Bicycle Thieves

Bicycle Thieves (Ladri di biciclette, 1948) is Vittorio De Sica's Italian drama you can watch online on iFILM. It remains a cornerstone of neorealism: untrained actors, real streets, no studio gloss.

Rome has just crawled out of the war, and work is scarce. Antonio Ricci finally lands a job pasting up posters, but it comes with a catch: he needs a bicycle. On his very first morning, someone steals it. No bicycle means no job, and no job means no food for his family. Together with his small son Bruno, Antonio sets out to comb the sprawling city for the thief. The hours wear on, hope thins, and the father drifts toward a choice that will break something in him for good. Lamberto Maggiorani plays Antonio and Enzo Staiola plays Bruno, neither of them a professional actor.

The film took home an honorary Academy Award before that prize even had a foreign-language category, and it has held its place on best-of-all-time lists for decades. Among the bit players on set was a young Sergio Leone. Stream Bicycle Thieves (1948) online on iFILM.