|
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)
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.
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.
|
