esrosedotblog

TODAY'S MOVIE

THE BICYCLE THIEF (Ladri di biciclette) (1948); NYTimes1176BestFilms; Vittorio De Sica. This despairing, bleak, funny, Italian every-man, neorealistic film is clearly a masterpiece. I did not 'like' it at first; although I did admire it. As it went on and the story unfolded, I realized that all my stuff about it, whether admiring the photography or picking at the politics, was to no avail. I was drawn into it and held tightly for the full time the film ran.

In his 1999 re-view, Roger Ebert has done another wonderful job of reviewing an old film from a new perspective. As usual, he hits all the bases. He pretty much describes my experience; that is, the politics and the social comment are by the way. It is the story that stands. This review was on the occasion of the film's 50th Anniversary. It is hard to believe that time span. But, I believe it. I was only 11 years old when BICYCLE THIEF came out but it was still 'in the air' at repertory art houses well into my college days.

Remember repertory art theaters? They ran the classics back to back; only a day or two, maybe three for the same film. Then on to the next. Some ran two different films a day. The Brattle Theater in Cambridge, MA comes to mind. I spent many hours in its tattered hall as an MIT student and in my adult life around and in Boston. I think the last film I saw there was SLACKERS. No. That was the Coolidge Corner Theater. Another art house. There were at least five in Boston when I was a student and most lasted into the eighties. They would have gone on and on but redevelopment and DVD's got 'em.

Confrontation scene between our man, his son, and the thief