Bicycle Thieves (1948) [oppure “Ladri di biciclette” (original title)] is as classic a piece of Italian cinema as you will find.

Like most of the great Italian films, we see the elements of tragedy and comedy blended together brilliantly.

Via Wikipedia:

Bicycle Thieves (Italian: Ladri di biciclette), also known as The Bicycle Thief, is director Vittorio De Sica’s 1948 story of a poor father searching post-World War II Rome for his stolen bicycle, without which he will lose the job which was to be the salvation of his young family.

Adapted for the screen by Cesare Zavattini from a novel by Luigi Bartolini, and starring Lamberto Maggiorani as the desperate father and Enzo Staiola as his plucky young son, Bicycle Thieves is one of the masterpieces of Italian neorealism. It received an Academy Honorary Award in 1950 and, just four years after its release, was deemed the greatest film of all time by Sight & Sound magazine’s poll of filmmakers and critics;^[3] fifty years later the same poll ranked it sixth among greatest-ever films.^[4] It is also one of the top ten among theBritish Film Institute’s list of films you should see by the age of 14.

The Italian Job (2003) is an entertaining and gripping caper worth checking out.

The cast is loaded, starring Donald Sutherland, Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton, among others.

Regardless of your politics, The War Room (1993) is a fascinating and very well done documentary about the behind-the-scenes workings of the 1992 Bill Clinton presidential campaign. The documentary stars James Carville, George Stephanopoulos, and Heather Beckel.

via YouTube:

The 1992 presidential election was a triumph not only for Bill Clinton but also for the new breed of strategists who guided him to the White House—and changed the face of politics in the process. For this thrilling, behind-closed-doors account of that campaign, renowned cinema verité filmmakers Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker captured the brainstorming and bull sessions of Clinton’s crack team of consultants—especially James Carville and George Stephanopoulos, who became media stars in their own right as they injected a savvy, youthful spirit and spontaneity into the process of campaigning. Fleet-footed and entertaining, The War Room is a vivid document of a political moment whose truths (“It’s the economy, stupid!”) still ring in our ears.

The dark, tragic, quirky, yet well-crafted Requiem for a Dream (2000) is headlined by the talented Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, not to mention Marlan Wayans and the memorable Christopher McDonald (pictured above).

The film tracks the various addictions of its main characters, novel of the same name by Hubert Selby, Jr. (who also helped to adapt the screenplay).

Happiness (1998) is a disturbingly dark yet high quality, underwatched film. It also features the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his more archetypal performances.

Written and directed by Todd Solondz, the indie auteur of my prior Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995) recommendation, the film also stars Jon Lovitz, Lara Flynn Boyle, Jane Adams, and the brilliantly creepy Dylan Baker.

As we saw throughout the mid/late-1990’s, the film weaves together several separate storylines and characters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkQ_JxoWUP8

I recommended Everybody’s All American (1988) a few years back. But, just in case you missed it or needed the reminder, with the football season coming to a close tomorrow evening via the Super Bowl I thought now would be a good time to re-recommend it.

I consider this one a classic, and it is easily my favorite football movie of all-time.

Based on the novel by Frank Deford, Jessica Lange, Dennis Quaid, Timothy Hutton, and John Goodman star in this gripping and memorable tale of life and football.