Bicycle Thieves - Robert S.C. Gordon (BFI Film Classics)

'Bicycle Thieves' by Robert S.C. Gordon (BFI Film Classics 128-page paperback, 2nd edition)

Vittorio De Sica's neorealist masterpiece remains a necessary point of reference for any cinematic engagement with the labyrinthine experience of the modern city, the travails of poverty in the contemporary world, the complex bond between fathers and sons, and the capacity of the camera to capture something like the essence of all of these.

Robert S.C. Gordon's study shows how Bicycle Thieves is ripe for re-viewing, for rescuing from its worthy status as a neorealist 'classic'. It looks at the film's drawn-out planning and production, the vibrant and riven historical moment in which it was made, and the dynamic geography, geometry and sociology of the film that resulted.