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The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
Film
FilmNR1948
Bicycle Thieves
Directed by Vittorio De Sica
Unemployed Antonio is elated when he finally finds work hanging posters around war-torn Rome. However on his first day, his bicycle—essential to his work—gets stolen. His job is doomed unless he can find the thief. With the help of his son, Antonio combs the city, becoming desperate for justice. From TMDB
184 reactions from 4 sources (Bluesky, Mastodon, TMDB reviews, Lemmy) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
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No Data
Sentiment labels for these sources are still being hand-checked; no score yet.
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluesky * | 58 | 3 | 111 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| TMDB reviews * | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
What people are saying
A written summary appears once the title has a score.
At a glance
Bicycle Thieves is a 1948 drama film, directed by Vittorio De Sica, starring Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola and Lianella Carell.
- 155 people have posted about this film on Bluesky, Mastodon, TMDB reviews, Lemmy
- posts span Aug 6, 2020 to Nov 5, 2026
Assembled from TMDB, Wikidata and Steam fields and our own counts, nothing written by a model. Method
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
184 public posts have mentioned Bicycle Thieves so far, but it needs 10 opinionated reactions from checked sources before it gets a score. Seen it? Post your take.
The Experts
91%
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The People
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audience score
Reactions
60 of 184 · most liked firstTHE BICYCLE THIEVES - a 1948 Italian Marxist film about poverty that turns out to be the best film we’ve ever seen, for real killjamesbondpod.podbean.com/e/s4e28-bicy...
positive · AI labelView post →Woke up too early so watched Bicycle Thieves on Amazon Prime, which has an excellent HD remaster. People always moan about Prime's film selection ("bottom shelf of Blockbuster at closing time" etc) but they've got way more pre-2000 movies than the other big streamers, many of them actual classics.
neutral · AI labelView post →The fact that I've seen this film about five times but have never seen Bicycle Thieves is making me reflect on my poor life choices.
neutral · AI labelView post →You make a film and always hope you’re going make “Citizen Kane” or “Bicycle Thieves” — Woody Allen BICYCLE THIEVES (1948) Vittorio De Sica’s masterpiece.
neutral · AI labelView post →Check out Jafar's great Closet Pick (yes, one film) on the Criterion Channel! ✨ BICYCLE THIEVES 🖤
neutral · AI labelView post →Four 📽 Faves: Vittorio De Sica, BOTD 7/7/01 Incredibly influential Italian director, helped birth neorealism movement. Also, acted to finance own movies, even getting Oscar nod for A FAREWELL TO ARMS (1957). 48 Bicycle Thieves 52 Umberto D 60 Two Women 70 Garden of the Finzi-Continis #filmsky 📽
neutral · AI labelView post →Sergio Leone - before he directed the Dollars trilogy - was the AD for Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves and also has a cameo as a seminary priest. He’s on the right. Although he can claim to be one of the most influential film directors from Italy, not one of his films is set in Italy.
neutral · AI labelView post →throwback to the first time i watched Bicycle Thieves (thanks to @johnrobertmatz.bsky.social for the getting perfect screenshot 3 years ago)
neutral · AI labelView post →Tonight's little local film club movie was BICYCLE THIEVES. First time watch for all of us. Absolutely stunning. If you're watching on Criterion Channel. If you click on the movie and it's dubbed in English, pause, then click on the headphones icon and change the soundtrack to Italian. #Filmsky
positive · AI labelView post →"The remarkable—and, in my opinion, pertinent—fact about Bicycle Thieves is that 63 critics were so impressed by a film that had come out only four years earlier that [in 1952] they considered it the greatest of all time." thereveal.film/41-tie-bicyc...
neutral · AI labelView post →Bicycle Thieves (1948). Takes a very special piece of cinema to be broken by a man having his bike nicked. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
positive · AI labelView post →Rita Hayworth is known for another classic bicycle film: Vittoria De Sica's The Bicycle Thieves (1948). She doesn't act in the film, but the main character's job is to glue posters featuring her visage for the film Gilda to walls around the city.
neutral · AI labelView post →Working my way through the Criterion Collection’s CC40 and tonight was Bicycle Thieves. This movie absolutely holds up and rings true to this day. This was my first time watching it and I absolutely loved it. It’s a tightly paced masterpiece.
positive · AI labelView post →#lastfourwatched #films2025 #letterboxdfriday #films @letterboxd.social A House of Dynamite (2025), Bicycle Thieves (1948), HIM (2025), Room 666 (1982)
neutral · AI labelView post →I see Vittoria de Sica's Bicycle Thieves is on SBS, it seems like a small film from the start but then turns into one of the greatest movies of post war cinema...less is more...
positive · AI labelView post →#filmsilove #bicyclethieves
neutral · AI labelView post →I'm loving reading the discourse around HORSES ban, but I also just wanna add to the convo, I'm badapbaba lovin' it so far. It has the DNA of a DreadX-style indie horror game, but the soul of a Neorealist film. Big Bicycle Thieves Energy. Real excited to make a vid about it
neutral · AI labelView post →Four 📽 Faves: Vittorio De Sica, BOTD 7/7/01 Incredibly influential Italian director, helped birth neorealism movement. Also, acted to finance own movies, even getting Oscar nod for A FAREWELL TO ARMS (1957). 48 Bicycle Thieves 52 Umberto D 60 Two Women 70 Garden of the Finzi-Continis #filmsky 📽
neutral · AI labelView post →What a performance, at 8 years old. Made me cry in the comforting dark of the film studies screening where I first watched BICYCLE THIEVES. RIP.
