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Boy and Bicycle More at IMDbPro »
| Index | 8 reviews in total |
11 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Intriguing First Effort from Scott, 13 June 2003
Author:
HarpMN
Boy and Bicycle is available on the DVD of Scott's excellent feature
debut,
The Duellists. It is an abstract, stream-of-consciousness journey into
the
mind of "The Boy," played by Scott's younger brother Tony. While it may
seem like not much happens as we follow Tony through the streets of a
smallish English industrial town, the sensation of being inside his head,
hearing the sometimes nonsensical interior monologue of a young teenager
playing hooky becomes almost hypnotic after a while.
What really stands out about this short film is the early development of
Ridley Scott's visual style. His shot composition is amazing for a first
effort; Scott is able to use The Boy's surroundings, both natural and
man-made, to frame his subject skillfully and direct the viewer's eye to
the
precise details he wants to emphasize.The black-and-white photography
really
helps to accent the details of The Boy's surroundings. Scott also is not
afraid to experiment with camera angles, using high or low angle shots to
capture The Boy from angles that are at once strange but also oddly
natural,
all the while keeping in mind the fascinating geometry of whatever might
be
found in the background.
All told, this is a fascinating film that succeeds in transporting the
viewer into The Boy's interior world. It is beautifully shot, as one
would
expect from Ridley Scott. However, it is also in many ways abstract and
lacks a conventional narrative structure, which is a bit unexpected and a
pleasant surprise from a director who is from time to time unfairly
labeled
as a maker of big, loud, conventional action pictures.
9 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Successful and interesting as long as you accept that there isn't going to be much in the way of narrative here, 10 July 2004
Author:
bob the moo
On a typically grey day in England, a young boy decides that school is
not the place to be and heads out on his bicycle to hang around. He
travels around the boardwalks, beaches, shops and closed fairgrounds of
the town while we are allowed to listen to his inner thoughts as he
wanders both physically and mentally. Written and directed by Ridley
Scott in his first short film and starring his brother, mother and
father.
Available on a DVD containing all manner of UK short films, this short
was the first one I watched because I was curious to see an example of
Scott's work in order to see if I could see the potential that had
eventually led him to Hollywood. Visually I could see it. The film has
plenty of shot framing and attention to detail that show Scott had a
good eye for a shot, but not just for the sake of it. Many first shorts
struggle because they are too obvious with tonnes of arty and clever
shots which do not add to the film but rather just stand out as
showmanship. However Scott doesn't fall into the same trap and I must
admit that I was impressed by how he managed to be both visually
interesting without detracting from the main story.
However the main story is not so solid that it can really be detracted
from that much. We don't sure much have a narrative as we do a day out
in the mind of a teenage boy. It is hardly ground breaking stuff but it
is refreshingly free of teenage soul searching or stuff like that – no
Tony's thoughts are more general wonderings and wanderings as he
strolls around the place. It is maybe just as well that the dialogue is
less important than the other aspects, because I personally found some
of it quite hard to make out due to a mix of an average transfer and
Tony's thick accent. Despite his accent, Tony comes across natural
enough and maybe his brother being the director helped him just see it
as a bit of fun, relaxing him.
Overall this is not a perfect short film by the standards that I apply
to them. There is little narrative and the dialogue and performance is
natural but a little dull and uninvolving. However what it does do is
show the young Ridley Scott's comfort behind a camera and a seeming
natural eye for a well framed shot and an attention to detail within
his shots; he manages to deliver clever shots without taking away from
the rest of the film. An interesting and enjoyable short film that is
only made more interesting by the eventual careers of the two brothers.
6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
young man and a movie camera, 26 September 2006
Author:
postmanwhoalwaysringstwice from usa
"Boy and Bicycle" is a short film famed director Ridley Scott made in
the early 60's, which was completed in 1965. It offers a very limited
narrative about, you guessed it, a boy and his bicycle. A teenage boy
rides along the English seaside in search of some solitude with his own
thoughts. A lot of teen angst runs through the telling of the story,
which is told almost entirely through a difficult to understand voice
over track by the star and the director's brother, Tony Scott (who went
on to have a film-making career of his own).
