Thief of Bagdad, The: The Criterion Collection (DVD)
APPROX. 106 MINS. - PROD. YEAR: 1940 - MPA RATING: NR
" Just 68 years young, it has lost none of its power to enchant and entertainment.
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"The Thief of Bagdad" was an extraordinary undertaking by producer Alexander Korda who is usually, and rightfully, credited as the primary creative force behind the film. He used three directors (Ludwig Berger and Tim Whelan as well as Michael Powell) to assemble the epic, working with separate production units, and did so as war was rapidly approaching England. In fact, Korda had to briefly halt production on the film in 1939, and Korda turned his attention instead to a war propaganda film "The Lion Has Wings" which is included as an extra on this Special Edition (and is discussed in the Extras section below). It was also a major gamble for Korda who had just founded his own studio and was risking both his financial and creative resources on this massive undertaking. Obviously, the gamble paid off.
"The Thief of Bagdad" is a grand entertainment, a children´s fantasy that appeals to audiences of all ages. This was the "Harry Potter" or "Chronicles of Narnia" of its day, a grand literary adaptation (of "The Arabian Nights") that relies on spectacle and a simple narrative of clear-cut good and evil to engage and thrill its audience. Its ground-breaking special-effects work has earned the unabashed admiration of many filmmakers; the DVD sports a commentary track by Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. It´s easy to understand why. A timeless fantasy and a timeless entertainment, "The Thief of Bagdad" is a thing of beauty and a joy to behold.
Video
The film is presented in its original 1.33:1 full-screen aspect ratio. All I have to say about the transfer is: Wow! This is a 1940 film? Wow!
Audio
The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital Mono. Optional English subtitles support the English audio.
Extras
Disc One offers two commentary tracks. The first is by Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola (recorded separately), both of whom express their fondness for Korda´s landmark achievement. The second track is by film and music historian Bruce Eder. The Eder commentary is more cohesive and substantive, but it´s also rather entertaining to listen to Coppola and Scorsese indulge their fanboy sides.
Disc Two includes the rest of the extras.
As I mentioned above, Korda had to halt production on "The Thief of Bagdad" when the British entered the war in 1939. He used the hiatus to shoot a feature-length propaganda film called "The Lion Has Wings" (76 min.) The film is an odd hybrid of documentary, newsreel, and fictional footage which aims to show the world how tough and prepared the people and the military of Great Britain are for anything Hitler has to offer. It is intermittently successful, and some of the fictional scenes are groan-worthy, but it´s still a rousing bit of gung-ho filmmaking that rallied audiences in Britain and abroad.
The "Visual Effects" featurette (31 min) includes interviews with Dennis Muren, Craig Baron and a young up-and-comer by the name of Ray Harryhausen. Fans and students of visual effects will find a lot of interesting material. There is also a brief "Blue Screen Demo" (2 min) that shows just how a composite effects shot was put together.
The disc also offers lengthy audio excerpts from Michael Powell´s dictation for the first volume of his autobiography "A Life In Movies." Broken up into 11 segments (that, unfortunately, must be selected one at a time), the excerpts total just over an hour´s running time. Excerpts from a 1976 radio interview with composer Miklós Rózsa (37 min. total) are also included. A Stills Gallery rounds out the collection.
The insert booklet includes an essay by Andrew Moor on "The Thief of Bagdad," and by Ian Christie on "The Lion Has Wings."
Film Value
Raoul Walsh directed a silent version of "The Thief of Bagdad" in 1924 starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Korda and his writers Lajos Biro and Miles Malleson (who also plays the Sultan) effectively split Fairbanks´ starring role into two characters: Ahmad and Sabu. Sabu, like Fairbanks, is the athletic and charismatic star. Sabu also starred in the 1942 Korda production of "The Jungle Book" and though his career petered out to some degree as he reached adulthood, he still played eternally youthful "exotic" roles – you may remember him as the young general in Michael Powell´s exquisite "Black Narcissus" (1947).
"The Thief of Bagdad" is a splendid Technicolor entertainment. Just 68 years young, it has lost none of its power to enchant and entertainment. Sabu will live forever.
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