Bicycle Thieves poster

Bicycle Thieves (1948)

Film · 1h 29m · In Italian

Drama, Foreign (non-English)

A desperate father and his young son comb post-war Rome, searching for the bicycle that offers their only hope.

Bleak and melancholy. A full-attention watch at a measured pace. Emotionally it is devastating.

Streaming on Prime Video, Max, Kanopy (free) and Tubi (free).

Bicycle Thieves parents guide

There is no US rating to lean on. What we tagged stays mild: some violence and mild language.

Scare
Not scary
Jump scares
None noted
Gore
No gore
Violence
Some violence
Some fighting or peril.
Sex and nudity
None flagged
It has no US rating to check against, so treat our zero as unconfirmed.
Language
Mild
Mild words like damn, hell or crap.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

What is Bicycle Thieves about?

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.

Does it have a happy ending? (spoiler-safe)

No. Brace yourself.

Cast and crew

Directed byVittorio De Sica
StarringLamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell, Gino Saltamerenda, Vittorio Antonucci, Giulio Chiari

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Bicycle Thieves is on our Under 90 minutes, Italian, Classics (pre-1970), Prime Video and Drama on Prime Video lists.

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Uses the TMDB API; not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Intensity, content, tone and pace tags are CouchRot's own.