Virtual February 23, 2021 (42:4) Vittorio De Sica: BICYCLE THIEVES/LADRI DI BICYCLETTE (1947, 93 min) Spelling and Style—use of italics, quotation marks or nothing at all for titles, e.g.—follows the form of the sources. Cast and crew name hyperlinks connect to the individuals’ Wikipedia entries +- Vimeo link for ALL of Bruce Jackson’s and Diane Christian’s film introductions and post-film discussions in the virtual BFS Vimeo link for our introduction to Bicycle Thieves Zoom link for all Spring 2021 BFS Tuesday 7:00 PM post-screening discussions: Meeting ID: 925 3527 4384 Passcode: 820766 Director Vittorio De Sica Writing Oreste Biancoli, Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Vittorio De Sica, Adolfo Franci, Gherardo Gerardi, Gerardo Guerrieri, Cesare Zavattini, based on a novel by Luigi Bartolini. Vittorio Antonucci…The Thief Producer Vittorio De Sica Giulio Chiar…The Beggar Original music Alessandro Cicognini Elena Altieri…The charitable Lady Cinematographer Carlo Montuori Film Editor Eraldo Da Roma VITTORIO DE SICA (b. July 7, 1901 in Sora, Production Designer Antonio Traverso Lazio, Italy—d. November 13, 1974 (age 73) in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France) was an The film received an Academy Honorary Award Italian director (35 credits) and actor (161 credits), a (most outstanding foreign language film) in 1950 and, leading figure in the neorealist movement (23 writing in 1952, was deemed the greatest film of all time by and 8 producer credits). His meeting with Cesare Sight & Sound magazine's poll of filmmakers and Zavattini was a very important event: together they critics; fifty years later another poll organized by the created some of the most celebrated films of the same magazine ranked it sixth among the greatest- neorealistic age, like Sciuscià (Shoeshine) in 1946 and ever films. Bicycle Thieves (1948), both of which De Sica directed. Four of the films he directed won Academy Lamberto Maggiorani…Antonio Ricci, the father Awards: Sciuscià and Bicycle Thieves (honorary), Enzo Staiola…Bruno Ricci, the son while Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963) and Il Lianella Carell…Maria Ricci, the mother giardino dei Finzi Contini (1970) won the Academy Gino Saltamerenda…Baiocco Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Indeed, the DE SICA—BICYCCLE THIEVES—2 great critical success of Sciuscià (the first foreign film The Gold of Naples (1954), Too Bad She's Bad to be so recognized by the Academy of Motion (1954), It Happens in Roma (1955), The Miller's Picture Arts and Sciences) and Bicycle Thieves helped Beautiful Wife (1955), Roman Tales (1955), Scandal establish the permanent Best Foreign Film Award. in Sorrento (1955), The Bigamist (1956), Nero's These two films are considered part of the canon of Mistress (1956), A Tailor's Maid (1957), The Guilty classic cinema. Bicycle Thieves was cited by Turner (1957), It Happened in Rome (1957), Count Max Classic Movies as one of the 15 most influential films (1957), Casino de Paris (1957), Sunday Is Always in cinema history. De Sica was also nominated for the Sunday (1958), Fast and Sexy (1958), Bread, Love 1957 Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for playing and Andalucia (1958), The Girl of San Pietro Square Major Rinaldi in American director Charles Vidor's (1958), Venetian Honeymoon (1959), Men and 1957 adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Noblemen (1959), Il Generale Della Rovere (1959), Arms, a movie that was panned by critics and proved a The Angel Wore Red (1960), The Battle of Austerlitz box office flop. De Sica's acting was considered the (1960), The Millionairess (1960), Love in Rome highlight of the film. He also won the Grand Prize of (1960), The Last Judgment (1961), The Wonders of the Festival for Miracolo a Milano (1951), the OCIC Aladdin (1961), The Orderly (1961), The Two Award for Il tetto (1956), and was nominated three Marshals (1961), Lafayette (1962), The Amorous times for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Adventures of Moll Flanders (1965), An Italian in These are the other films he directed: Rose scarlatte America (1967), The Biggest Bundle of Them All (1940), Maddalena... zero in condotta (1940), Doctor, (1968), Dear Caroline (1968), The Shoes of the Beware (1941), Un garibaldino al convento (1942), Fisherman (1968), If It's Tuesday, This Must Be The Children Are Watching Us (1944), Indiscretion of Belgium (1969), Twelve Plus One (1969), Cose di an American Wife (1953), The Gold of Naples (1954), Cosa Nostra (1971), Snow Job (1972), The Two Women (1960), The Last Judgment (1961), Adventures of Pinocchio (TV Mini-Series) (1972), Boccaccio '70 (segment "La riffa") (1962), The Blood for Dracula (1974), and The Hero (TV Movie) Condemned of Altona (1962), Marriage Italian Style (1976). (1964), Un monde nouveau (1966), After the Fox CESARE ZAVATTINI (b. September 29, 1902 in (1966), Woman Times Seven (1967), A Place for Lovers (1968), Sunflower (1970), Lo chiameremo Andrea (1972), A Brief Vacation (1973), and The Voyage (1974). And these are some of his other film parts: The Clemenceau Affair (1917), Beauty of the World (1927), Company and the Crazy (1928), The Old Lady (1932), Love Passes By (1933), The Lucky Diamond (1933), Bad Subject (1933), The Song of the Sun (1934), Mr. Desire (1934), Lohengrin (1936), The Man Who Smiles (1937), Mister Max (1937), Naples of Former Days (1938), Departure (1938), They've Kidnapped a Man (1938), Department Store (1939), It Always Ends That Way (1939), Manon Lescaut (1940), The Two Mothers (1940), The Sinner (1940), Luzzara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy—d. October 13, 1989 The Adventuress from the Floor Above (1941), (age 87) in Rome, Lazio, Italy) was an Italian Doctor, Beware (1941), La guardia del corpo (1942), screenwriter (118 credits) and one of the first theorists Our Dreams (1943), Responsibility Comes Back and proponents of the Neorealist movement in Italian (1945), Roma città libera (1946), Lost in the Dark cinema. He studied law at the University of Parma, (1947), Heart and Soul (1948), Tomorrow Is Too Late but devoted himself to writing. In 1930 he relocated to (1950), The Earrings of Madame De... (1953), It Milan, and worked for the book and magazine Happened in the Park (1953), Bread, Love and publisher Angelo Rizzoli. After Rizzoli began Dreams (1953), Marriage (1954), The Anatomy of producing films in 1934, Zavattini received his first Love (1954), The Bed (1954), Modern Virgin (1954), screenplay and story credits in 1936. At the same time DE SICA—BICYCCLE THIEVES—3 he was writing the plot for the comic strip Saturn against the Earth with Federico Pedrocchi (script) and LAMBERTO MAGGIORANI (28 August 1909, Giovanni Scolari (art) for I tre porcellini (1936–1937) Rome, Italy – 22 April 1983, Rome, Italy) was an and Topolino (1937–1946). Italian actor remembered In 1935, he met Vittorio De for his portrayal of Sica, beginning a Antonio Ricci in the 1948 partnership that produced Vittorio De Sica film some twenty films, Bicycle Thieves. He was a including such factory worker and non- masterpieces of Italian professional actor at the neorealism as Sciscià time he was cast in this (1946), Ladri di biciclette film. He was laid off from (1948), Miracolo a Milano the factory because he (1951), and Umberto D. was perceived to be a now (1952). In 1952, Zavattini rich movie star, but he gave an interview to The struggled to find steady Italian Film Magazine 2, film work. He appeared in republished in English as De Sica’s Umberto D "Some Ideas on the Cinema." The thirteen points (1952) and later in Pasolini’s Mama Roma (1962) for Zavattini outlined are widely regarded as his his then iconic status in Italian cinema, largely due to manifesto to Italian neorealism. He was nominated for his first film role. Cesare Zavattini, the screenwriter three Oscars throughout his career. These are some of for Bicycle Thieves, aware of Maggiorani's the other films he wrote for: I'll Give a Million (1935), predicament, wrote a screenplay about him titled "Tu, La danza delle lancette (1936), Doctor, Beware Maggiorani," in an attempt to demonstrate the limits (1941), Don Cesare di Bazan (1942), Our Dreams of neorealist film's capacity to change the world. (1943), The Children Are Watching Us (1944), The Testimony (1946), Roma città libera (1946), La On neorealism (from Liz-Anne Bawden, Ed., The grande aurora (1947), Guerra alla guerra (1948), Oxford Companion to Film 1976): The Walls of Malapaga (1949), Miracle in Milan The term "neo-realism" was first applied . to (1951), The Overcoat (1952), Indiscretion of an Visconti's Ossessione (1942). At the time Ossessione American Wife (1953), A Husband for Anna (1953), was circulated clandestinely, but its social authenticity The Walk (1953), Angels of Darkness (1954), Ali had a profound effect on young Italian directors De Baba and the Forty Thieves (1954), The Doll That Sica and Zavattini, [who] adopted a similarly Took the Town (1957), Men and Wolves (1957), uncompromising approach to bourgeois family life. Lipstick (1960), Two Women (1960), Blood Feud The style came to fruition in Rossellini's three films (1961), The Young Rebel (1961), Boccaccio '70 dealing with the [Second World] war, the Liberation, (1962), The Condemned of Altona (1962), Mysteries and post-war reconstruction: Roma, città aperta of Rome (Documentary) (1963), The Boom (1963), (Rome, Open City, 1945), Paisà (Paisan/Ordinary Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963), After the Fox People1947), and Germania, anno zero (Germany, (1966), Woman Times Seven (1967), A Place for Year Zero/Evil Street, 1947). With minimal resources, Lovers (1968), The Garden of the Finzi-Continis Rossellini worked in real locations using local people (1970), and The Children of Sanchez (1978). as well as professional actors; the films conveyed a powerful sense of the plight of ordinary individuals LUIGI BARTOLINI (February 8, 1892 – May 16, oppressed by political events.