Contents
Vittorio De Sica
Directing Bicycle Thieves, a defining film of Italian neorealism about poverty, work and a father and son.
Shoeshine · Bicycle Thieves
- Born
- 7 July 1901
- Birthplace
- Sora, Italy
- Died
- 13 November 1974
More people
Vittorio De Sica
Vittorio De Sica combined a long acting career with directing films that gave ordinary people and postwar hardship exceptional attention.
Early life
Family moves
Grew up between several Italian cities before settling in Rome.
Early acting
Performed in amateur theatre and entered films while studying accountancy.
Career
- 1920s–1930s
Stage and screen
Became a popular theatre and film actor.
- 1940
Directing
Began directing features while continuing to act.
- 1940s–1950s
Neorealist work
Collaborated with writer Cesare Zavattini on stories of poverty and exclusion.
- 1960s–1970s
Later cinema
Directed stars including Sophia Loren and made The Garden of the Finzi-Continis.
Selected work
Shoeshine
Two boys encounter the juvenile justice system.
Bicycle Thieves
A stolen bicycle threatens a worker's livelihood.
Umberto D.
An elderly pensioner struggles to survive with his dog.
Beyond work
Family
His children Manuel and Christian also worked in cinema.
Acting recognition
Received a supporting-actor Oscar nomination for A Farewell to Arms.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗British Film Institute: film and context ↗Photo: Stevan Kragujević. CC BY-SA 3.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
