In this episode Russ and Ken discuss three of the earliest films made by director Vittorio de Sica, Sciusia (Shoeshine, 1946), Ladri di Biciclette (The bicycle thieves,1948) and Umberto D (1952), all films made in and around Rome, mainly with non-professional actors. We talk about De Sica’s extraordinary career as actor, comedian, theatre then film director as well as his commitment to leftist politics and social justice, alongside his catholic faith and unusual, double, family life. Russ talks about the main elements of neorealism in cinema as evidenced in these films, and its parallel in the literature of the time, before outlining the plot of each film, each co-scripted by the director. We talk about the interesting use of locations and camera, capturing less-known areas of Rome and, the successful and affective impact of the music, composed by composed by Alessandro Cicognini in each case. Great conversation on an important director and movement.

Participants:

Russ Kilbourn, Professor of English and Film Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario (Canada) http://rjakilbourn.com/

Ken Barrett, UK based visual artist, writer, podcaster and short film producer http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

The movies:

Sciuscia (1946): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040522/

Ladri di Biciclette (1948): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040522/?ref_=fn_i_1

Umberto D (1952): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045274/?ref_=fn_t_1

More on De Sica: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vittorio_De_Sica

More on Neorealism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_neorealism

Theme music: Tarantella composed by Stephen Brown.

Artwork by KB

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