After having watched the Bicycle Thieves, I noticed many elements of both similarities and differences between this film and a western, such as Stage Coach. I recognized almost immediately that both of the films are highly male-centric. The only female characters portrayed are shown briefly and do not have any great impact on the plot. For Bicycle Thieves, Antonio and Bruno are the main characters, and in Stage Coach John Wayne and his crew are mostly male as well.
As for differences, westerns tend to have a lot of long and extreme long shots that focus on the vastness of the western terrain. On the other hand, the Italian film takes place in Rome and long shots lead to obscurity of the characters by buildings, other people, cars, and other elements that exist in such a place. Therefore, the aesthetics of the filming are quite different due to the general location in which each genre tends to take place. This changes not only the shot type that is used, but the way editing is completed as well.
Jen Schofield 