Il ladro di Bagdad

I would second almost everything written in previous comments. I too saw it as a young boy and it stuck with me, along with other fantasies of the period like those from Ray Harryhausen. I recently started looking for it on ebay where I found it's out of print and never released on DVD; of course there are some used VHS copies available, some going for what seem like inflated prices. A previous comment stated that MGM has the distribution rights so I sent a message to them through their website (www.mgm.com) asking for the film's release on DVD. Anyone feeling the same should try it as well, it may help get results.

I remember how great I found this movie when I first saw it as a child. Entertaining, inviting, beautifully scored and visually exciting, it was a good surprise for me, a muscle-movies fan then.

I found Steve Reeves could show something else than his stunning muscles. He gives this time a very lighthearted performance - surprisingly, I guess, for his legions of fans - a step ahead of his habitual towering figure and dark persona. He shows, maybe for the one and only time, that he could create a character that goes beyond himself, in this case, Karim, the Thief of Bagdad. Convincingly, this is the point. In excellent, slimmer shape, smiling, it was Steve Reeves in his apex, in a delightful, colorful movie.

This is a very lovable movie, and I rate it as the best in his career, if you put the seminal 'Hercules' aside as 'hors-concours'.

I first saw this film when I was a lad back in 1963. It was probably the most wondrous film I had seen - I must have seen it at least half a dozen times during its run in the cinema. At last it is available on a German Blu-ray but it is still not perfect. When a beautiful princess mysteriously falls ill, the only cure is a magical blue rose, but to find it, the princess's suitors must pass through seven doors, each door a test but woe betide to those who fail; but this is where the present Blu-ray falls down.

The film depicts only six doors, so one is missing and it seems to be of a giant killer crab. It has been suggested that this scene was never filmed but I think it was because I seem to remember a scene of a giant crab and also some video sleeves and other promotional material mention a giant killer crab. It may be that the film was shortened to suit TV slots or to fit in extra showings in cinemas. It would be great if this scene was found and restored to its proper place.

For me though, the best remembered scene is of gorgeous Edy Vessel as the evil temptress Kadeejah with her bevy of scantily-clad dancing girls. I have wondered, over the years if something was going on here. After all, gyrating scantily-clad dancing girls are not suitable for kids to see if they are in a night club, but put them into an Arabian Nights fantasy film and they suddenly become suitable for kids to see. I wonder if Arthur Lubin and maybe others were cocking a snook at the film censors. Even the censorious German FSK system gives it a rating of six years old. Whatever the case, I love this film.

Many reviewers have expressed a quiet affection for this film. And rightly so.

Steve Reeves does well and seems to be enjoying himself.

I liked the quest for the blue rose: the seven gates with the strangler trees, the cloak of invisibility, the dangerous lady in white, etc.

The special effects were credible considering that the film is more than fifty years old

I enjoyed the pearls-from-shooting-stars ruse.

Carlo Rustichelli's score supported the action without resorting to Arabian Nights clichés.

A colourful, entertaining film reminiscent of those Saturday matinees.

I don't often beg but please release it on DVD. Make an old man happy. This is another of the marvellous range of Steve Reeves movies that came out in the 60s. I think this is my favourite because it is almost a comedy. It simply has an air of cheerfulness, joy and happiness about it, which you can't really say about any other of his films. The supporting cast is also excellent with a soundtrack that I remember fondly. Reading these comments, if anyone does, you may realise that I am padding to get in the 10 lines of text that are the minimum. The point of the comment is to try to get someone to release it so to reiterate - some company release it - it's better than some of the dross that comes out.