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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