positive · AI labelView post →If you haven't watched the gorgeous, heartbreaking BICYCLE THIEVES, you should and can, here:
positive · AI labelView post →Favourite film from every decade: 20s Nosferatu 30s Modern Times 40s Bicycle Thieves 50s The Seventh Seal 60s L'avventura 70s Mirror 80s In The White City 90s Satantango 00s Hidden 10s Post Tenebras Lux 20s Small Body
positive · AI labelView post →Lebanese Oscar entry “Arzé” uses the format of “Bicycle Thieves” for a really smart look at the cultural fabric of Beirut variety.com/2024/film/re...
neutral · AI labelView post →I note that Vittorio de Sica's Bicycle Thieves is on SBS on Demand, if you've not seen it, an incredible film in which what appears to be one single act of petty larceny turns, turns into and epic tale of grief and loss.
positive · AI labelView post →Watched BICYCLE THIEVES (1948) a film sadly lacking in an exploding helicopter.
negative · AI labelView post →I'm going to be mean and say that if you find Bicycle Thieves a particularly pretentious movie then you're just an idiot
positive · AI labelView post →🎬 #OTD in #Film #History 24 November 1948, #VittorioDeSica's Italian Neo-Realist masterpiece BICYCLE THIEVES, starring Lamberto Maggiorani and Cesare Zavattini, was released in 🇮🇹 A brilliant and moving film, it was awarded an Honorary Oscar in 1950.
neutral · AI labelView post →Jafar Panahi picks out just one film from the Criterion Collection - Bicycle Thieves (1948), and you can see the impact the Italian film had on him Annoyed he didn't win at least one Golden Globe so we could hear him speak in the context of Iran & his emotional personal experience over the years
neutral · AI labelView post →As we watched the 2025 "TCM Remembers" video, we were surprised to learn that Enzo Staiola, who played Bruno in BICYCLE THIEVES (1948), passed this year at 85. It was his first movie, and he was spectacular in it. It’s available on Prime, HBO Max, Kanopy and Criterion Channel if you've not seen it!
neutral · AI labelView post →R.I.P. Enzo Staiola (1939-2025), the highly expressive young actor who gave one of the greatest performances from a child in film history as Bruno in Vittorio's De Sica's 1948 masterpiece BICYCLE THIEVES. ❤️🕊️🎞️
neutral · AI labelView post →Long due for a rewatch--watched it for a neorealism class in college and loved it. Also the class for which I first watched BICYCLE THIEVES, perhaps the college film class screening with the most students surreptitiously sniffling.
positive · AI labelView post →#NowWatching Man Push Cart (D/W/P: Ramin Bahrani, 2005) "There's a reason De Sica's Bicycle Thieves is one of the most stirring and affecting Film works in the history of the medium. Bahrani knows why, and here, and after, demonstrates that those lessons are eternal."
neutral · AI labelView post →Starting my day watching Bicycle Thieves (1948)
neutral · AI labelView post →things i like to watch: Star Trek (if it's DS9 or lower decks), Dropout's Very Important People, the 1948 Italian neorealist movie Bicycle Thieves
positive · AI labelView post →Watching a particularly good Criterion Closet video always revitalizes my love for cinema. I was particularly moved by Jafar Panahi choosing just one film, Bicycle Thieves, for his video. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqH9...
neutral · AI labelView post →Capturing the trials of daily life in poverty-stricken postwar Rome, his masterpiece Bicycle Thieves embodies the greatest strengths of the Italian neorealist movement, and cemented a new era of film. Vittorio De Sica #botd
neutral · AI labelView post →I watched Vittorio de Sica's Umberto D., the final sequence builds up tension in a way that feels similar to what he had done in Bicycle Thieves, so I've been comparing both in my head. Overall it's a very good movie, specially for one with such a small cast. Interesting use of low angle shots too.
positive · AI labelView post →The Criterion Collection Celebrates 40 Years with Epic Box Set That Is the Ultimate Film School. cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/15943381 > > The iconic Criterion Collection has expanded into viral Closet trips, its streaming channel, and of course its staple 4k restorations on Blu-ray. Now, the Criterion Collection celebrates 40 years since its founding with a monumental 40-film box set including works from auteurs Agnès Varda, Spike Lee, Jean-Luc Godard, and Federico Fellini. > >…
neutral · AI labelView post →#otd in 238 Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus, the Thracian, Roman Emperor, is murdered What’s your favorite Italian film? Mine are the Bicycle Thieves and Umberto D.
positive · AI labelView post →just learned the child actor who played Bruno in Bicycle Thieves passed away yesterday at age 85. only last night i mentioned to my film studies students his wonderful and 💔-ing performance. Ad astra, Enzo Staiola.
