mission, a secondhand bicycle mart
> and even a brothel in a search that's continually met with indifference.
>
>
>
> From what I understand you ain't a real cyclist until you have read "The Yellow Jersey", seen "A
> Sunday In Hell" and "The Bicycle Thief"...after tonight I guess I'll be a real cyclist.
 
"G.T." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> BudMan wrote:
> >
> > From what I understand you ain't a real cyclist until you have read "The Yellow Jersey", seen "A
> > Sunday In Hell" and "The Bicycle Thief"...after tonight I guess I'll be a real cyclist.
> >
>
> I thought it wasn't until you saw "Breaking Away", "American Flyers", and "Quicksilver" all in one
> sitting, wearing lycra, drinking your
refreshments
> from water bottles, eating snacks from a musette, and without any trips to the bathroom.
>
> Greg

Isn't that called self-lobotomy? I couldn't make it through American Flyers. Seriously, if you
haven't seen The Bicycle Thief, you've missed one of the great films of all time, and not from a
cycling stand-point. When you see post-WWII Italy so ravaged by war, it puts cycling there (and
in France as well) into perspective as part of the cultural recovery process.

BTW, the film is easily rented in most first world video shops.

Brian Lafferty
 
"G.T." <[email protected]> writes:

> BudMan wrote:
> > From what I understand you ain't a real cyclist until you have read "The Yellow Jersey", seen "A
> > Sunday In Hell" and "The Bicycle Thief"...after tonight I guess I'll be a real cyclist.
> >
>
> I thought it wasn't until you saw "Breaking Away", "American Flyers", and "Quicksilver" all in one
> sitting, wearing lycra,

Lycra? Il dio mio, mama mia, no. You gonna wear-ah dees-ah jersey:

http://www.vintagevelos.com/jer-cinzano1.html

-Ghirardo

> drinking your refreshments from water bottles, eating snacks from a musette, and without any trips
> to the bathroom.
>
> Greg
> --
> "Destroy your safe and happy lives before it is too late, the battles we fought were long and
> hard, just not to be consumed by rock n' roll..." - The Mekons
 
"BudMan" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Well I finally finished watching The Bicycle Thief. All the Italian that
I
> need to know I learned from that movie. Look out Giro! Also, I watched
it
> while riding my fixed gear on rollers. Can I join the 'real bicyclists' club now?

Not until you can certify that that you've gotten your non-cycling wife/girlfriend/significant
other to sit with you and watch Sunday In Hell, beginning to end, in one sitting.

Brian Lafferty
 
that would be pushing it...I may make a deal with her. I go with her to the next Longaberger factory
tour, she comes with me to see the USPro championship in Philly. "Brian Lafferty"
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> True love is a many splendid thing--to coin a phrase. You are a very
lucky
> man. Has she watched Stars and Watercarriers or La Course en Tete?
>
> Brian
>
> --
> Together We Can End Violence, Exploitation and War Visit UU PeaceWork, AFSC and True Majority
> http://www.home.earthlink.net/~javaeye/index.html http://www.afsc.org http://www.truemajority.org
> "BudMan" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > Brian, Actually she did watch it with me. A few year back they ran it at one
of
> > those arthouse/expresso bar movie theaters. She sat through the entire thing! Of course there
> > was a vested interest in the movie. I was
> stationed
> > in Belgium at NATO Headquarters that year. I told her that I was one of
> the
> > spectators that appeared in the film. Not true on both counts, I was in Brussels in 1978 and did
> > not see Paris Roubaix. But I saw the movie on
> the
> > big screen! "Brian Lafferty" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> > >
> > >
> > > "BudMan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > > news:[email protected]...
> > > > Well I finally finished watching The Bicycle Thief. All the Italian
> > that
> > > I
> > > > need to know I learned from that movie. Look out Giro! Also, I
> watched
> > > it
> > > > while riding my fixed gear on rollers. Can I join the 'real
> bicyclists'
> > > > club now?
> > >
> > > Not until you can certify that that you've gotten your non-cycling
> > > wife/girlfriend/significant other to sit with you and watch Sunday In
> > Hell,
> > > beginning to end, in one sitting.
> > >
> > > Brian Lafferty
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
 
