The Thief of Bagdad (The Criterion Collection) [DVD] [Region 1] [NTSC]

THE THIEF OF BAGDAD [1940] [Blu-ray] Thrilling! . . . Amazing! The Wonder Picture Of All Time! Mighty Technicolor Spectacle! A triumph of film-making, ‘The Thief of Bagdad’ is one of legendary producer Alexander Korda's best-loved films and remains the benchmark for spectacular fantasy to this day. This multiple OSCAR® winning film is a magical, atmospheric epic its sumptuous art direction and beguiling special effects making it the definitive vision of the famous Arabian Nights tale. ‘The Thief of Bagdad’ is featured here in a High Definition transfer from original film elements, in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. Imprisoned by the evil Grand Vizier Jaffar, Ahmad the rightful King of Bagdad meets young Abu, the greatest thief in the land. Together they escape and embark on a series of fantastical adventures, only just surviving a terrifying encounter with a Djinn, from whom Abu manages to extract three wishes... FILM FACT: Awards and Nominations: 1940 Academy Awards®: Won: Best Color Art Direction for Vincent Korda. Won: Best Color Cinematography for Georges Perinal. Won: Best Special Effects for Lawrence W. Butler. Won: Best Special Effects for Jack Whitney. Nominated: Best Original Score for Miklos Rozsa. Alexander Korda had intended to cast Vivien Leigh as the Princess, but she went to Hollywood to be with Laurence Olivier. All primary cast members are deceased. Leslie Phillips CBE and Dame Cleo Laine, both of whom had uncredited roles. Cast: Conrad Veidt, Sabu, June Duprez, John Justin, Rex Ingram, Miles Malleson, Morton Selten, Mary Morris, Bruce Winston, Hay Petrie, Adelaide Hall, Roy Emerton, Allan Jeayes (The Story Teller), Frederick Burtwell (uncredited), Joseph Cozier (uncredited), Robert Greig (uncredited), Henry Hallett (uncredited), Miki Hood (uncredited), Glynis Johns (uncredited), Alexander Laine (uncredited), Cleo Laine (uncredited), Sylvia Laine (uncredited), Spoli Mills (uncredited), Leslie Phillips (uncredited), Norman Pierce (uncredited), John Salew (uncredited), Mark Stone (uncredited), Frank Tickle (uncredited), Otto Wallen (uncredited) and Ben Williams (uncredited) Directors: Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell, Tim Whelan, Alexander Korda (uncredited), William Cameron Menzies (uncredited) and Zoltan Korda (uncredited) Producers: Alexander Korda, William Cameron Menzies and Zoltan Korda Screenplay: Lajos Bíró, Miles Malleson and Miklós Rózsa (story) Composer: Miklós Rózsa Cinematography: George Perinal Special and Visual Effects: Johnny Mills, Lawrence W. Butler, Peter Ellenshaw, Tom Howard and Wally Veevers Video Resolution: 1080p [Technicolor] Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audio: English: 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio Subtitles: English Running Time: 106 minutes Region: Region B/2 Number of discs: 1 Studio: London Films Production / Network Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: One of the great fantasy films, ‘The Thief of Bagdad’ [1940] is also included on that short list of films which had long, complicated production histories of false starts, script rewrites, and multiple directors, like Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell and Tim Whelan, yet they managed to emerge as a special entity, effortlessly carrying off a unique single vision. In this case, that vision belonged to London-based Hungarian producer and director Alexander Korda. By the late 1930s Alexander Korda had amassed an impressive crew of artists and craftsmen around him at London Films Production at Denham Studios, London where Alexander Korda sought out a property to showcase the talent under his wing. Inspired by the success of his personal discovery of the Indian actor Sabu in his films like ‘Elephant Boy’ [1937] and ‘The Drum’ [1938], Alexander Korda hit upon the idea of casting the energetic youth in an Arabian Nights fantasy. In 1924, Douglas Fairbanks had scored one of his biggest hits as ‘The Thief of Bagdad.’ The title, which Douglas Fairbanks owned, was irresistible, so when Alexander Korda found himself seated near Douglas Fairbanks at a banquet at the Savoy Hotel in London in 1938, he asked if he could buy the rights to the title. A new story, also drawing from the Thousand-and-One-Nights tales, would be fashioned around it. The elegant final screenplay for ‘The Thief of Bagdad’ was by actor and writer Miles Malleson, who also took a major role in the film, playing the befuddled Sultan of Basra. In the film we are introduced to Abu [Sabu], a thief amongst the many merchants in the marketplace of Bagdad. The city's ruler, the good-hearted Prince Ahmad [John Justin], is undermined and overthrown by the evil Grand Vizier, Jaffar [Conrad Veidt]. Abu and Ahmad escape their prison and flee to Basra, where the Prince falls in love with the Sultan of Basra's beautiful daughter [June Duprez]. Unfortunately, Jaffar has his own designs on the Princess and bargains with the toy-obsessed Sultan of Basra [Miles Malleson] for her hand. Jaffar eliminates his competition by blinding Ahmed and transforming Abu into a dog. The two are returned to human form only when Jaffar embraces the Princess, now under his control. Ahmad and Abu, as well as the viewer, take in many more wonders on the way to vanquishing the Vizier and rescuing the Princess; and here is where Alexander Korda's team conjures up such stunning visual treats as a magic flying carpet, a deadly six-armed dervish, a full-size mechanical horse, a stolen all-seeing ruby eye, and most spectacularly, the bombastic Genie of the Lamp [Rex Ingram], who grants three wishes of Abu. Sabu was a stable boy for the Maharaja of Mysore when he was discovered by Alexander Korda at the age of 13. The success of that film, co-directed by Zoltan Korda and the great documentarian Robert J. Flaherty, led to several more starring roles in Alexander Korda productions, perhaps his most famous role, that of Mowgli in the Korda brothers' adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's ‘Jungle Book’ [1942]. Sabu appeared in several low-budget Hollywood films before his death in 1963, though along the way he worked again with director Michael Powell in the Powell-Pressburger classic ‘Black Narcissus’ [1947]. Alexander Korda had only one choice in mind for the villainous Jaffar in ‘The Thief of Bagdad’ and that was Conrad Veidt. As Michael Powell was later to write, Veidt was "a legendary figure. For us, he was the great German Cinema...he was invention, control, imagination, irony and elegance." Before ‘The Thief of Bagdad’ could be completed, war was declared between Germany and England, on 3rd September, 1939. Alexander Korda had made a promise to Winston Churchill himself to turn his London Films Production resources over to wartime propaganda as soon as a state of war existed. Michael Powell and others at Denham were taken off the Arabian Nights fantasy and assigned to quickly produce a documentary about the R.A.F., ‘The Lion Has Wings’ [1939]. Production on ‘The Thief of Bagdad’ shifted to America and, since Alexander Korda was unable to shoot planned scenes in Africa, to locations in the Grand Canyon. American distributor United Artists put up additional funds to complete the picture. Miklos Rozsa wrote the OSCAR® and nominated score for the film. Released in December, 1940, ‘The Thief of Bagdad’ won as you have been informed above, OSCAR® for special effects, Technicolor cinematography, and art direction, as well as a nomination for Miklos Rozsa's score. The film also won near-universal praise from the critics. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times echoed the general sentiment when he called it a "beguiling and wondrous film" and wrote that "the least one can do is recommend it as a cinematic delight, and thank Alexander Korda for reaching boldly into a happy world." Coming as it did just at the outbreak of World War II, ‘The Thief of Bagdad’ eventually came to represent for many a cinematic last gasp of Old World innocence, magic, and adventure, forever lost during the horrors of war. Today, we can see how heavily Disney’s ‘Aladdin’ borrowed from this version of ‘The Thief of Bagdad’ and especially Disney’s