The Bicycle Thief

Data
Title: Ladri di biciclette
Year: 1948
Length: 89 minutes
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Writers: Cesare Zavattini, Suso Cecchi d’Amico, Vittorio De Sica, Oreste Biancoli, Adolfo Franci & Gerardo Guerrieri, based on the novel by Luigi Bartolini
Starring: Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola
Music: Alessandro Cicognini
Distinctions: honorary Oscar for best foreign language film (1950); currently #106 on IMDb’s Top 250

My reaction
Synopsis: a father can’t support his family without a bicycle
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Concept: Good.
Story: Great.
Characters: Great.
Dialog: Indifferent. Although, it’s not really fair of me to judge; the DVD subtitles didn’t translate half the dialog. It is the way of Netflix to only have the cheapest, crappiest DVD available of any title.
Pacing: Terrible.
Cinematography: Good.
Special effects/design: Great. But not much is called for.
Acting: Great.
Music: Great.
Subjective Rating: 5/10 (Indifferent). The kind of film that exists for film students to write essays about it. Thinking about it afterward, it seems like it should be a really great movie. But actually sitting down and watching the thing, I was bored silly.
Objective Rating: 8/10 (Good).

The Red Shoes

Before going on to the top 100 of IMDb’s Top 250, I’m jumping back down on The List to pick up a few titles that snuck on to the bottom after I’d passed it.

Data
Title: The Red Shoes
Year: 1948
Length: 133 minutes
Directors: Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger
Writer: Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, with Keith Winter, based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen
Starring: Marius Goring, Anton Walbrook, Moira Shearer
Music: Brian Easdale
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Score (dramatic or comedy) and Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (color); formerly on the IMDb’s Top 250

My reaction
Synopsis: a young dancer and a young composer get their break together with a touring ballet company
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Concept: Good. A movie about the ballet, with the fairy tale tone of a ballet.  The sort of straight-forward, romantic melodrama I expect from a movie inspired by (“based on” seems too strong) Hans Christian Andersen.
Story: Good.
Characters: Good. They’re simple and one-dimensional, but in a way that works perfectly for what the movie’s doing.
Dialog: Good.
Pacing: Good. It probably doesn’t need to be so long; the real plot doesn’t get going until an hour and a half into the movie. But I was never bored.  And you’ve got to give them some credit for having the balls to put an entire performance of a ballet smack in the middle of a long movie. Risky move, but it works. Strangely, it reminds me of Rififi.
Cinematography: Good.
Special effects/design: Good. They put all of their efforts with the visuals into a handful of key scenes, which are amazingly good. But other scenes are just okay. For instance, at one point a cloud of dry ice is supposed to represent a train passing by.
Acting: Great. I’m stretching this category to “performances” with this movie.
Music: Great.
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great). I didn’t love it, but I have to wonder what’s wrong with the world that I’d never even heard of it until a few days ago.
Objective Rating: 9/10 (Very good).

Rope

Title: Rope
Year: 1948
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: Hume Cronyn & Arthur Laurents, based on a play by Patrick Hamilton
Starring: James Stewart, John Dall, Farley Granger
Music: David Buttolph (the only score is over the credits)
Distinctions: currently #212 on IMDb’s Top 250
Synopsis: a pretentious jackasses murders someone as an intellectual challenge
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), May 2008
Subjective Rating: 2/10
Objective Rating: 2/10 (gets points for pacing and music)

One of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. The only redeeming value is Stewart’s performance. Unfortunately, John Dall, not Jimmy Stewart, is the lead, and he makes community theater look good. The writing is appallingly unnatural – one of those movies that’s obviously and awkwardly based on a play. The “cinematography” comes down to a single camera pointing at a stage — and it’s obviously a stage. Everything else might go wrong, but at least Hitchcock has the mercy to chop it down to 80 minutes.