neutral · AI labelView post →I never list THE BICYCLE THIEVES as one of my favorite films, but it really is a masterpiece I was trying to describe a basic scene from the film, nothing dramatic, just that bit where he tries to cheer his son up with a nice dinner And I got so damn sad thinking about it, I had to sit down
positive · AI labelView post →Simple, honest, and deeply human. One of the purest films I’ve seen. My ★★★★★ review of Bicycle Thieves on Letterboxd boxd.it/d6TKDr #filmsky
positive · AI labelView post →The Bicycle Thief -- or Bicycle Thieves, made in 1948 is a masterpiece that remains relevant to this day. #Film #FlimSky #HATM #Movies #MovieSky deepdivecinema.club/movie_detail...
neutral · AI labelView post →November 24, 1948: "Bicycle Thieves", Italian film directed by Vittorio De Sica, starring himself and Cesare Zavattini, is released (Honorary Academy Award 1950).
neutral · AI labelView post →This is a test. I'd never try this on FB because I'd probably get death threats from film buffs, but is there a film that's considered an absolute classic that you just don't like? For me, I'd pick De Sica's Bicycle Thieves. It looked good but I found it unbearably maudlin. #filmsky
negative · AI labelView post →Letterboxd most popular film I've not seen by decade 20s: Everything Everywhere 10s: LaLa Land 00s: Inglorious Basterds 90s: 10 Things I Hate About You 80s: Breakfast Club 70s: Dog Day Afternoon 60s: The Apartment 50s: Roman Holiday 40s: Bicycle Thieves 30s: City Lights 20s: Man with a Movie Camera
neutral · AI labelView post →My review of Bicycle Thieves on Letterboxd boxd.it/5hbCfN (also forgot to review this finished it a while ago aaaaaa i have been non-functional recently)
neutral · AI labelView post →Just watched Bicycle Thieves for the first time. Absolutely shattered by this perfect film.
positive · AI labelView post →Tonight's first film on HBO Max & Prime, Bicycle Thieves. More cleaning out the watchlist. #filmsky #letterboxd #LastFourWatched boxd.it/23hW
neutral · AI labelView post →😩 THE BICYCLE THIEVES 😩 A Simple Plan Martyrs (although I loooved that film) Monster's Ball every fuckin Bresson film, jesus Frenzy They Look Like People Elephant a litany of lesser and/or extreme horror films + I am always trying to get up the nerve to rewatch Creep and failing
neutral · AI labelView post →It's a fucking neorealist film!! The entire thing about films like Bicycle Thieves is that they are profoundly UNPRETENTIOUS FILMS!!! They're films abt working people!!
neutral · AI labelView post →I somehow didn't know he'd made "Circle" but man, that movie has stuck with me since I saw it 26 years ago -- especially the final shot -- and it being inspired by "Bicycle Thieves" makes a lot of sense.
neutral · AI labelView post →Greg saw this meme and now we're watching Bicycle Thieves (1948) lmao
neutral · AI labelView post →RIP Enzo Staiola. BICYCLE THIEVES is my favorite movie of all time. A timeless performance. 🙌 #FilmSky #MovieSky
positive · AI labelView post →This thread has an amazing list of must watch cinema. Adding 5 more: Bicycle Thieves Zero de Conduite Godzilla Palm Springs Story Hallelujah the Hills (by my film professor mentor, Adolfas Mekas, who would have been 100 this year)
neutral · AI labelView post →“Choose books that stayed with you or influenced you. 1 book/day for days on end, no particular order. Few explanations, no reviews, mainly covers” Day 45 Luigi Bartolini (1892 – 1963), novelist, painter, poet, Bicycle Thieves (Orig. 1946; Vittorio De Sica movie 1948; 1950) #BookSky #BookChallenge
neutral · AI labelView post →Movie: Bicycle Thieves. Brilliant but so heartbreaking. Book: Heat by Bill Buford. One of my favorite books for many years (the structure alone is incredible!) but once it became clear Batali was a horrible person...nope, I'm not reading that again (and would no longer rate it 10/10).
positive · AI labelView post →What’s you favorite black and white movie I'm back to holding this as my favorite movie of all: "Bicycle Thieves" (1948) - the most beautiful depiction of humanity, yearning, love, desperation, failure, and forgiveness ever put to film. And the boy's love for his father, despite all that happens...
positive · AI labelView post →"Wedding in White" is one of the best non-Québecois Canadian films I've stumbled across. Carol Kane lives in an Ontario patriarchal home during WW2. All of the men are obnoxious and stupid. Donald Pleasance excels, and the depressing ending rivals "Bicycle Thieves" and "The Great Silence". #FilmSky
neutral · AI labelView post →A friend invited me to see it at the Academy theater in LA. I went in knowing nothing about it and felt like I was walking on air when I left, so elated and moved. The only other time I can remember that exact sensation from a movie was when I first saw “Bicycle Thieves”
positive · AI labelView post →. @tomasjmurray.bsky.social was just posting about the film Bicycle Thieves, known to its initial foreign viewers as The Bicycle Thief. The plural changes the implication of the title, I think.
neutral · AI labelView post →
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