There are some very fine reviews of the film on this board that deal with the political subtext of the director and how the picture was a commentary on class distinctions in Spain during the era. One needn't know any of that to appreciate the picture, but having that understanding makes this somewhat a different movie. So venture forth as you will.Personally, I viewed this story as two people having an affair with polar opposite reactions in regard to the responsibility they felt for striking the bicycle rider and failing to get the injured man help. At the outset, both Maria (Lucia Bose) and Juan (Alberto Closas) were equally culpable for leaving the man to die on the road, though Juan gives the impression that his guilt must be dealt with. As time goes by, circumstances intervene that threaten disclosure of the accident, thereby creating a domino effect that would destroy Maria's marriage and societal status. The character of Rafa (Carlos Casavarilla) is an interesting one; watching him one is never sure how much he knows and whether his remarks to Maria are simply innuendo or coincidence.The picture makes use of elements that both Hitchcock and Serling would find fertile for the imagination. In fact, Rod Serling did utilize a similar theme in a fifth season episode of his landmark series The Twilight Zone titled 'You Drive', though his story takes an absurdist tone by having a vehicle extract it's own brand of justice. What I found most ironic in the way this story concluded, and maybe I read too much nuance into the reaction of the bicyclist who Maria swerved to avoid, was that he felt remorseful for the woman who lost her life trying not to hit him, almost as if he caused the accident himself.

It may be a social commentary on the Spanish bourgeois, but there's just enough passion, murder and betrayal to counterbalance the sermonizing in Muerte de un ciclista. On an empty road, an adulterous couple hit a bicyclist with their car. To avoid revealing their affair, Juan and Maria Jose abandon the man, who subsequently dies from his injuries. What follows is their struggle to keep their crime and relationship a secret. Several themes are predominant. The tragedy wrought by war, which in this case was the Spanish Civil War. The striking disparity between the wealthy and poor. The condemnation of the corrupt elite. The just punishment of the wicked. Director Juan Antonio Bardem is to be commended for creating a film that criticized Spain's ruling class during the repressive era of Franco. That said, the movie comes close to preaching occasionally, hitting us over the head with Juan's realization that he must break free of the conformity that his wealth and status restrict him to. However, the plotting is tight and consistently suspenseful from all the intrigue and scheming going on. One pivotal scene that builds suspense while also displaying the Spanish bourgeoisie in all its glory takes place in a flamenco club. Using no dialogue, Bardem masterfully increases our apprehension that the pair's sins will be discovered, cutting back and forth between tense faces and panicked eyes in close up camera shots. The characters are also well developed. Maria Jose is particularly fascinating. Beautiful, privileged, and as we ultimately discover, a cold mercenary and deadly femme fatale. Her death by bicyclist may strike some as being too trite in its irony, but for those who like their movies wrapped up at the end, it is satisfying to see that the evil are punished.

Great film; a bit long. And I want a happy ending. And where is the colour?A short introduction about colour: Color or colour (see spelling differences) is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, yellow, blue and others. Color derives from the spectrum of light (distribution of light energy versus wavelength) interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors. Color categories and physical specifications of colour are also associated with objects, materials, light sources, etc., based on their physical properties such as light absorption, reflection, or emission spectra. By defining a colour space, colours can be identified numerically; for example, by their unique RGB and HSV values (see List of colours).Typically, only features of the composition of light that are detectable by humans (wavelength spectrum from 380 nm to 740 nm, roughly) are included, thereby objectively relating the psychological phenomenon of colour to its physical specification. Because perception of colour stems from the varying sensitivity of different types of cone cells in the retina to different parts of the spectrum, colours may be defined and quantified by the degree to which they stimulate these cells. These physical or physiological quantifications of colour, however, do not fully explain the psychophysical perception of colour appearance.The science of colour is sometimes called chromatics. It includes the perception of colour by the human eye and brain, the origin of colour in materials, colour theory in art, and the physics of electromagnetic radiation in the visible range (that is, what we commonly refer to simply as light).

This academic film is based on real events about news publicized when a cyclist was smashed by a car which hits and runs . The car is driven by an adulterous couple formed by an University professor (Alberto Closas) and a beautiful woman (Lucia Bose) married to an important man (Otello) . Later on , they're blackmailed by a swindler (Carlos Casaravilla) .This splendid drama develops the adulterous loves between a teacher full of doubts and a high bourgeoisie lady . Fine performances from Argentinian actor Alberto Closas as the guilty professor and Lucia Bose , recently his work for Antionini , plays as a selfish Femme-fatale . Secondary acting by Carlos Casaravilla as an excellent villain , Fernando Sancho as a cop and Manuel Alexandre at a special ending intervention . Atmospheric and Neo-realist cinematography by Alfredo Fraile and adequate musical score . The motion picture was well directed By Juan Antonio Bardem . This is a 'rara avis' film of the 50s because dealing upon an adulterous love , political events and murder . Bardem had to fight the censorship which didn't admit the adultery , love scenes , neither crimes and obligated a tragic end . This one is deservedly considered one of the best movies of the Spanish cinema . Rating : Above average , essential and indispensable seeing for Spanish cinema fans .