There's a nice innocent appeal about it, and the chilly weather comes
across particularly well, however there are plenty of the standard
student film hindrances as well. Though there are some impressive black
and white visuals, the viewer must also contend with a lot of wandering
home movie type shots. It's a film that runs long at twenty-seven
minutes, and though it might offer a glimmer of what would become a
pretty strong director, it's not exactly worth it.
5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Interesting first effort from a master visualist, 23 June 2003
Author:
Steve Power (Eldorodo) from Mt. Pearl, Newfoundland
Found as an extra on Ridley's fantastic feature debut, THE DUELLISTS, this short film is actually Ridley Scott's first completed work. Originally done during schooling, the student nature of the film is quite evident. Yet despite this, it is representative of Ridley's unconventional visual style, and his excellent eye for composition. This underrated director gives us stark visuals in black and white and using only natural light, making the film all that much more special. The narrative is somewhat obtuse, a peek into a young boy's thoughts as he rides around a small English town playing hooky. Definitely art house material, and thus not for everybody, but a must see for anyone with an interest in direction, cinematography or a die hard Ridley Scott fan. Almost as essential as THE DUELLISTS itself.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Show of Ideals, 22 October 2009
Author:
jazz-clubber from United Kingdom
Not a great short for anyone who didn't have the bits of childhood that
Ridley sees in this piece initially, unless you love that gritty film
feel.
Lots of little iconic items that used to be in mine and everyones
houses. Lovely junk, treale tins, jam jars and old junk. What makes it
good for me is I loved starting looking at film this way and also being
able to understand how he brought this grittiness to Alien which
complete transformed the far end of Cinema.
If you've had a go at using light 8mm or 16mm cameras in your life,
you'll get excited about this.
G.
4 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Wow--this proves that practice makes perfect!!, 23 February 2008
Author:
planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida
These days, Ridley Scott is one of the top directors and producers and
can command huge sums to helm movies--especially since he has films
like ALIEN, GLADIATOR and BLADE RUNNER to his credit. So from this
partial list of his credits, it's obvious he's an amazing talent.
However, if you watch this very early effort that he made while in film
school, you'd probably have a hard time telling that he was destined
for greatness. That's because although it has some nice camera-work and
style, the film is hopelessly dull and uninvolving. However,
considering that it wasn't meant for general release and it was only a
training ground, then I am disposed to looking at it charitably--hence
the score of 4.
By the way, this film is part of the CINEMA 16: European Shorts DVD. On
this DVD are 16 shorts. Most aren't great, though because it contains
THE MAN WITHOUT A HEAD, COPY SHOP, RABBIT and WASP, it's an amazing DVD
for lovers of short films and well worth buying.
Remarkable, 10 April 2011
Author:
davidvmcgillivray-24-905811 from London
This film was offered as a free treat for BFI members in April, 2011. Easy to be wise after the event, but even so Ridley Scott's mastery of direction, photography and post production seems now to presage a major auteur. Internal evidence (theatre and film posters) suggests that some filming took place in 1961 in which case Scott was a young genius. As others have suggested, it adds up to nothing much. It's just a film poem. But what wonderful imagery. A lot of credits are missing. I reckon that the voice-over is not that of Scott's brother Tony who stars. Who's the mother? Who's the boat owner at the end? Whatever, recommended.
7 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
Ridley Scott's first effort is rambling and boring, 29 January 2003
Author:
mynameisalreadychosen1 (mynameisalreadychosen1@yahoo.com) from U.S.
I saw this short film on the dvd for Ridley Scott's film, The Duellists.
There was no introduction by Scott before the film, it just started right
up.
Boy and a Bicycle is hardly an example of Ridley Scott's other work, it
bears no resemblance. The film shows a boy, played by Tony Scott, riding
around on a bicycle. Guess what? That's pretty all that happens. The boy
rides around, rambling on and on with pointless, confusing dialogue. The
film was shot in black and white, and since it was directed by Ridley Scott,
I expected some cool cinematography or visually-striking sets. Instead, I
was treated with nothing. This film isn't even good for a first effort.
However, I recommend that any fan of Ridley Scott should check it out at
least once.
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