The Thief of Baghdad

In this excellent depiction of a very old tale, Clive Donner's direction, Roddy McDowall's portrayal of Hasan (the actual thief of Baghdad), the stellar cast and the overall quality of this film, elevate this so-called TV movie. If you give yourselves a chance to listen to the dialog and watch the acting, you will be drawn into a wonderful story.

I loved it in 1978 and still do.

Unsure why people are blasting the movies's special effects, they were done in the 1970s on a TV movie budget! Enjoy it for what it is, a typical evil Wazir wants to take over the kingdom and have the beautiful princess for himself, and the dashing prince must put a stop to it. With great though over-the-top performances from Roddy McDowell as the thief, and Peter Ustinov as the bumbling Caliph. Kabir Bedir does a decent job as the prince, far more believable and relatable than Oliver Tobias in Arabian Adventure (1979). A good fun and wholesome adventure film to watch with the kids.

The flying carpet scenes are pretty good, but apart from them this garrulous TV version of the classic Arabian Nights adventure is fairly short on special effects until Daniel Emilfork finally puts in a vivid appearance as a creepy-looking Genie painted green in the scene that comes closest to reviving memories of the classic 1940 version.

Roddy McDowall as Hasan the Thief is top-billed over hero Kabir Bedi, and Peter Ustinov as the Caliph is effectively playing the role Miles Malleson played in Korda's version of 1940; but the most welcome addition to the regular characters is foxy Marina Vlady as Perizadah, "mistress of the Caliph's harem". The Achilles heel of Terence Stamp as saturnine baddie Wazir Jaudur has plainly been lifted from 'Captain Sinbad'.

When I was a kid, I regarded this version as in about the same league as The Sinbad Trilogy, with its exquisite Arabian locales and flashy costumes. Roddy McDowall and Kabir Bedi have good buddy-chemistry with Bedi as an expatriate Prince and McDowell as his comedic thief companion.

Although sometimes silly in terms of special effects and production values, this is a story genuinely well-told. I'd not call it a classic, but it is a great deal better than most other TV movies you'll run into. Just look at the cast with lots of great roles by those you wouldn't expect, with Ian Holm, Peter Ustinov, and Terence Stamp in unforgettable roles. Stamp especially channels the same intensity in his Zod role as the emotionless and seemingly indestructible villain. Ustinov plays campily as the comic relief (an honor he shares with Roddy) Kalif of Baghdad, and Marina Vlady is at her stunning best and outshines the bland love-interest princess in every scene. Even future Star Trek babe Marina Sirtis (Councellor Troi) has her debut here as a busty harem girl with maybe 1 or 2 short lines.

Perhaps the best aspect besides the wonderfully addictive orchestral musical score, has to be the weird and trippy atmosphere inside the evil cave that Prince Taj has to explore to find the diamond. This whole sequence is definitely the strongest point of the film and is one of the best scare-sequences I've seen. Lots of creepy blue lighting, evil whispering sounds, hallucinations, etc. VERY 70's! This, coupled with the extremely weird-looking giant green genie, make this a movie that you just can't miss if you're into escapist fantasy.

A rather shoddily produced Arabian Nights fantasy with a superbly camp Peter Ustinov - who must have used the same dialogue coach as Olivier did in "Khartoum" - as the Caliph trying his best to make a silk purse from a sow's ear! Despite having a good cast with Roddy McDowell, Frank Finlay, Ian Holm and a marvellously hammy Terence Stamp as the baddie "Jaudur" all trying their best, there is no denying that the script and direction are really poor. Ustinov's daughter, Pavla, adds some glamour as the Princess "Jasmine" and the costumiers and set designers have spared no effort/expense but in the end it's a waste of their craft.