Review: 'The Thief of Bagdad' (1940) - Cinema's Most Beautiful Dream
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- Have you ever seen a film so gorgeous looking that it made you teary?
So magical and enchanting it made your eyes widen with wonder?
If you're looking for a dazzling escapist fantasy filled with charm, beauty, magic and some of the most stunning design you will ever see, look no further than 'The Thief Of Bagdad'...
And it's one of those films that people of any age could enjoy.
'The Thief of Bagdad' (1940)
Directed by:
Michael Powell
Ludwig Berger
Tim Whelan
Uncredited:
Alexander Korda
Zoltan Korda
Script by: Lajos Bíró and Miles Malleson
Cast:
Conrad Veidt as Jaffar
Sabu as Abu
June Duprez as the Princess
John Justin as Ahmad
Rex Ingram as the Djinn
Miles Malleson as the Sultan of Basra
Morton Selten as the Old King
Mary Morris as Halima, Jaffar's agent, and the "Silver Maid"
Bruce Winston as the Merchant
Hay Petrie as the Astrologer
Adelaide Hall as the Singer
Roy Emerton as the Jailor
Allan Jeayes as the Story Teller
Robert Greig as Man of Basra (uncredited)
Copyright for the film remains with the film-makers. Any material included here is used only for the purposes of review.
Music: www.bensound.com
One of my favorites and your review does it justice. Well done.
Absolutely one of my favourite films of all time! And it’s one of the few films I can watch over and over… and it’s background music soundtrack is so beautiful that I listen to it all the time. Not only is Conrad a great actor but all the others are as well. June Duprez’s facial expressions are so dramatic that even when she doesn’t speak she still emotes strong emotions… she is an incredible princess! If you don’t have time to watch the whole movie, just view one of the many posts of the princess’s love scene (or love song) and you will witness one of the best short love scenes ever portrayed on film!
Magical Adventure films ; melodramas as our TV guide listings categorized them, have always been a favorite genre of mine. Thief of Baghdad , Jungle Book , Arabian Nights and Cobra Woman , all featuring Sabu , would be shown on late night TV. The Ray Harryhausen special effects that enhanced 50s and 60s escapism added to the sense of wonder these types of films delivered. I could never pass up going to see a Sinbad the Sailor film, that character has an everlasting appeal for me. Your emotional response to Thief is a shared participation. A revival house is where I first saw Thief along with the 1940s animated film Popeye Meets Sinbad the Sailor! Thief is on the list of films that inspired modern day escapism successors. I do agree that the casting all around was exceptionally mature for its time.
Loved earth vs the flying saucers one of my favorites from my childhood 🙃
@@mikesilva3868 🍿🍿🍿🍿Earth and It Came From Outer Space were the double billing I saw at the same revival house that played Thief of Baghdad! Seeing them the way they were meant to be seen - on the big screen gives you a feeling of being back in real time when they debuted.
@@anthonyperdue3557 cool loved it came from outer space saw it on dvd in 2008 from my library 📼
Thanks Anthony, I'd love to see some of Sabu's other films. They weren't shown so much here, except maybe The Jungle Book, a long time ago. I also love The Golden Voyage of Sinbad - John Phillip law is great in the role and some wonderful Harryhausen effects in that one too. There's something about practical special effects that to me has so much more charm than CGI. I really admire the ingenuity of those special effects pioneers and the love and effort that went into making these films so magical.
Seeing these films on the big screen would be amazing - as they were meant to be seen. :)
It's one of the great fantasy films of all time. I spent a ridiculous amount of money to get a daybill poster of this movie. Your review is spot on.
Thanks Terry! I can understand why you would want a daybill of this gorgeous film. I'd love to get a really good blu-ray copy of it so I can watch it in high quality whenever I like. :)
@@TengyTalksTVMovies Try eBay. Not too expensive.
@@terrytalksmovies Thanks Terry, I will! :)
There are so many great films that you bring to light and I love how you don't spoil any of it either! Well done. Tengy!
Your fans await your return!---well, assuming you are even considering such a thing. Reviews like this----my 2nd or 2rd time watching/such a great film!---are so richly filled with energizing cinematic appreciation! Thanks again!
Thanks for the wonderful and detailed review. Indeed one of cinema's most notably gorgeous films. I should mention that the real visual creative eye, overall, on this (and many many other beautiful-looking films) was William Cameron Menzies, not long after his same work on GONE WITH THE WIND. Also, one other note, "chroma-key" generally refers to blue and greenscreen compositing on television. And while it is not entirely inappropriate here, it is a far more modern term from the broadcasting industry, not film. In THIEF, this is referred to as "bluecreen compositing" or "bluescreen work" or "bluescreen photographic work" etc. (Greenscreen, as is used generally nowadays developed for electronic and/or digital compositing as it was friendlier than bluescreen for those techniques. For films, the color blue was used for optical compositing work.)
