An unemployed man is offered work as a bill-sticker provided he has his own bicycle. After retrieving his bicycle from the pawnbroker, it is stolen on the very first day of the job and he spends a day with his small son, desperately trying to find it. Hollywood offered to finance De Sica’s film, but he refused as he wanted to use non-actors in real settings. ‘The Bicycle thieves’ is an important film which explores the dignity of the ordinary person. It’s simplicity and underlying social criticism are part of its wide appeal.
Content notification
Our collection comprises over 40,000 moving image works, acquired and catalogued between the 1940s and early 2000s. As a result, some items may reflect outdated, offensive and possibly harmful views and opinions. ACMI is working to identify and redress such usages.
Learn more about our collection and our collection policy here. If you come across harmful content on our website that you would like to report, let us know.
How to watch
Stream, rent or buy via
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
307278
Language
Italian
Audience classification
PG
Subject categories
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Foreign language films
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Realism in motion pictures
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)