THE BICYCLE THIEF

Sunday, January 25th at 1:00 p.m.
and Tuesday, January 27th at 7:00 p.m.
Admission: FREE

*PLEASE NOTE: Starting in JANUARY, all Essential Cinema films will be screened on SUNDAY and TUESDAY (not Sunday and Monday)*

All ESSENTIAL CINEMA films screen Sunday at 1:00 p.m. and Tuesday at 7:00 p.m., and admission is FREE!
See classic art films the way they were meant to be seen - on the big screen in glorious new 35 mm prints!

"One of the great films that truly deserves to be called a timeless classic, THE BICYCLE THIEF is a thing of simple beauty." - Marjorie Baumgarten, THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE

The recipient of widespread international acclaim (and winner of the 1950 Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award), Vittorio de Sica's Italian Neorealist masterwork, THE BICYCLE THIEF, is a beloved landmark of world cinema, and a film that remains a powerfully moving experience, no matter how many times one has seen it.
After nearly two years of unemployment, Antonio (Lamberto Maggiorani) finally finds work posting bills. But he needs a bicycle to do the job. Unfortunately, he was forced to pawn his own bicycle long ago. In a humbling, tragic scene, Antonio exchanges his family's linen for his bicycle. But when the bike is stolen on his first day of work, he must comb the streets of Rome in search of the bike: his family's only means to survival. After three days of hunting, Antonio and his son, Bruno (Enzo Staiola), find the thief (Vittorio Antonucci)--but without witnesses or evidence, the police are unwilling to help Antonio. Hopeless, Antonio and Bruno wander aimlessly through Rome, landing outside of a soccer stadium where hundreds of bicycles are parked. His will broken, Antonio attempts to steal a bike but is caught in the act.
Thematically, Vittoria de Sica's THE BICYCLE THIEF details an everyman story of loss of innocence in the face of a destitute society, while the film's poignant acting and directing creates an individual and heart-wrenching tale of one man's struggle to keep his family intact.

Essential Cinema is sponsored by The Arizona Opera, The Arizona Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.