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Vittorio de Sica's Bicycle Thief
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  Yau,KF . Wide angle [0160-6840] 20.4 (1998). 51-.
Recon-figuration:
          Revisiting Modernity and Reality in Deleuze's Taxonomy of Cinema Ka-Fai Yau's essay Recon-figuration: Revisiting Modernity and Reality in Deleuze's Taxonomy of Cinema begins by pondering the famous Sontag statement on Balzac, that "everyone knows, primitive people fear that the camera will rob them of some part of their being." In the age of film, this fear has been heightened because of the facility in which the image can be manipulated to suit the purpose of the person behind the camera.  Indeed, Yau refers to the altered sense of reality in Cinema as the "paradox of moulding."  That is to say that film has the almost magical ability to "bring forth" reality while at the same time omit essential parts of it.  According to Yau, Gilles Deleuze's Cinema Project describes in great detail the "disembodying processes" involved in the paradox of moulding, and specifically how Deleuze shows that Cinema is a mechanism within the process, not a process in itself.            Yau formulates his argument by focusing on particular era in the history of Cinema where artistic shifts occured, such as 1948 Italy.  His discussion of Italian cinema, particularly neorealism, Yau focuses on how the "reality" in neorealism is a focused and deliberate depiction.  According to Yau, "The real in neo-realism is no longer just concerned about the affinity between the frame and the audience. It is also concerned with the affinity between the frame and the external world" that contributes to the paradox of moulding.  In other words, reality is never limited to what is seen in the mise-en-scene.  To illustrate this, Yau looks at Bicycle Thieves and its subtle manipulation of causal reality.  What Yau determines is that de Sica's film creates a space of where reality exists in an ambiguous space.  Indeed, what seems like a simple story of a man looking for a bike is actually a carefully orchestrated depiction of life where reality becomes spectacle.

 

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tagged Bicycle_Thieves Cinema Neorealism Sontag de_sica by colliert ...on 28-JUL-06
De Sica's" Bicycle Thieves" and Italian Humanism
Source: Hollywood quarterly [1549-0076] Jacobson yr:1949 vol:4 iss:1 pg:28
http://www.jstor.org/view/15490076/ap040013/04a00050/0
            According to Herbert L. Jacobson, author of the essay "De Sica's 'Bicycle Thieves' and Italian Humanism," (1949) burried beneath the "garbage of fascism" lies the treasure of the Italian cinema, specifically Italian neorealism. In Neorealism, Italian filmmakers found the perfect vehicle to capture the suffering and poverty in a postwar environment. Jacobson rightfully praises such directors as Luigi Zampa, Visconti, and of course Roberto Rossellini, but he reserves his highest praise for de Sica's Bicycle Thieves. For Jacobson, Bicycle Thieves contains the perfect combination of intelligence and indicting cynicism that points a critical eye to the Italian society. Indeed, Jacobson asserts that the characterization of "victim" Antonio is one of the greatest in cinema history. To further his argument, Jacobson calls de Sica the polar opposite of an unlikely source: none other than famed American director Orson Welles. While some may look at the comparison that Jacobson makes as an unfair critique of de Sica, it is actually high praise for the director and the changes that he made to Cinema on a global level.
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           For example, where Welles self-conciously placed his stamp on every scene of his major work Citizen Kane (1941), de Sica's directing style placed the emphasis solely on the "vitality seething in the actors" (31), the bleak landscape that the characters occupy, and of course the brilliant words of Cesare Zavattini. Jacobson also praises de Sica not only for his shrewed technique and deft skill as a director, but also his "moral sense which he knows how to embed unobstrusively in the texture of his story."  He compares de Sica with DW Griffith in an interesting way by pointing out that while Griffith's works could be praised for their technical proficiency, much of his subject matter, such as the depiction of the Ku Klux Klan, was morally reprehensible, while de Sica was committed to a much more sympathetic social justice, that of the downtrodden and poor.
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tagged Bicycle_Thieves Cinema Italian Neorealism by colliert ...and 12 other people ...on 09-JUN-06
The Massachusetts review [0025-4878] 43.1 (2002). 89-.
     
