The Thief of Bagdad

Aside from perhaps Charlie Chaplin's The Kid, Raoul Walsh's The Thief of Baghdad is my favorite silent movie, and one of my favorite movies period. I've seen many prints of this well-loved and dog-eared classic, but the Cohen Films version has been the clearest and most enjoyable I've seen yet. Like many previous iterations, this one features a Rimsky-Korsakov inspired Scheherezade accompaniment, but rather than just randomly slopping the track onto the film, they've obviously arranged the music to correspond what's going on in the film, which helps match the music to the sentiment and scenes the audience is seeing, much like a live orchestra would have done at a premier screening when this film first debuted in 1924. Although the special effects may not be what we are accustomed to in today's snoozy CGI spectacles, they are as fresh, novel, and entertaining as any you may have seen in the best examples available at any time since this film first showed. They are also all the more remarkable since these were all practical, "in-camera" effects using the most sophisticated tricks of the time, so much so that it makes you wonder, just how did they actually do that?!? The editor used only as many inter title cards as were necessary, and no more; this is pure cinema, a charming and captivating romp that audiences of every stripe will enjoy. It is entertaining from the very first frames until the very last, and would serve as an excellent introduction for kids or adults alike to the many pleasures that silent films have to offer. In addition, this significant cinematic accomplishment really is the keystone, the uncontested original, the very first successful iteration of the action-adventure genre. There is no Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark without The Thief of Baghdad. No Star Wars: A New Hope. The hero's journey, the damsel in distress, the new complications, the depths of despair, the triumphant return--all now-standard features of today's films--are presented for the first time in this film. It's all here. Everything released since then have been digital approximations of Xerox copies of mimeographs of the fresh, original, daring and dreamlike shadows of the imagination first presented, and arguably best presented, here in silver nitrate celluloid nearly a hundred years ago. Watch it. Rewatch it. Share it with a friend. They'll thank you.

And one of the greatest films of ANY kind, silent or talkie, ever made. This is the great Douglas Fairbanks Sr.'s 1924 masterpiece. He was one of the top stars of the silent era and, along with Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford, one of the most famous celebrities in the world. Fairbanks was a unique performer who can be considered the first action hero. This fantasy film is unique among all his works. Although it was an expensive production (the special effects were cutting-edge for the time) and a critical success, the film failed to draw the kind of box-office success that Fairbanks was looking for, and he returned to making historical action pictures. The spectacular score was done in 1984 by that genius of silent film scoring, Carl Davis. In this, he uses themes from the classical composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov to great effect, as well as his own original music. One could not possibly hope for a better accompaniment to this film. This is a new restoration from a 35MM negative. For those of us who originally had this on VHS, it is a dream come true to finally have it on DVD. It is a must see for film fans of any stripe.

Many fail to recall that The Thief of Bagdad is a classic silent film starring the great Douglas Fairbanks because the '40 color version with Conrad Veidt gets so much attention...and rightfully so. That being said, 40 year old Fairbanks is spectacular in this version, and shows why he is an icon of the silent era. The film elements are solid on this restoration. You will be pleased with the picture quality.

In 1924 the Thief of Bagdad was produced for the (then) stagering cost of $2.5 million! The range of emotions, the sense of location, the mysteries of Babalon, and the sheer magnitism of Douglas Fairbanks (a carefree pickpocket) alone makes this special. Flying carpets, dragons, winged horses and the Indian rope trick add a sureal touch with special effects that were exceptional for the era. Fold in the music (adapted from the original 1924 cue sheets), an introduction by Orson Wells, and very rare special effects footage and it becomes an absolute masterpiece for your film collection. This release has been recently mastered from the archival 35 millimeter negatives and provides a digital stereo soundtrack. It is a must!

Entertaining delightful movie.

