Re: [CR] A little info on the peloton in "The Bicycle Thief"

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Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2011 12:01:43 -0500
From: "Harry Travis" <travis.harry@gmail.com>
To: Peter Jourdain <pjourdain@yahoo.com>
Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: Re: [CR] A little info on the peloton in "The Bicycle Thief"


Great post. With your mention of Lazio, it is now on-topic to tout the digitally remastered print of the movie. I'm sure that even for black and white films like "Bicycle Thieves" there's informative controversy over restoration. But, since none of us will ever view the analog master, those discussions should only be about the qualities of the prints. I found the Criterion Editions print and the whole project to be deeply satisfying. Great film.

Now I look forward, too, to discoveries by discerning listers about items spotted in the open-air bicycle parts market. There's lots of coverage of that swap meet in the movie.

Harry Travis Pine Barrens of NJ USA

On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 11:31 AM, Peter Jourdain <pjourdain@yahoo.com>wrote:
>
>
> Saluti---
>
>
> I was watching the
> classic, 1948 movie, "The Bicycle Thief," a.k.a. "Bicycle Thieves"
> and "Ladri di biciclette" last night when, toward the end of the picture, a
> group of racers fly past the two lead characters (father and son Antonio and
> Bruno) as they sit
> on the steps of a building across the street from a large soccer match
> taking place in Rome's Stadio Olimpico (opened 1937).
>
> Intrigued, I rewound, played and paused the footage again and again until,
> on the jerseys and shorts of the riders, I could discern the following: S.S.
> LAZIO.
>
> In scanning the CR archives I've never seen anyone mention the name of the
> above club, though some have mentioned the 1947
> edition of an Italian race, Giro del Lazio.
>
> As it turns out, the soccer (football) club playing across the street from
> the characters in the movie is a well-known "A" level professional club,
> S.S. Lazio, so undoubtedly this sporting organization also sponsored a
> cycling team, and the producer of the film made arrangements with them to
> facilitate the shooting of the above-mentioned scene.
>
> Anyway, I thought some of the Italian afficionados might enjoy the above
> facts and the links, below. Unfortunately, some really promising links when
> I did a search of "S.S. Lazio Ciclismo" which mention Fausto Coppi are dead,
> but here are some live ones I found---
>
> Wikipedia entry regarding the soccer team/sporting organization S.S. Lazio:
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.S._Lazio
>
>
> An entry (in Italian, which is easily translated) on the history (founded
> 1900) of Polisportiva Lazio (which includes in its list of sporting teams
> S.S. Lazio Clicismo):
>
> http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polisportiva_Lazio
>
>
>
> A page showing the 2005 membership of the S.S. Lazio Ciclismo team
> Ladispoli (direct descendants of the team in the movie?):
>
> http://www.cyclingnews.com/teams/2005/ss-lazio-ciclismo-team-ladispoli
>
>
>
> Internet Movie Database link for "The Bicycle Thief":
>
> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040522/
>
> If anyone has more to contribute on the movie or the S.S. Lazio Clclismo
> club, by all means....And if you've not seen the film, please do so---it's a
> classic. Among the footage are some great shots of a massive open-air cycle
> jumble with sellers fiddling around with bike parts. Lots of neat city
> bikes, too.
>
>
> Buon divertimento!
>
>
> Peter JourdainWhitewater, Wisconsin USA
>
> http://www.bicyclingbackwards.com
>
>
>
>
>
> "For here is entertainment in excelsis, the sight, the sound and the scent
> of things....Why cycling for joy is not the most popular passtime on earth
> is still a mystery to me." ---Frank J. Urry, "SALUTE TO CYCLING"
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>

--
Harry Travis