MovieChat Forums > Ladri di biciclette (1949) Discussion > Am I the only person that didn't think i...

Am I the only person that didn't think it was too great?

posted 18 years ago by AnUnknownPleasure
87 replies | jump to latest

I found that the film had a powerful message, and I was actually deeply saddened by the ending, but I honestly think the film was extremely drawn out; and thats saying a lot for a 90 minute film.

I felt that a lot of the scenes were just trying to paint the portrait of the promise of hapiness that was robbed from this man, but it did so in a completely arduous way.

I think it might be more powerful if it was shorter/more cohesive.

I would probably give it around a 7.8. Not top 10 material by far.

Thoughts?

[–] Instamatic 15 years ago

This is one of the finest movies ever made.

Could be shortest ? i dont think so, the director want you to feel the main character agony. Slowly, the ethics meaning start to fade, the possibility of resolve your problems is all the time in your hands, so ethics are relative. The length of the film is just to realize that EVERYONE could commit an error, even the one who is a fair, poor and worker man that have tried everything to resolve their problems before take the easy way.

[–] qwerty684 14 years ago

I have to say, I just didn't get it. After about 45 minutes, I just couldn't get into it. Not sure why, but I guess this is just one of "those" movies that some people love and others miss the underlying beauty of it. I guess I miss on this one.

[–] Screenwriter_Brandi 14 years ago

Yes.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] clouseau-4 14 years ago

I just watched it for the first time. Very early on the film, I felt as though my heart had been joined with Antonio's. It's a very emotional film and it drew me in. I thought the pacing was perfect and at no point did the film meander or bore me.

An amazing piece of cinema and it deserves all the accolades it got.

I still prefer Jean de Florette/Manon of the Spring though :)

It's spelled Raymond Luxury Yacht, but it's pronounced 'Throat-Warbler Mangrove'

[–] sixtyeight-2 14 years ago

I've been working my way through the imdb top 250 and was looking forward to this one as the list has brought me plenty of movies i'd never have seen without it and have enjoyed them to a great extent. I am in no way a cinematic expert when it comes to the reasons you should like things below the surface, I just like things for what they are, which I think should be a film makers goal, to find that balance to appease the common man and the movie snob alike. That being said...
I was dissapointed by the bicycle thief. I was looking for the thing that made it stand out above all the other films out there, the thing that put it on the 250 best of all time, but it wasn't there. A very strait forward film, not bad but not great. After seeing so many films that I'd never hae thought I'd like and ended up loving, like I said, I had high hopes for this and it just fell flat for me.
That's my personal opinion, if you disagree then I guess you're not me.

[–] cweaver16 13 years ago

I just had the exact same experience. I've been working through the top 100 (ultimate goal of top 250), and was really looking forward to this one. I've been pleased with the diversity so far: amazing plots (The Usual Suspects), great film 'achievements' (Vertigo), etc. But yeah, I didn't really think Bicycle Thieves was either. I figured it must have been groundbreaking at the time, but it's not like it was the first neosurrealist film. I think something of a modern day, much better equivalent is City of God, which I absolutely loved. Same lack of professional actors, wonderful cinematography, bring-the-slums-to-life feel, and a lot more interesting.

Not all those who wander are lost.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] johnd70978 13 years ago

Frankly I didn't think the bicycle in the film was anything to write home about as the crow flies. I had a nice bike when I was a kid, a J C Higgins from Sears, Roebuck. Now there was a bicycle. I remember clearly that it was blue. Or else it was red. I wanted to attach playing cards to the spokes with clothespins like other kids but my Aunt Dora thought they made a rude sound so I wasn't allowed. It wasn't like it was a fart or anything. Sheesh! If they wanted to make a movie about a bicycle they should have starred a more attractive bike. And made the movie in color. And filled the soundtrack with fart noises. And had a monkey ride on the bike. A farting monkey. Am I the only one who thinks this?