Unfortunately the first copy of the blu-ray I ordered from amazon had both the sound and the picture cutting in and out and I am waiting for my replacement copy now. One confusing thing I am seeing is this copy lists a run time of 149 minutes as opposed to documented 155 minutes, anyone know anything about this besides the guys with 139 minute version comment? The reason I am giving 5 stars is based solely on the movie itself. I had not seen the movie in several years and caught the digitally remastered version on TCM recently which prompted me to get a copy. The sound and picture quality are fantastic compared to the old crackly copies they used to show on free tv many years ago. The best part about this movie is that it is timelessly entertaining and fantastical aided greatly by the amazing and beautiful set designs of William Cameron Menzies bringing everything to life while Fairbanks and the rest of the cast over-act just enough to keep the captions at a minimum ;)

In the last 15 years or so, I have found modern cinema to be quite lacking. Because of Hollywood's incompetence, I have turned to near 100 year old classics to get my fantasy movie kick. I have tried out films like the legendary Metropolis, the criminally forgotten Die Nibelungen amongst many others. In this bundle of movies, I have discovered just how good the silent era was for this kind of film. Recent visits to Ray Harryhausen's Sinbad series made me wonder if there was any similar style films out there. That is when I landed on The Thief of Bagdad from 1924. It's a fairly romanticised tale based on Tales From the Arabian Nights and stars Douglas Fairbanks, one of the top stars of the time. The film is about a petty thief named Ahmed, a man who enjoys picking pockets and getting up to some mischief. In an attempt to mug the Princess of Bagdad, he becomes infatuated by her and goes out of his way to meet and win her heart. The story is simple enough and is very easy to follow. It progresses from a light hearted story and into reasonably dark fantasy territory. The movie is split into two contrasting sections. Some might find the first hour a bit slow, but I enjoyed it. I found the acting for the most part to be quite convincing. A few of the actors physical gestures were a little over the top. But that seems to be a common thing in the silent era. The worst offender of the lot is Douglas Fairbanks himself. The first twenty minutes or so looks quite silly as he waves his arms all over the place like he's on some sugar rush. But the acting as a whole was consistently good and a joy to watch. My favourite of the lot was by far Sojin Kamiyama, who was a very convincing villain. His up right posture, lack of physical emotion and evil glare was absolutely spot on. He was perfect for the role. Naturally with a movie from this period, the sets are quite epic in scale and the costume design is fantastic. Each character wears outfits that I can imagine are extremely colourful but the beautiful bluray restoration shows us the viewer so many wonderful little details in the patterns etc. In terms of set and costume design, this is an absolutely beautiful movie. This is solidified more by the excellent special effects. Everything from the magic carpet to the monster appearances look fantastic. There's also a good use of colours to represent day and night cycles etc. In terms of scale, It may not compare to Intolerance for example but it's a real technical marvel that holds it's own against other films of the time. As I mentioned above, this is a lengthy movie. It sits at a good two and a half hours. Some might get a bit fed up with the first half as the love story does drag on a little. But once the quest to win the Princesses hand is announced, the movie kicks into high gear. It's a highly enjoyable movie and an excellent edition for those who enjoy collecting older films on bluray. The transfer has very little in the way of noticeable damage, looks very clean and extremely sharp. I would highly recommend picking this up.

旧テムズプロのVHSを持っていましたが、劣化してがっかりしておりました。このBDソフトで、カールデイヴィスの音楽とパートカラーの画面を再見出来て、喜んでおります。

After countless hours of watching B movies. I treated myself to this one. Simply put, every Sword and sandals/Dungeon and Dragons/Lord of the rings fan must see this one. It is jam-packed with special effects, gigantic sets, bigger-than-life monsters and fantstic animals. I did know that you could show such luscious women in 1924. The oriental lady (sexy) and the princess (eyes that can melt casted iron) are drop-dead gorgeous. Fairbanks performance is athletic to say the least. It is almost circus like. His muscular, yet smooth, physique is timeless. Bodybuilders, please take notes. The film moves the viewers through a fast paced and well-structured fantasy scenario. There is something happaning every instant. Even with a mega-nudget and the latest technology, this one would be tough to duplicate. 155 minutes of pleasure.... Sword and sandals style.

Arrived, in excellent shape today Jan 7,2020. Thanks and cheers to all...

A wonderful restoration of an early film. It was brilliant to add this to my silents collection, and despite the over-the-top acting and dated special effects it was a great film which kept my attention throughout. This film, almost 100 years old, was more enjoyable than many of the modern films Imhave seen recently.