treacherous grand vizier Jafar is overtly modelled on Conrad Veidt’s Jaffar, who similarly plots to marry a princess who is in love with a beggar who claims to be a prince, and whose dwarfish, childlike sultan father Sultan of Basra [Miles Malleson] is the archetype for Jasmine’s father. Robin Williams’s genie is, of course, a far more affable version of Ingram’s fearsome character. And Sabu’s nimble thief Abu becomes Aladdin’s monkey sidekick by the same name! Blu-ray Video Quality – The film’s original 1.33:1 theatrical aspect ratio is reproduced faithfully in this new digital transfer. The 1080p encoded image Technicolor hues, particularly the various shades of red, will burst from your screen with a vivacity that will delight the viewer. I’ve read complaints about the image being slightly brown, but I didn’t see it on my display though some might wish for a somewhat brighter picture. There are a couple of Technicolor registration problems where the picture appears out of focus for a moment, but the image is so sharp that the matte seams can be spotted with close attention, and you‘ll easily see the brown latex skull cap on Rex Ingram, too. You’ll glimpse a scratch or two as well, but nothing that will distract the viewer for any extended period of time for the image otherwise is wonderfully clean. Blu-ray Audio Quality – The 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio soundtrack is typical for its era. There is light hiss and momentary distortion on several occasions, but mostly the track is clean and engaging mixing music, voices, and effects in a very neat balance. But Miklós Rózsa's awesome unparalleled music score comes through with thrilling fidelity. Blu-ray Special Features and Extras: A beautiful colourful printed images on the inside of the Blu-ray Cover, with lots of stunning rare promotional images. Theatrical Trailer [1940] [480i] [1.33:1] [2:40] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer, sadly the soundtrack is not very good, as it has a lot of audible scratches, plus you get a lot of white speckles. Special Feature: Image Gallery [1080p] [1.33:1] [4:48] Here you get to view a total of 94 images in Technicolor and Black-and-White. Some of the colour images at the start are slightly grainy, but as you get to the end of the colour images, they improve 100%. The rest of the Black-and-White images are mainly of promotional material, with some behind-the-scenes of the film and you also get to see a photo of one of the directors beside the camera. Special Feature: Promotional Image Gallery [1080p] [1.33:1] [2:15] Here with this really nice special feature, you get to view a total of 45 spectacular images of especially cinema posters from the UK and Overseas, plus you also get to see other rare promotional material that are truly spectacular. Finally, ‘The Thief of Bagdad’ can be described as an escapist fantasy film, where the good always defeats evil and where everything turns out right in the end. Even though the film has been around for many years and most people will have seen it at some time or other, but it is unlikely that they will have experienced it in Blu-ray 1080p definition. For that fact alone, it is definably got to be recommended. It was a bit disappointing to find limited extra material, especially now that all the major actors in the film are no longer with us, especially all the production staff, in making some kind of commentary would be impossible. It’s also unlikely that such material was made post-production and if it had been, and it is probably sadly now lost forever. So, on reflection, this is probably the best you’ll get for ‘The Thief of Bagdad,’ but as you know that The Criterion Collection has a Special Edition NTSC DVD out, so why can’t that bring it out an equally Special Edition Region A/1 Blu-ray disc. Despite this, at least we can still enjoy this film on a Region B/2 Blu-ray disc, and will bring total pleasure for everyone to really enjoy and especially to enjoy all the fantastic special effects. Highly Recommended! Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado Le Cinema Paradiso United Kingdom