      In this translated collection of reviews by Bazin, Rossellini and de Sica are once again examined and contrasted against one another.  Bazin makes the argument that Rossellini and de Sica are not truly contradictory in approach but rather "two poles of the same aesthetic school."  Part of what linked Rosselli and de Sica, aesthetically speaking, was a commitment to rejecting established categories ("neorealism is a denial of dramatic categories") of acting and directing in order for reality to "reveal its significance solely through appearances" in their respective post-neorealist works.  For Bazin, this form of minimalism was a return to a more classical form of dramatics.  Indeed, the stripped down nature of Rossellini and de Sica's works can be seen as neorealism returning "full circle to classical abstraction and its generalizing quality." 
      In discussing the later works of de Sica in particular, Bazin asserts that as a director de Sica is an "accursed" figure. Bazin does not criticize his artistic output, but rather the general lack of public interests in his films.  To explain this reversal in de Sica's popularity, Bazin criticizes the younger critics who he says have made it "fashionable to drag de Sica's name through the mud" by categorizing him as a bourgeois director.   Bazin does not try to dispute this labeling of de Sica, but rather reiterates de Sica's distinguished place in the Canon of Italian Cinema.  Furthermore, Bazin reviews the de Sica film Gold of Naples, a "film of cruelty" that succeeds in showcasing de Sica's unparralled skill as a director and collaborator with Zavattinni.
belongs to Vittorio de Sica's Bicycle Thief project
tagged Bazin Bicycle_Thieves Cinema Italian Neorealism by colliert ...on 09-JUN-06
Marcus, Millicent Joy.. Italian film in the light of neorealism / Millicent Marcus. [0691054894 (alk. paper) :] Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, 1986.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1993.5.I88 M28 1986

     In the preface to the book Italian film in the light of neorealism, Millicent Marcus includes an enlightening quote from Vittorio de Sica on the effects of the war on Cinema.  de Sica states that everyone involved in Italian cinema post-war felf the need to "liberate ourselves from the weight of our sins, we wanted to look ourselves in the face and tell ourselves the truth, to discover what we really were, and to seek salvation."  With this quote, Marcus sets the tone for what the book is ultimately about, which is linking neorealism to a new identity not just for Italian filmmakers, but for the nation as a whole.  The contributions of de Sica to this movement are likened to a stone that "contributed to the moral reconstruction of" Italy, specifically Italian thought.  Consquently, Marcus makes the argument that neorealism proper goes on to beget a more personalized form of realism that contributes to a culture shift that influences filmmakers as diverse as Bertolucci and Wertmuller.

     The one film that Marcus singles out one film as the premier moment of neorealism as a whole is of course Bicycle Thief, although it should be noted that Rossellini's Rome, Open City is given the distinction of being the founding of neorealism proper.  What sets Bicycle Thief apart for Marcus is the way that de Sica/Zavattini's work focused on the "banality of the stabilized postwar condition."  One line in particular ("No, nothing, just a bicycle") resonates with Marcus because it shows the total dismissal by the powers that be of the loss that Antonio faces in having his bicycle stolen.  The space that is created by de Sica is described as being "fragmented, decentered" and having no sense of cohesion which creates a maze like atmosphere for Antonio as he looks for the bicycle.   This sense of endless, fruitless searching is summed up by Marcus as an inherent pessimism on the part of de Sica that is meant to be a reflection of the disappointment of the Italian people as a whole. 

belongs to Vittorio de Sica's Bicycle Thief project
tagged Cinema Neorealism de_sica by colliert ...on 09-JUN-06
tagged Cinema Neorealism bicycle_thief de_sica by colliert ...on 09-JUN-06
"The Legacy of Mario Camerini in Vittorio De Sica's The Bicycle Thief (1948)" Cinema journal [0009-7101] 40.4 (2001).
   
