first saw bitter rice in 1949 and it have haunt me for 51 year . recently rent it ( 2000 ) and it still compel . the verrismo genre be new at the time while in 2000 it doesn not have the same impact that it do when open city and bicycle thief and la strada and et al be all showing at about the same time and and show u that there be a true and artistic alternative to hollywood pap . the then 18 year old silvana mangano earthy performance will endure forever . my only memory from 1949 be of her working and chanting in the rice field . and her do a sensual lindy with vittorio gassman . those scene be still compel and half a century later .