>If anyone is interested. Turner Classic Movies is running the classic movie "The Bicycle Thief" at
>2 AM EST.
>

It's interesting that they showed it on the darkest day of the year. It's kind of like "It's a
Wonderfull Life" with the happy ending removed. Cheers, Bruce

To respond by email remove YOURDOG
 
"BudMan" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> If anyone is interested. Turner Classic Movies is running the classic movie "The Bicycle Thief" at
> 2 AM EST. Here's a brief synopsis of the movie. Italian director Vittorio De Sica's Oscar-winning
> 1948 drama follows a father and son through the streets of Rome in search of a stolen bicycle.
> Lamberto Maggiorani plays Antonio, a bill-poster whose bicycle is crucial to keeping his new job.
> With a sense of desperation, he sets off with his son, Bruno (Enzo Staiola), on a hunt that takes
> them to a religious mission, a secondhand bicycle mart and even a brothel in a search that's
> continually met with indifference.
>
> From what I understand you ain't a real cyclist until you have read "The Yellow Jersey", seen "A
> Sunday In Hell" and "The Bicycle Thief"...after tonight I guess I'll be a real cyclist.

So what is your opinion of the movie now? Can anyone suggest why they didn't use a briefcase instead
of that bicycle?
 
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (Tom Kunich) wrote:

> "BudMan" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> > If anyone is interested. Turner Classic Movies is running the classic movie "The Bicycle Thief"
> > at 2 AM EST. Here's a brief synopsis of the movie. Italian director Vittorio De Sica's
> > Oscar-winning 1948 drama follows a father and son through the streets of Rome in search of a
> > stolen bicycle. Lamberto Maggiorani plays Antonio, a bill-poster whose bicycle is crucial to
> > keeping his new job. With a sense of desperation, he sets off with his son, Bruno (Enzo
> > Staiola), on a hunt that takes them to a religious mission, a secondhand bicycle mart and even a
> > brothel in a search that's continually met with indifference.
> >
> > From what I understand you ain't a real cyclist until you have read "The Yellow Jersey", seen "A
> > Sunday In Hell" and "The Bicycle Thief"...after tonight I guess I'll be a real cyclist.
>
> So what is your opinion of the movie now? Can anyone suggest why they didn't use a briefcase
> instead of that bicycle?

Well, the bicycle is a McGuffin, but a very natural one given the time and place (post-WW2 Italy).
And of course, a bicycle is an obvious metaphor for freedom even outside of the context of its
necessity as a means of production for Antonio. Plus, it is expensive enough and irreplaceable
enough to be a useful plot device.

Thus, by using the bicycle the writer gets to load a lot of meaning into the McGuffin and still
pretend to be shooting a completely naturalistic little tale of loss, desperation, and survival
economics.

And there you go, the $0.49 Marxist-historian film critique.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] (trim trailing t), www.sfu.ca/~rcousine FREE WINONA!
 
True love is a many splendid thing--to coin a phrase. You are a very lucky man. Has she watched
Stars and Watercarriers or La Course en Tete?

Brian

--
Together We Can End Violence, Exploitation and War Visit UU PeaceWork, AFSC and True Majority
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~javaeye/index.html http://www.afsc.org http://www.truemajority.org
"BudMan" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Brian, Actually she did watch it with me. A few year back they ran it at one of those
> arthouse/expresso bar movie theaters. She sat through the entire thing! Of course there was a
> vested interest in the movie. I was
stationed
> in Belgium at NATO Headquarters that year. I told her that I was one of
the
> spectators that appeared in the film. Not true on both counts, I was in Brussels in 1978 and did
> not see Paris Roubaix. But I saw the movie on
the
> big screen! "Brian Lafferty" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> >
> > "BudMan" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > > Well I finally finished watching The Bicycle Thief. All the Italian
> that
> > I
> > > need to know I learned from that movie. Look out Giro! Also, I
watched
> > it
> > > while riding my fixed gear on rollers. Can I join the 'real
bicyclists'
> > > club now?
> >
> > Not until you can certify that that you've gotten your non-cycling
> > wife/girlfriend/significant other to sit with you and watch Sunday In
> Hell,
> > beginning to end, in one sitting.
> >
> > Brian Lafferty
> >
> >
 
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