The Bicycle Thief and The 400 Blows

By Mason Thompson

 

I wanted to stretch my mind so I choose 2 foreign film with English sub titles (this was my first sub title experience). The movies were released about a decade apart. The Bicycle Thief was released in 1948 while The 400 Blows came in 1959. Both films are considered classic’s or best examples of each film style.  The Bicycle Thief, directed by Vittorio De Sica represents the Neorealism era while The 400 Blows, directed by Francois Truffaut represents the French New Wave era. Although the time periods differ, I consider both films being post war era (WWII) and express what life was like in Europe following the war.

Neorealism films are characterized by the desire to make film be authentic, true to real life and follow societal norms. This is achieved by using techniques such as filming on location, utilizing nonprofessional actors and simple filming techniques. French New Wave films are characterized by a narrative style of storytelling making the viewer think and feel watch they are watching. The dialog is often spontaneous and expresses the truth. Films from this era introduced the jump cut style of editing (two sequential shots of the same subject are taken from camera positions that vary only slightly if at all), rapid edits, filming in outdoor locations and utilizing natural lighting. Generally, both films represented real life plots and did follow what was happening is society at the time. Neither was a “feel good” film that is more common in current period films.

As to the plots and my overall enjoyment comparing these two films, I preferred The Bicycle Thief. Although the story or plot is simple; a fathers attempt to support his family during hard economic times finally finds a job requiring a bicycle. Unfortunately during the first day on the job his bicycle is stolen. The movie follows the man and his young son as they try to recover the bicycle which he is depends on for his work. In Neorealism style, there is no happy ending as he unable to locate the bicycle. The 400 Blows plot is about a teenage boy who continually finds himself in trouble and making poor decisions which ultimately lands him in a juvenile detention center. In French New Wave style, I was left to ponder the question was the boy a bad apple or was he simply reacting to the events of his life.

Both films are critically acclaimed and have received numerous awards. For example, The Bicycle Thief It received an Academy Honorary Award in 1950 (most outstanding foreign film), was deemed the greatest film of all time by Sight & Sound magazine’s poll of filmmakers and critics  fifty years later the same poll ranked it sixth among the greatest-ever films just to name a few. While The 400 Blows received numerous awards and nominations, including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director, the OCIC Award, and a Palme d’Or nomination in 1959. The film was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing in 1960.

My goal for choosing these two movies was to open my mind and try something new from a film perspective. I feel I achieved my goal as I found both movies to be not only interesting and I also learned about the different styles of movies including characterized that place them in their category.

Critical Resources:

Book: Bicycle Thieves by Robert Gordon (https://he.palgrave.com/page/detail/Bicycle-Thieves/?K=9781844572380)

Book: The French New Wave: An Artistic School (https://books.google.com/books?id=LUWijfZ_QkMC&pg=PA61&lpg=PA61&dq=The+400+blows+production+costs&source=bl&ots=mB2T_AqpPi&sig=Jab5WxhM_FacNBlQumIFY0X5Zm8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjiwdu3ztzWAhUF0WMKHZ5SA9wQ6AEIYzAJ#v=onepage&q=The%20400%20blows%20production%20costs&f=false)

Newspaper Article (last interview from Director Francois Truffaut (The 400 Blows)  https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/truffauts-last-interview

Historical Resources:

Movie Poster: The Bicycle Thief (embedded image above)

Movie Poster: The 400 Blows (embedded image above)

Image: Filming of the final scene from The 400 Blows (embedded above)

Movie Trailer: The Bicycle Thief (embedded above)