Film Studies

Cinema Classics Seminars: Bicycle Thieves

Parents and Children
Tuesday, April 28, 2026, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm  
Instructor: Michael Altimore, Ph.D., Temple University

“After the war, we have no studio, no negative, nothing,” director Vittorio De Sica would later recall of Italy’s post-WWII film industry. But for filmmakers of the Italian Neorealist movement, these limitations would create new cinematic possibilities. Eschewing silver screen escapism, the Neorealists found their material in the dramas of everyday life, shooting on location and using non-professional actors to depict the experiences of the poor and working classes.  

Emerging from the movement alongside directors like Roberto Rossellini, Luchino Visconti, and Federico Fellini, De Sica had already released one major Neorealist work—1946’s Shoeshine—but his next solo directorial effort would enter cinema canon. Bicycle Thieves (1948) accomplished what the greatest art can do—connecting the specific (a father and son’s journey across post-war Rome in search of a stolen bike) to the universal (parent and child relationships, the moral dilemmas brought about by extreme conditions, a young person’s dawning awareness of life’s harsh realities). Though met with a mixed response at home, Bicycle Thieves amazed audiences outside Italy and would inspire generations of filmmakers to come. 

Join us as we explore De Sica’s masterpiece and discover why it has been held as one of cinema’s crowning achievements for nearly eighty years.  

Are you interested in “just” seeing this movie? Visit the public screening page here.

Cinema Classics Seminars offer an entertaining and engaging way to learn more about some of the true classics of world cinema. All students receive an introductory lecture before the film and a guided discussion after the film. In addition, those in attendance receive a ticket to see it on the big screen, as well as popcorn and a drink. Please note: the screening associated with this seminar will be open to the public, as well.

Please contact BMFI Programs and Education Manager Jill Malcolm with any questions.