The Bicycle Thief (1948) and the General (1927), Essay Example

This essay aims at comparing two films, “The Bicycle Thief (1948)”, and “The General (1927)”. The most important areas of focus will be the genres of the films, the themes, the use of audio and the cinematography and the importance of each feature in the film. This essay will also analyze the characters, action, plot, as well as the atmosphere generated, and how each is aimed at the individual film’s intended audience. In the analysis of the two movies, the movie the bicycle thief is a tragedy movie while the general is a comedy film. In a tragedy movie, the movie begins with a problem, which affects all the characters involved. The main character has the obligation of solving the problem and often results in his punishment or death. In a comedy film, it also begins with a problem though of a lesser significance. Here, the characters try to solve the problem and the story ends in a happy reunion (“The General.”)

Although these two varieties are conflicting, they also do have some similarities among them. In comparing the tragedy and comedy films, we begin with the narration. In the comedy film, this involves togetherness ad unity as we can see in the union between Johnnie and Annabelle at the end of the film the general. The story begins with Johnnie who had travelled to see hi fiancée Annabelle. When the civil war breaks out, he rushes to line up for the recruitment exercise. Unfortunately, he is turned down, as he is more valuable serving as a train engineer. As he leaves, he comes across Annabelle’s father and brother who request him to join the queue. He instead walks away giving them an impression that he is not interested in the job. This message gets to Annabelle through her father; Annabelle reacts to this by telling Johnnie that he should not talk to her unless he is in uniform. Later when Annabelle’s father is wounded, she travels to see her father in Johnnie’s train. With the several encounters in the journey, Annabelle ends up reunite to Johnnie and Johnnie is recruited in the army for his braveness.

On the other hand, narration in a tragedy film the character(s) goes from a high point to a low point. In the film, the bicycle thief, Antonio Ricci gets a job of hanging movie posters, given that he has a bicycle to use as a means of transport. He and his wife, Maria, forfeit the linen sheets given to them on their marriage to pay for the bicycle. The bicycle is stolen on his first day at work, which is a Friday.

With his son Bruno by his side, Antonio has to find the bicycle before Monday, or he will lose his job. He first seeks the help of the police, but there is no help accorded to him. The only option with him is to search for the bicycle with his son. They begin the search for the bicycle in no avail. After searching for hours, they give up. They then get into a restaurant to have a quick meal, from there Antonio visits a fortune teller who tells him that he will get is bicycle as soon as possible or he will not access it at all.

As Antonio leaves the house of the diviner, he stumbles on the thief, he takes him out, and he is invaded by an angry mob. The police finally come to the rescue of the thief where due to lack of evidence on his part Antonio looses the case and walks away in despair. He resolves to steal a bicycle to replace his lost bicycle but unfortunately, he is caught and humiliated before his son. Luckily, the owner of the bicycle presses no charges on him.

Both movies apply the use of black and white lighting system. In a film, capturing the right type of light, shadow, and shading is often challenging. Both movies however create scenes and shots that are well lit and they concur with the mood and the tone of the movie. This means the movies did not have a bright setting; they begin in darkness and brighten up as the movie progresses. In the movie the bicycle thief, the director uses naturally lighting throughout. To bring out a proper view, the characters at the foreground are lit and the background kept pitch black.

The camera and choice of lens also contribute to the mood of the film, character development, and telling the story. The film the bicycle thief is seen as an outstanding movie produced during the neorealist period. To bring out this contrast, the camera captures the dissolution. When Bruno glances at the rich boy, the camera angle is pointing upwards towards the rich child creating a platform for the rich family’s table to rest. Antonio’s glance incarcerates the idea that he wishes he could give his family such financial steadiness. We confirm this impression when Antonio begins to visualize loudly to Bruno of the money he would earn through his new job if he has his bicycle. This film also brings out individual characters in their role as common life individuals. In the film the General, the camera brings out a definitive relationship between characters. Taking the example of Johnnie when he was called by Annabelle’s father to queue up, he had least expected meeting them on his way out. We tilt the camera to bring out the exact look on each one’s face during this period (Smith).

Sound in a film is very essential in a film. Good quality of sound makes a distinction between a low and a high quality movie. In film production, a film would be quite boring without music, and would decrease the audiences’ enjoyment. Both of the films use sound to add to the action and suspense. Directors often turn to different composers to come up with and play the music suitable to the film. Music in the bicycle thief is Italian Dolby Digital 2.0. This music is adequate for the film but still needs more backup to emphasis on some scenes within the movie.

In the movie the General, the music applied here is heavy orchestral music, the film have pace, action filled first scene, therefore the music ought to be fast paced and powerful. This makes the viewers feel part of the act particularly when the train breaks down at the bridge (Smith). The intense music makes the audience feel the tension of the story. At the time, Johnnie escapes with Annabelle, music here moves with the pace of their movement. It slows down as they slow down and it is intense where there is fast movement. There are also many crescendos presented when the suspense approaches mini-climaxes to highlight them, and make them engage the viewers’ mind. There is also suspense in the music to emphasize the noises in the plot of the film, for instance speech. Sound effects are also used to perform exaggeration in a film. For example in the film the General, sound effect is used during the collapsing of the bridge to depict the damage left behind. Sound also signifies the intenseness of the collapse (“The General.”)

There is a sharp contrast in the significance of the title of each film to the film itself. The title the bicycle thief does not refer only to the thief who steals Antonio’s bicycle as the beginning of the movie, but also to Antonio himself who resorts to stealing a bicycle after he loses his due to lack of evidence. His fury at the thieves suddenly turns to understanding as he is put into a compromising situation. In this state, it dawns on him that the poor are more likely to steal from the poor, as it is easier than stealing from the rich.

In the movie the General, the title general refers to an army commandant. In this case, Johnnie is recruited to be an army officer. At the beginning of the movie, he serves as a train engineer of which he is denied trying to change his career due to his value in the position he holds (Smith). Later, he proves his bravery when he alerts the general on an impending attack on the bridge. He is thus crowned as an army officer. This reunites him with his girlfriend Annabelle.

In conclusion, the bicycle thief and the general movies were directed in an advance and knowledgeable way. They bring out the entire similarities and differences effectively. The major similarities are brought out by the use of the camera and choice of lens throughout the movies, the characterization, lighting, and significance of the film title. From this essay, we see the major differences brought out by the genre of the films, the use of sound effect in the film, the tone, and narration of the film.

Works cited

“The General.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 23 May. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1671571/The-General>.

Smith, Justin. The General (1927), Reviews Of Movies On Theatres And Videos, 2011. Web 23 May 2011 < http://www.criticplanet.org/2009/02/the-general-1927/>