I love love love this film, in original technicolour. I first watched this film with my dad as a very small girl, it’s action and adventure all the way. I have watched it many times and we still enjoy it but now with my grandchildren.

This review relates to the 2015 Network blu ray release of the 1940 British film by Alexander Korda, and not to any other version. I admit, having really enjoyed Network's blu ray release of The Lady Vanishes, I was a bit let down by this. The restoration is pretty good, especially in the sound (it's not up to modern stereo but it is clear, and a lot better than the version I last saw on tv which made Conrad Veidt's voice vibrate like an old school soprano); detail jumps out at you, and it is as bright and gaudy as an Arabian Nights fantasy should be. But the picture jumped several times during the film. There was no serious loss of dialogue or plot, but it did become quite jarring and I have not seen it in other Network blu rays. Possibly this is a bad pressing, but it looked to me like faults on the film which had not been properly fixed. I am not 100% sure but at one point it looked as if the sound had gone a little out of sync following a momentary skip. The other problem I have is that the colour looked a bit off in places. I'm pretty sure that at least one of these spots was in the film last time I watched it on tv, but not others. And the quality of the blu ray image has not been kind to the special effects at all. I know a lot of viewers insist on no retouching but a little softening of lines here and there would not have done any harm. When it comes to extras there are very few - a theatrical trailer, photo gallery, and a gallery of promotional material like posters . The latter was actually quite interesting - I had no idea they had released tie-in materials like colouring books to go with the film! There are some poster images on the inside of the case insert too, which I thought a nice touch. The case is one of Network's standard slimline ones, too, which I like as they save on storage space. I can fit two Network blu rays in the space taken up by one from other companies. On the whole I don't regret the purchase; the film is as enjoyable as ever despite any glitches, and for the most part the blu ray is a huge improvement. But you might want to wait for a while to buy in case those picture skips are a pressing issue that can be corrected.

The superb quality of both picture and sound in this recording belie its age and it remains an outstanding example of how British film making is capable of being the best in the world, in this case largely due to the Hungarian born Alexandra Korda. It has lost nothing of its joie de vivre through the passing of time and I have to say I find it as inspiring now as I did the first time I saw it many years ago. This experience reminds me of what Picasso is said to have remarked when he saw the 40,000 year old Lascaux cave paintings for the first time: 'We have learned nothing.' One of the best attributes of modern technology is that it enables us to bring the very best of all past and present art forms into our homes and what would once have been fleeting forms can now be preserved and renewed down the generations. Of course, it can also deluge us with a plethora of trash and twisted viewpoints, but all these may be at best wiped out and at worst avoided. It's like the painters retreating into the caves to paint wonderful things well away from the trashy distractions of every day life. Here we can retreat into our own special caves and witness an inspiringly great production of the most watchable kind created to delight and entertain viewers in inspiringly timeless fashion. It's a privilege to own a copy of this great work.

I loved watching this, it's as enjoyable as all the other reviewers report and the DVD is great. Technicolor doesn't fade like more recent color film processes so the colours are rich, vivid and saturated as you can see from the images I uploaded. The print isn't absolutely 100% pristine and perfect but it's also very hard to complain about it. It may be that the Region 1 NTSC Criterion edition is better but while I do sometimes spend extra on imports when Region 2 discs aren't good enough I'm not tempted this time. There's nothing about this DVD which would inhibit your enjoyment of a fantastic film. I bought the Network label DVD from Amazon. The same label's DVD of Jungle Book, also featuring Sabu, is great as well so if you enjoyed Thief of Bagdad have a look at The Jungle Book [DVD ].

A said film for my set

I loved this film when I was young the effects for its age are very good and it's a fun story. Been waiting for years for it to be realased in a home watchable format. This is a good quality and compared with some on offer sensibly priced. It's an adventure with magic and romance in a medieval Arabian setting.A thoroughly enjoyable film for those who enjoy the earlier days of cinema I was a kid in the 50's when I first saw it and it was already old then If you enjoy adventures without state of the art CGI but, still well done effects then just sit back and enjoy this movie.

A classic movie in a decent if not perfect transfer. More enjoyable for the older generation I suspect - where nostalgia reigns - than today's kids. That said the film's pace and imaginative power are phenomenal and more than compensate for the ambitious but unconvincing special effects. The sets however are staggering in pre CGI days and conjure a phantasy world Arabian Nights to perfection. The cast are all excellent and mark the high spot of both Sabu and John Justin's career. Highly recommended.