     Prior to becoming one of the most respected directors in Italian Cinema, Vittorio de Sica was a very successful actor.  One of the directors that de Sica frequently worked for was Mario Camerini.  In the essay "The Legacy of Mario Camerini in Vittorio de Sica's The Bicycle Thief (1948)," Carlo Celli argues that there are stylistic influences from the films of Camerini found in Bicycle Thief.   Because of Camerini worked with de Sica pre-war and Bicycle Thief is a post-war motion picture, Celli believes that it is the romantic comedies that these two men collaborated on that provides a link to the films made prior to neorealism.  As Celli points out, it is de Sica and Zavattini who credit Camerini with an early influence on their films.  In fact, de Sica was quoted as saying that Camerini taught him how to be "truthful and sincere" in his filmmaking. 
     Another characteristic of Camerini's works found in Bicycle Thief, according to Celli, is the characterization of the privileged in Italian society.  For instance, in the films of both Camerini and Zavattini, the privileged "have refinement and grace . . . but also a forced and vulgar irony."  Camerini also advocated used inexperienced actors long before this became en vogue with the neorealism filmmakers. Other Camerini traits found in the works of de Sica include poor characters inpersonating the rich, the use of montage to indicate the desires of the protagonist, and sympathetic depictions of proleterian organizations.
belongs to Vittorio de Sica's Bicycle Thief project
tagged Cinema Neorealism bicycle_thief de_sica by colliert ...on 09-JUN-06

> Bicycle Thief

Shiel, Mark. . Italian neorealism : rebuilding the cinematic city / Mark Shiel. [1904764487 ] London ; New York : Wallflower Press, 2006.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1993.5.I88 S55 2006

<            With Italian Neorealism:  Rebuilding the cinematic city, Mark Shiel creates a compact, yet thorough introduction to the rich history of mid-20th century Italian cinema, also known as the age of neorealism.  Like many works that focuse on Italian neorealism, Shiel chooses to highlight the dichotomous relationship between two films:  Roberto Rossellini's Rome, Open City (1945) and Vittorio de Sica's Bicycle Thieves.  Shiel argues that the most groundbreaking legacy of de Sica's masterwork is his and his frequent collaborator Cesare Zavattini, "merger of metaphysical and political concerns."  This merger stood in sharp contrast to Rome, Open City, which contained an explicit depiction of Catholicism.  According to Shiel, an indictment of Italian society that focused on religiosity was deemed to limiting for de Sica and Zavattini.  Indeed, Zavattini was known for looking for ways to promote social justice from a humanist perspective to combat "ignorance, alienation, injustice, and poverty" (54).

<            In his discussion of Bicycle Thieves, Shiel details how de Sica and Zavattini create an authentic milieu of Italian society in the 1940's by focusing the lens on a protagonist that is, in a word "typical" (55).  In Antonio Ricci, a man who is simply attempting to maintain a decent quality of life for him and his son Bruno in the midst of the devastating poverty and unemploymnet that occurred post-war.  The film's depiction of the search for the bike follows, according to Shiel, the "classical narrative structure, active characterisation, and narrative closure" that was found in more mainstream motion pictures, but there was also a commitment to showing so called "life as it is," not the prevalent idealism, and in some cases, censorship that occured in Fascist Italy and throughout Europe in other places known for cinema like Franco's Spain and Nazi Germany.

