A Filmmaker's Guide: "Bicycle Thieves" (1948)

In this chapter of ‘the filmmaker’s guide’ we’re actually going to be learning about literature and film together. I understand that many of you are sitting in university during difficult times and finding it increasingly hard to study and I understand that many of you who are not at university or not planning on it are possibly stuck of what to do, need a break or even need to catch up on learning film before you get to the next level. This guide will be brief but will also contain: new vocabulary, concepts and theories, films to watch and we will be exploring something taboo until now in the ‘filmmaker’s guide’ - academia (abyss opens). Each article will explore a different concept of film, philosophy, literature or bibliography/filmography etc. in order to give you something new to learn each time we see each other. You can use some of the words amongst family and friends to sound clever or you can get back to me (email in bio) and tell me how you’re doing. So, strap in and prepare for the filmmaker’s guide to film studies because it is going to be one wild ride.

"Bicycle Thieves" (1948)

Once called one of the greatest films ever made, I get taken aback when I heard that a fellow cinephile or a film degree postgraduate has not watched or even heard of the great movie "Bicycle Thieves" (1948). A seminal film of the underdog, the theme of 'against all odds' alongside the aspects of oppression and tragedy ring clear in this drama about one man trying his best to make it in a world that is stacked entirely against him only to realise that the very thing he required to work, his bicycle, has been stolen.

After Bosley Crowther's review of the film (he reviewed it under its other translated title "The Bicycle Thief") the USA saw "Bicycle Thieves" as one of the seminal movies of foreign classic cinema. But, in my opinion, "Bicycle Thieves" is not just a classic film of foreign cinema, it is also a timeless film of all cinema.

Let us have a look at some of the stills where we can see the true nature of what makes this one of the greatest films ever made:

Still #1

Rain is not just a part of the weather in the scene, but it adds meaning to the whole thing. The scene is depicting a man who is at loss because his bicycle, the one thing he requires to actually do his job, has been stolen and he and his son have to locate it as fast as possible. The one way tragedy can be depicted is through rain and having the two characters stand amongst bicycle parts and there be a young child as one of the characters adds even more meanings of sympathy to the shot.

Still #2

Showing the work is important. This man puts up posters for a living and so, to show the dangers of the job (for example: carrying fairly unsafe ladders on one shoulder whilst steering with the other, climbing said unsafe ladder and resting a can of glue on the handle of the bicycle) would be a way of seeing the worker with some sympathy. The whole movie is about getting you to feel for this one worker, so that when his bicycle is stolen, you feel the same way he does about it. You are absolutely heartbroken for him.

Still #3

Used in so many films before it and after it, the shot of the main character sitting on the curb of a pavement is something that has been repeated in imagery over and over again. It is not just used for gaining sympathy, but it is also used to say 'I've run out of ideas' without the character actually saying 'I've run out of ideas'. One thing it is important to do in a film is show, don't tell. Show whatever you can through movement, even expressions and things you would normally have the character say. If you can depict something through movement, such as a feeling, or an ideology - then you should use a movement. Think about how the silent films before these got by.

Conclusion

"Bicycle Thieves" (1948) is still revered today as one of the greatest films of all time. I feel like it is being left in the dark by my own generation and going forward though, so if you can watch it - I highly recommend you should. I am sure you won't be disappointed.