Aside from all the notes, it's wonderful to see modern eyes appreciating how wonderful the work could be long long before currently designed movies, which, of course, have had far larger budgets and time schedules--as well as far larger staffs---to create screen wonders. thanks so much again...and again!
The film was Korda's most successful in the US. The film was also a success in Europe selling 5,135,145 tickets in France becoming the seventh most attended film of the year.
The film must have been great to forget the suffering of the war
It's interesting to be reminded of the context for when this film was released, and you make a great point - I'm sure this kind of escapism was greatly appreciated during those terrible times.
Thanks for watching and commenting. :)
Great commentary on The Thief of Bagdad 1940 movie.
Great British production by the Korda brothers , it is a great adventure film that is no longer made with great special effects of the time with great technicolor and great performance by the entire cash it stars one of the best German actors of all time Conrad Veidt who acted in so many Classics of the cinema.
Also by the Hindu actor Sabu who has a great acting as well and acted in others great adventure fims like The Jungle Book 1942 Zoltan Korda and Arabian Nights 1942 among others.
And June Duprez English actress starring in like others great films The Four Feathers 1939 Zoltan Korda truly unforgettable film that I think is the film that I have seen the most times in my life.
And Then There Were None 1945 Rene Clair among others.
The truth is that the Korda brothers Alexander and Zoltan produced great British adventures films and other generes that have nothing to envy to the great North American productions.
The Korda Brothers were so talented and brought so many wonderful films to the screen. We should be very grateful to them for all the entertainment they gave us. I'd love to see The Four Feathers, it sounds wonderful :)
@@TengyTalksTVMovies Thank you for your reply Tengy.
The Four Feathers 1939 is a movie that is worth seeing, I saw it as a child when old movies were replayed in theaters, later I have seen it repeatedly on television or on dvd, my parents always loved that I put this movie on them.
I like your very professional review of this classic fantasy film, its also great knowing that today's generation of film buffs takes an interest in these very old hidden gem type films, instead of dismissing them as dated & not worth their time only wanting to see the CGI soulless stuff all the time.
with the exception of WIZARD OF OZ, THE THIEF OF BAGDAD stands alone as the highest quality fantasy film of its time & has been copyed time and time again since.
I DID like the live action ALADDIN film, it was- colourful, well made, & Will Smith was a wise choice as the genie, but i thought the Jappar actor was too young & bland more like a pantomime villain (which might have been the intention) but it didnt work he was never convincing as Evil or frightening, like Conrad Veldt in this version.
you clearly sense the modern approach in the latest version but when your talking about Arab mythology there is only so much modernising you can get away with,
What's your opinion on the latest remake Tengy?
Don't forget William Cameron Menzies and Miklós Rózsa.
So many talented people worked on this movie - and it sounds like under some rather difficult circumstances. The film is a testament to all of their great skills.
There is another movie released two years later, "Arabian Nights," 1942 by Universal. Color, but not technicolor. Has Sabu, Jon Hall and Maria Montez as Scheherazde.
Oh cool! I'd love to see that one too. I'll look out for it, thanks.
You might want to check out some of the films of Alexander Ptushko whose work on similar films in the Soviet era of Russian cinema is at least the equal in beauty and wonder as TTB. SAMPO, ILYA MUROMETS, SADKO, THE STONE FLOWER, THE TALE OF TSAR SULTAN, are just a few: some of them have been on YT. They are fable-based fantasies with fantastic vistas, weird folkloric creatures, beautiful landscapes and powerfully/amazingly choreographed scenes and vivid moods.
Any film in Technicolor is worth watching. There is something about super saturated color, that even today can't be duplicated.
Yes, it just looks so beautiful.
Great movie 🎥
it's something special for sure. :)
@@TengyTalksTVMovies 🧞♂️
Just saw it :) A very well done Arabian Nights themed film, and looks like it must have been expensive to make. I really liked June Duprez though I never heard of her before. As a side note; the film was the main inspiration behind the Prince of Persia games, and that is especially clear from the early versions of that game (late 80s early 90s).
Yes I agree, it really does look very lavish, and so beautiful. The visual style is so striking, it reminds me of the lush visuals of a film like "Black Narcissus."
Thanks for your interesting comments! :)
I last saw it as a child **mumbles** years ago and remember being as bowled over by it as you have been. You've persuaded me to see it again and introduce it to my 8-year-old daughter - I wonder what she'll make of it? Many thanks for the terrific review as always.
Thanks Matthew! Do let me know what your daughter thinks if you watch it together. I wonder if it would be as impressive to younger folks who are only familiar with CGI? I hope they can appreciate it too. It's really something special.
Great video! I thought this movie was great!
It's so good, isn't it? I want to see it again! :)
I remember reading about this movie a while ago. Now I definitely have a motivation to watch it ☺️
Hope you enjoy it, Yelena! :)
wow am from bagdad all thas store akaddin sindpud yasmen all thas store from my city let se wolrd store bagdad bagdad its captel of Thousand Nights and a Nighttanks to you so much