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tagged Bicycle_Thieves Cinema Italian Neorealism de_sica by colliert ...on 09-JUN-06
Vittorio de SicaVerdone,M . "The Italian Cinema from Its Beginnings to Today" Hollywood quarterly [1549-0076] 5.3 (1951). 270-.
http://www.jstor.org/view/15490076/ap040019/04a00070/0
      Mario Verdone's well known 1951 essay on Italian Neorealism, entitled "The Italian Cinema from Its Beginnings to Today," makes the argument that the Cinematic Neorealism movement was just as influential to the Italian history of artistic achievements as the the literary periods that brought works by Petrarch and Dante, or the artistic movements that introduced the world to painters such as Botticelli and Michaelangelo.  Verdone likens the Cinematic neorealism to a "birth" of a new artistic movement because of the rich historical detail, the brilliant dialogue, and compellingly nuanced storytelling.
      In addition to praising de Sica and the Bicycle Thieves, Verdone also gives a brief history of the rich history of the Cine's before the first world war, and the subsequent toll that the war took on the artistic output of Italian cinema due to the Italy's inability to access Hollywood film stock.  By tracing the historical elements, Verdone successfully arives at the conclusion that the realism that originated out of neccessity actually contributed to a renaissance in Italian Cinema by fully embracing an authentic vision of the the society at the time.  The poverty, the lack of available funds for filmmakers, this could of potentially ruined Italian Cinema forever, according to Verdone, but instead it was a blessing in disguise, especially for de Sica's minimalist masterpiece, Bicycle Thieves.
belongs to Vittorio de Sica's Bicycle Thief project
tagged Bicycle_Thieves Cinema Italian Neorealism by colliert ...on 09-JUN-06
 

Tomasulo,FP . "" Bicycle Thieves": A Re-Reading" Cinema journal [0009-7101] 21.2 (1982). 2-.

http://www.jstor.org/view/00097101/ap040032/04a00020/0

             What reality is Vittorio de Sica's Bicycle Thieves conveying?  That is the question that Tomasulo's polemical essay "Bicycle Thieves:  A Re-Reading" (1982) attempts to answer.   Tomasulo argues that although there are unquestionable links between neorealism and its social/historical moment, Bicycle Thieves does not accurately portray the social forces that create the situation for Antonio and Bruno.  In his Marxist influenced critque of de Sica's film, Tomasulo charges that "at best, the film is reformist; at worst, it legitimizes the ideology of bourgeois liberalism."  Also disputed by Tomasulo is Bazin's assertion that the Bicycle Thieves is a break from the classical narrative by pointing out that the film does indeed follow an organized plot structure.

                Unlike Shiel, who asserts that Bicycle Thieves is a humanist work, Tomasulo makes the claim that the film convey's "a quasi-mystical aura of Christian brotherhood," by pointing to the scene in the film which takes place at a charity ward because traditionally these institutions were associated with the Vatican.  Ultimately, it is a sense of religiosity that makes the film's perceived solidarity with the poor, ring inauthentic to Tomasulo.

belongs to Vittorio de Sica's Bicycle Thief project
tagged Bicycle_Thieves Cinema Italian Neorealism by colliert ...on 09-JUN-06
 

Keating,P . "The Fictional Worlds of Neorealism." Criticism [0011-1589] 45.1 (2003). 11-.

        Unlike Yau's Recon-figuration:Revisiting Modernity and Reality in Deleuze's Taxonomy of Cinema (Wide angle [0160-6840] 20.4 (1998). 51-.) Patrick Keating disputes previous claims that Neorealism exist solely in a plane of constructed reality because of conventional cinematic attributes .  Keating does not refute that neorealism is constructed and stylized reality, but it is his assertion that neorealism is closely related to documentary in its scope and tradition as well.  To support his claims, Keating points to Benjamin Harshav's theory of Internal and External Fields of Reference, a literary theory that explains how a work of fiction does not truly exist outside of reality, but rather the realms of fiction and reality are interrelated through a frame of reference (fr).  Each frame does not exist in a separate world, but rather inhabits and contributes to a larger frame, called a field.

          In the Bicycle Thieves, Keating sees a "double-decker" reference of reality where there is the fictionalized Rome that de Sica constructs (internal), and the Rome outside of the mise en scene (external).  In other words, a viewer is getting a glimpse into the world of Antonio and Bruno AND late 40's post-war Italy.  These two references do not exist in separate spheres, yet they are distinct and should not be interpreted as being one in the same, but the viewer still is shaped by the depiction of father and son shown in the film.  The reality in the Bicycle Thieves is not based solely on content, but rather the importation of reality to the film and the subsequent exportation of this reality as art.

