O Ladrão de Bagdá

After 60 some odd years THE THIEF OF BAGDAD is still one of the most

wondrous movies ever made. Filmed in wartime England and without the

use of digital imagry, the film soars and makes believers of us all.

From Rex Ingram's memorable Genie, (has any laugh been better than his

rumbling "BoohooHAHAHAH"?) to the Flying Horse, the six armed murderous

doll, the immense spider and on and on, the film excites in a visceral

way that no FX person could duplicate today. Though we can see through

the primitive special effects, the genius of this film is that the story

is told so well that we suspend our disbelief and fly along on a magic

carpet ride that never flags for all of its almost two hour running

time. Miles Malleson's script (he also plays the heroine's father in a

delightful turn), is filled with what we now see as cliches, but they

still bring a silly grin to our faces as we acknowledge them, and love

them all the same. The acting is WAY over the top and absolutely delightful. Sabu is

perfect as the little thief Abhou, John Justin stalwart as the hero

Ahmed, Conrad Veidt all snarly and despicable as the evil Jafar and June

Duprez all gauzy and creamy as the princess. The real star of the film, the glue that holds all the pieces

together,however, has to be Miklos Rozsa whose musical score evokes

every Arabian Nights fantasy that we have ever dreamed. What glorious

music, what a wondrous fim! (I was lucky enough to get an advance copy

of the new DVD of THIEF OF BAGDAD. What a great print. Wait till you

see it! It will knock your socks off.) I love Spielberg and I love

Lucas, but oh THE THIEF OF BAGDAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ever since i was a little child my father used to play this movie for me over and over again, because he loved it so much, and so as i got older, i started to appreciate this film as much as him. There are Unforgettable parts in this film like the big spider fight between Abu and the spider, and then there was the magic carpet ride at the end. The most rememberable character is The Genie. I really loved that Genie especially when you and Abu first meet him. I hope that if you never saw this movie you rent it because it is a great film you will never forget.

***** stars out of *****.

This is an Oriental fantasy about ¨thousand and one Arabian nights¨ with plenty of incredible adventures , fantasy , witchery and wizardly. The malignant vizier Jaffar (magnificently played by Conrad Veidt) with powerful magic faculties imprisons the prince Ahamad of Bagdad (attractive John Justin) who loses his throne, he then escapes thanks to a little thief named Abu (sympathetic Sabu). They arrive in Basora where Ahamad and the charming princess (gorgeous June Duprez) fall in love . But prince and thief are haunted by Jaffar , Ahamd is turned blind and Abu is become a dog . The story accumulates several fantastic ingredients such as transformation of the starring , a flying mechanic horse , a magic bow , a flying carpet and of course the colossal genie (overacting by Rex Ingram) who gives three wishes to Sabu , the magic eye , the figure of goddess Kali with several hands , among others.

This remarkable picture ranks as one of the finest fantastic films of all time . Produced by London Fim's Alexander Korda and directed by the definitively credited Ludwing Berger , Michael Powell and Tim Whelan with a stunning screenplay by Lajos Biro and Miles Malleson also dialogue writer and actor as a Sultan fond to mechanic games . The WWII outbreak caused the paralyzing shooting , then the three Korda brothers and collaborators traveled USA continuing there the filming , in especial on location in Grand Canyon Colorado . The splendid visual and glimmer Technicolor cinematography , setting and FX provoked the achieving three Oscars : Production design by William Cameron Menzies and Vincent Korda , Cinematography by George Perinal and Special effects by Osmond Borradaile , though today are dated and being urgent a necessary remastering because of the colors are worn-out. Furthermore, one nomination for the evocative and oriental musical score by Miklos Rozsa . This vivid tale with immense doses of imagination will appeal to fantasy fans and cinema classic buffs.

Thief of Bagdad is truly advanced for its time. It has very good special effects. The use of flying carpet sequences is very advanced for 1940. In good prints the color is spectacular. The acting is somewhat stilted, but acceptable for a period piece. Both costume and set design are superior. The music is excellent. Most elements of the film fit together to provide a superior piece of "fluff" entertainment.

The Thief of Bagdad is a treasure. First and foremost, it is a good story. Though my four children's primary exposure to this tale, the most famous of the stories of the Arabian Nights, comes from the Disney Corporation, the Thief of Bagdad held their interest to the end. The story moves along at a good pace and includes a twist or two that reduced predictability. Sabu, who plays the young thief, Abu, also measures up to any of today's teen actors in appeal, judging from the number of times I heard my oldest daughter say, "He's c-u-t-e!"

In 1940, the film won Oscars for cinematography and special effects. Today, of course, those effects seem very dated ("Look, it's Barbie flying through the air," declared my daughter at the sight of the genie flying). Yet they fit into the story well. The film is, after all, over 60 years old. The effects fit with the script. Furthermore, what ones sees in The Thief of Bagdad remained pretty much state-of-the-art for the next twenty-five years. One need only compare the opening montage from a 1967 Star Trek episode to see this. In that, it was quite an achievement.

This qualifies as a family film, though there are a few stabbings near the end. The acting is so obvious and the wounds so bloodless as to those scenes nearly as artificial as animation.

All in all, a fun film worth watching for either an evening of pure entertainment, or for the historical value of the effects. I recommend it.