|
Beijing Bicycle (AKA Shiqi sui
de dan che)
(2001)
"Guei gets a job as a messenger. The company
issues him
a bike, which he must pay for out of his wages. When it is stolen, Guei
hunts for it. A student, Jian, has it; for him, it's the key to teen
society - with his pals and with Xiao, a girl he
fancies. Guei finds
the bike and stubbornly tries to reclaim it in the face of great odds.
But for Jian to lose the bike would mean humiliation. The two young men
- and the people around them - are swept up in the youths'
desperation." -- from the IMDB
The Bicycle Thief (AKA Ladri di
Biciclette)
(1948)
A world classic and indisputable masterpiece
about an
Italian workman who finds a job, only to have the bike he needs for
work stolen; he and his son search Rome for it. A simple story that
seems to contain the whole of human experience, and the masterpiece of
Italian neo-realism. Based on the book by Luigi Bartolini. In Italian
with English subtitles. (Slade says:
There's a 1986 remake of this set in NYC and directed by Norman Loftis
called called "Messenger". Out of print, never released on DVD, may be
able to find used VHS. Xenon Entertainment Group version (1995) is
duplicated in EP mode.)
BMX Bandits (1983, Nicole
Kidman)
Three adventurous Aussie teens put their BMX
skills to
the test when they witness a crime and are pursued by the criminals.
Cyclo (1995, 123 min.,
Vietnamese)
Slade says: "Starts off with the familiar
Bicycle Thief
riff - young man needs bicycle (bicycle taxi in this case) for
survival, bike is stolen by bad guys. That takes place in the first
twenty minutes and that's it for the bike, except that there are many
street scenes throughout, with lots of bicycles, tricycles, biketaxis
and motorbikes. This is a well-made and interesting film, but there is
lots of violence and it can be hard to follow. It is a dark and
depressing film start to finish, set entirely in the criminal
underground of Saigon. I would recommend reading some of the reviews at
Amazon." (Amazon,
IMDB)
Jitensha (2009, Japan)
"Jitensha" (or "Bicycle") is a story about
Mamoru Amagaya, a young man struggling to find meaning in life. A
co-worker confronts Mamoru on his apparent apathy toward life, and this
results in Mamoru leaving his job out of humiliation. Now alone
and without work, just as it seems that things could not possibly get
worse, parts of Mamoru’s bicycle begin to disappear, one by one. In
frustration, Mamoru leaves a note for the thief, begging him to just
take the whole thing. The note left in response is signed "God",
leaving Mamoru only more confused. At last, when the only
remaining piece of the bicycle is a lonely bell, Mamoru receives an
envelope, containing addresses at which each piece of the bicycle might
be retrieved. Puzzled yet intrigued, Mamoru embarks on a journey to
resurrect and reassemble his beloved possession. As he seeks out each
piece of the missing whole, Mamoru begins to discover that he himself
is in a healing process. As he puts his bike together piece by piece,
he realizes that he himself is in the process of being reassembled in
the same way, by one far greater than himself. (from the producer's
website) (added June 2010)
Jour de fête (1949, France)
A French comedy in which a letter carrier
tries
to
modernize delivery methods by using a bicycle. (more at the IMDB)
Messengers (1999, Japan)
"Naomi, a successful fashion press
agent, is having
a bad day. Her business is shut down, everything she has is repossesed,
and she accidentally runs down a bicycle messenger with her car. To get
out of paying for the messenger's medical bills, she agrees to take his
place at the struggling courier company he and his friend run. Though
she hates the job at first, she soon comes to see its good points, and
helps the company's owner, Suzuki, to win a valuable courier contract
away from a bullying motorcycle messenger service." (from the IMDB)
Nebraska Supersonic (1999, 75
min.)
"In Omaha, Nebraska, three
slackers--all
sub-par
French majors--start a business that should not succeed on the vast
Great Plains: a bicycle courier service. Through comic adventures,
personal challenges, and while charging only two dollars per 120-mile
delivery, their business becomes a resounding success." (Official website)
Pee Wee's Big Adventure (1985.
Paul Reubens,
Jan Hooks, Phil Hartman. Music by Danny Elfman)
Zany, endearing comedy about an adult
nerd's many
adventures while attempting to recover his stolen bicycle. Chock full
of classic sequences, including a barroom encounter between Pee Wee and
several ornery bikers, and a tour through the Alamo. A colorful,
exhilarating experience.
Quicksilver (1986. Kevin Bacon,
Rudy Ramos,
Larry Fishburne, Louie Anderson)
A young stockbroker loses all, then quits his
job to
become a city bicycle messenger.
Rush It (1977)
Bike messengers fall in love.
The Day I Became a Woman (2000,
Iran)
Three shorts about the experiences of women
in
Iran.
"The second part is about a young woman who decides to enter a bicycle
race against her husband's wishes. As first the husband and then
increasing numbers of men from the village ride beside her to convince
her to return home, the race begins to symbolize a freedom she
desperately wants from the limitations which have been placed on her."
From the IMDB.
Shorts
Motor Mania (1950,
Disney)
A highly-prescient six-minute feature that shows how
the peaceful Mr. Walker transforms into the aggressive, selfish Mr.
Wheeler as soon as he gets behind the wheel, terrorizing pedestrians
and other drivers. It's shocking how long ago some had figured
all this out. (Full
video on YouTube)
Bicycle Scenes
Muppet Movies (1979
& 1981))
The Muppet Movie in 1979 delighted audiences
with a
short scene of Kermit riding a bicycle -- being no easy feat to film a puppet
riding a bike, especially in the era before computer-generated
graphics! The sequel, 1981's The Great Muppet Caper, tops that
with a long scene of Kermit and Miss Piggy riding bikes side by side
through a park, singing to each other, "Pretty day, sunny sky,
lovely pictures dance in your eyes. It all seems so right. It all feels
so rare. Summer song, sudden breeze, watch the wind play tags in the
trees. The world is so right, so perfectly fair. Why couldn't we fly? I
know we'd get by. Sunny sky, pretty day, just a push and we're on the
way. Yes, couldn't we ride, side by side?" Another shot in
this scene shows a total of eight (count 'em) muppets riding
bikes.
Other sites with their own lists:
Related sites:
- Filmed
by Bike. A film festival of shorts (8 minutes or less) with bike
themes, though not necessarily filmed while riding.
Last Update: October 2012
|