belongs to Vittorio de Sica's Bicycle Thief project
tagged Bicycle_Thieves Cinema Neorealism de_sica documentary by colliert ...on 09-JUN-06
Re-viewing fascism : Italian cinema, 1922-1943 / edited by Jacqueline Reich and Piero Garofalo. [0253340454] Bloomington : Indiana University Press, c2002.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1993.5.I88 R45 2002
          The essay "Intimations of Neorealism in the Fascist Ventennio" from the book Re-viewing Fascism, Ennio Di Nolfo attempts to retrace the history of Italian neorealism by focusing on individuals like Luchino Visconti, Mario Alicata, Giuseppe De Santis, and especially Vittorio de Sica's chief collaborator on the motion picture Bicycle Thieves, Cesare Zavattini.  Di Nolfo examines how Zavattini believed that "life had to be captured in its everyday aspects" with each shot, the filmmaker was bringing and capturing truth through the camera.  The truth captured was to serve, at least partly, as a mirror to the social realities of post-war Italy, and the problems that inevitably arose in attempting to turn a criticial eye towards the intstitutions of Italy.  The Cinema of Truth, as Zavattini referred to it, was the initial label given to Italian neorealism cinema. 
         In referring specifically to Bicycle Thieves, Di Nolfo asserts that de Sica/Zavattini's work stands apart as a complex dramatization of a relationship between a father and son, set against the devastating poverty that affected the working class and poor the most.  Like many other critics, Di Nolfo talks about the "political and cultural abyss" which exists between Rossellini and de Sica, an abyss that is heightened by the landscape created by Zavattini, who wrote Bicycle Thieves.


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tagged Cinema Italian Neorealism by colliert ...on 09-JUN-06

http://www.jstor.org/view/00151386/ap040155/04a00100/0
Reinert,CDE . "The Cinema of Anxiety: A Psychoanalysis of Italian Neorealism" Film quarterly [0015-1386] 54.4 (2001). 48-.
tagged [none] by colliert ...on 08-JUN-06
Cardullo, Bert.. Vittorio De Sica : director, actor, screenwriter / Bert Cardullo. [078641135X (ill. case : alk. case)] Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland, c2002.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1998.3.D42 C37 2002


tagged [none] by colliert ...on 06-JUN-06
Truffaut, Franðcois.. Correspondence, 1945-1984 / Franðcois Truffaut ; edited by Gilles Jacob and Claude de Givray ; translated by Gilbert Adair ; foreword by Jean-Luc Godard. [0374130019 :] New York : Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 1990, c1989.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1998.3.T78 A4 1990


tagged [none] by colliert ...on 05-JUN-06
Hayward, Susan, 1945- . French national cinema / Susan Hayward. [0415307821 (alk. paper) ] London ; New York : Routledge, 2005.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1993.5.F7 H39 2005


tagged [none] by colliert ...on 05-JUN-06
Strauss,D . "French Critics and American Jazz" American quarterly [0003-0678] 17.3 (1965). 582-.
tagged France Jazz by colliert ...on 05-JUN-06
NETTELBECK,CW . "Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and the Paris jazz scene" Modern & contemporary France [0963-9489] 9.2 (2001). 171-.
tagged France Jazz by colliert ...on 05-JUN-06
Journal of European studies. [0047-2441] [Chalfont St. Giles, Eng., etc.] Alpha Academic [etc.]
Call#: Van Pelt Library D1 .J58


Amphibiologie: Ethnographic Surrealism in French Discourse on Jazz

Journal article by Matthew F. Jordan; Journal of European Studies, Vol. 31, 2001

Amphibiologie: Ethnographic Surrealism in French Discourse on Jazz

Journal article by Matthew F. Jordan; Journal of European Studies, Vol. 31, 2001

tagged French_New_Wave Jazz by colliert ...on 05-JUN-06
Young,C . "New Wave-Or Gesture?" Film quarterly [0015-1386] 14.3 (1961). 6-.
tagged Cinema French_New_Wave by colliert ...on 05-JUN-06