Il a des acteurs de légende mais il y a aussi des films qui sont entrés à jamais dans la légende du cinéma... Le présent film est à ce titre exceptionnel en ce qu'il a le bonheur de réunir les deux critères. Tous ceux qui avaient vu ce film autrefois souhaitaient pouvoir le revoir un jour... Le succès qu'il a connu est dû presque essentiellement à la présence de Sabu qui était un acteur trés populaire et aimé du grand public. Cette version est le remake d'un film muet tourné en 1924, en vente également sur ce site, avec pour acteur principal Douglas fairbanks autre acteur de légende lui aussi... Alors?... Rendez-vous sur cette page?... PS: Il vous est aussi possible d'aller voir "Le livre de la jungle" film dont Sabu est aussi la vedette

Het beeld en geluid is voortreffelijk van kwaliteit op een 59 inch T.V scherm. Het verhaal blijft nog steeds zijn waarde houden ook nu nog, na 84 jaar. Helaas is er GEEN ENKELE ONDERTITELING op de DVD te vinden en dat is spijtig voor zo een klassieker. Gelukkig is alles goed verstaanbaar en praat men niet te snel of door elkaar, en kan je het best goed volgen.

The Thief of Bagdad(released Dec/40)stars,among others,Conrad Veidt as Jaffar,Sabu as Abu,June Duprez as the Princess,John Justin as Ahmad and Rex Ingram as the Djinn.Criterion has done an outstanding job,though there is a caveat which I will touch upon later.The print is magnificent,as the colours are vibrant and clear.I had not seen this movie since the 1960s,when it was shown regularly on TV.But then it was black and white,so seeing this film for the first time in colour was absolutely astounding. The story starts off with a blind man(Justin)and his faithful dog being tossed alms.When the princess's coterie passes by one day they take him to the palace where he explains what has led him to his present circumstances.In the flashback we learn that Justin was once the King of Bagdad,who had an evil and corrupt vizier,Veidt.The people are not as happy as the King would like,so Veidt advises him to go out amongst the people and get to know them.While out he is captured and treated like a common criminal,under Veidt's orders,and thrown into the dungeon;to be executed at dawn.A thief(Sabu)happens to be there also and with Sabu's help,the pair escape and head to Bassra. While there Justin falls head over heels for the local princess,Duprez.He appears to her as a genie in the water(his reflection)then reveals himself to her.The law states no man or woman can look upon the princess and live.However Duprez is as instantly in love with Justin as he is with her.The two pledge lifelong vows to each other and Justin leaves.Jaffra by coincidence also shows up at the princess's palace to meet the father,who is into toys.He brings him a mechanical horse that can be transformed into a living/flying one.In return for the gift Jaffar wants the sultan's daughter's hand in marriage.The princess hears this and flees the palace.The next day,much to Sabu's chagrin,they return to the palace only to be caught as intruders.Jaffar is there and before they can spill the beans on him Jaffra blinds Justin and turns Sabu into a dog.They are turned loose,and hunt aimlessly for the princess. Here the story comes back to the present and the servant girl Justin has been talking to,explains that the princess is there in the palace.She is in a deep sleep and only he can awaken her from it.He goes to her and indeed awakens her.Later Duprez is lured onto a ship under false pretenses,thinking there is a cure on board for the sightless Justin.It is a trap and Jaffar speeds her away.When the princess asks about a cure,Jaffar says all she has to do is embrace him and they will be returned to normal.She allows him to do so and both are returned back to their normal selves once more.Justin and Sabu try to follow,but Jaffra conjures up a storm which wrecks their ship. On the shore the two are separated.As Sabu wanders the beach he finds an old bottle.He pops the cork and out pops a huge genie.Being bottled up for 2,000 years has made for a grumpy genie.Before he can mash poor Sabu into the ground,Sabu tricks him into proving he came out of the bottle.Once he's inside Sabu re-corks the bottle.The Genie pleads with him to let him back out.Sabu does but becomes his temporary master.The genie grants him three wishes.The first Sabu uses to get some fresh sausages his mother used to make,as he's hungry.For the second wish,Sabu wants to know where his friend is so he can go to him.The Genie takes him to a far away temple that holds the all seeing eye.The problem is Sabu must make a dangerous climb onto and up a monstrous statue alone,which is guarded by a giant spider and none too friendly natives.Sabu makes the climb successfully,after some harrowing moments,and manages to return to the genie safe and sound.Sabu finds Justin's location and they fly off to it.Sabu shows Justin where the princess is but he becomes upset at Sabu bringing the eye and showing it to him when he can do nothing about it.They fight and Sabu wishes Justin was back in Bagdad.Justin disappears.With his third wish spent,the genie can't wait to taste his freedom,and leaves. Justin reappears at the palace and he and the princess reunite once more.The furious Veidt has them both thrown into the dungeon,to be executed the next day.Justin wishes he hadn't left Sabu under such bad circumstances,and openly apologizes to his friend.Sabu,far away with the all seeing eye in hand,watches Justin,frustrated.He throws the eye down into a canyon which smashes into a thousand pieces.Suddenly Sabu finds himself approaching a tent and inside are a king and its inhabitants from the land of legend.They have been all turned to stone and are now free thanks to Sabu,who is named their new king.He is given the bow of freedom,and with this and the old king's magic carpet,he rides to Baghdad to save his friend.He arrives just in time and kills the evil Jaffar.As the film ends Justin wants Sabu as his right hand man,but Sabu tells him that Justin has what he wants,but all Sabu wants is some fun and adventure,and off he flies. The story is right out of an Arabian Nights chapter and the special effects for the 40s was state of the art.In fact I think the film is one of the earliest examples of the blue screen process.Everything is on a grand scale,from the epic look of the cities of Bagadad and Jaffra,the temple with the all seeing eye,the genie played by Rex Ingram,and on and on.Director Korda went to a lot of elaborate work to get what he wanted and what he got has stood the test of time.This film has lost none of its charm and fascination.Veidt was a perfect villain and seeing Sabu again after all these years was a treat beyond words.Justin and Duprez did well in their parts but their chemistry wasn't as strong as it could/should have been. Technically speaking the film is in its original a/r of 1:33:1 and is clear and crisp in its spectacular three strip Technicolour state.Extras abound,as there is commentary,the trailer,an optional music and effects track,a featurette with Ray Harryhausen on the effects created by Korda,a radio interview with the composer,production stills and the 76 minute feature the Lion has Wings,produced by Korda during the war(released Nov/39).It stars Ralph Richardson,Merle Oberon and some of the Thief cast.It is a propaganda film to be sure,and dry,but has some neat first generation war footage and is a nice history lesson for those interested.There are two discs in this set,with which there is a 20 page booklet included. Now to the caveat I spoke of above.Reviewer Spyder on these pages had the luck to have the MGM release of this film and this set.He reported that the prints were the same,and he was right.I contacted Criterion myself and they confirmed that fact.So any restoration done,was done by MGM.More could have been done but wasn't.The fellow I emailed and who responded to my query offered me a replacement of any other title in their catalogue!Very accommodating,considering I was just inquiring and didn't yet own a copy of the set!Tells you a lot about Criterion.I have always stated with Criterion releases,that a Criterion release is a superior release.This time I cannot say that is totally true.However they did go as far as they could with all the extras they included here,which goes along way for making up for the print;which was really,I suppose,out of their hands.And to be honest,the print here IS magnificent despite the minor imperfections that could have been expunged with more work done. All in all Criterion,despite the caveat above,has turned out another solid release with the Thief of Bagdad,in magnificent colour,directed in Britain by famed Alexander Korda.The film won three Academy awards,and most deservedly.It is chock full of extras and is a timeless movie which has lost none of its marvel and spectacle.It is a film that the whole family can enjoy together.Highly recommended.

Calidad de imagen del film INSUPERABLE. Pero la carátula ha llegado rota y partida.

What's that old saying? Too many cooks spoil the broth? In figurative terms it means if there are too many people working on a project, the result will be inferior...given the fact The Thief of Bagdad (1940) sports six directors, three credited, three uncredited, you'd think the film would be a mess, but it's actually the very opposite. The credited directors include Ludwig Berger (The Vagabond King), Michael Powell (Black Narcissus), and Tim Whelan (The Mad Doctor), while on the uncredited side there's three individuals, all whom share producing credits for the film in Alexander Korda (Storm Over the Nile), his brother Zoltan Korda (Jungle Book), and William Cameron Menzies (The Whip Hand). Starring in the film is Conrad Veidt (Casablanca), Sabu (Elephant Boy, Jungle Book), and John Justin (King of the Khyber Rifles). Also appearing is June Duprez (Little Tokyo, U.S.A.) and Rex Ingram (God's Little Acre) as the Genie, or Djinn, As the film begins, we're introduced to a blind beggar named Ahmad (Justin), and his very intelligent dog, both of whom are more than they appear. Ahmad soon relates a tale, and we learn of a man who was once king, and how he became friends with a clever young thief from the streets named Abu, played by Sabu (see what they did? The just removed the `S' from Sabu to get Abu...pretty smart, huh?). We also learn of the king's downfall at the hands of Jaffar (Veidt), a greedy, dastardly fellow with a penchant for magics and trickery. Seems Jaffar, once Grand Vizer (that means a highly regarded executive type who councils the king in many different matters) to the king, covet too much, and through some ruse, he managed to usurp (hence his new moniker of `The Usurper') the throne, and now desires the lovely princess, played by Duprez, daughter to a Sultan (played by Miles Malleson, one of the writers) of the nearby kingdom of Basra, who, incidentally, is smitten with the once king, and he her (their first encounter occurs in the `forbidden garden'...take the meaning whichever way you like)...the pair (the once king and Abu) embark on a number of dangerous adventures to regain king's throne, free the princess from the Jaffar's clutches, and return things to the natural order. Seems like a simple enough task, right? Well, keep in mind Jaffar is not only a scoundrel, but a magical scoundrel, and he has no intention of losing what he has worked so little for...actually, his plans appeared pretty complex, almost to the point of being convoluted, so it was obvious he had been planning it for awhile. The Thief of Bagdad (which won three academy awards, one for color cinematography, a second for color interior design, and a third for special effects) is one of those films that I wish I could have been their to see when it originally opened in the theaters, as I can't help but feel it must have been quite the awesome cinematic experience similar to the first time I saw Clash of the Titans (1981) in the theater (I was eleven at the time). In terms of fantasy films, very few can match the level of magic and whimsy of The Thief of Bagdad, although many have tried. The real key to the film's success, in my opinion, is that it is so well written, basically a fairytale come to life. Certainly the special effects helped propel this film, but without the core characterizations and well-crafted dialogue, the film wouldn't have been as popular. With regards to the acting, I thought all of the performers did very well, but given the strength of the material, it wouldn't have been too difficult for an experienced performer to come in and do as well, with a few exceptions, particularly in the characters of Abu, the genie (Ingram), and Jaffar. Sabu seemed a bit rough around the edges, but this was displaced by his infectious enthusiasm, which came through in nearly every scene he appeared. The genie, played by Harrison, is wonderful and comes through larger than life, exactly how you'd expect a genie to be (which makes me think Harrison's performance was what many other, later genie depictions were probably based on). Last, but not least, is the character of Jaffar, played perfectly by Veidt. This definitely was a case of finding the right actor for the part as Veidt creates what's probably one of the strongest characterizations of an on screen villain I seen in a long time. The only other one I can think of is Darth Vader, but the difference is in Vader's character, much of his menace comes through in the costume and effects, where with Jaffar, Veidt had to create his character from within, and does so almost too well (he even scared me a few times). As far as the special effects, some seem dated (keep in mind the film was made some 60+ years ago, and achieving effects on the level seen here was incredibly difficult) and obvious (the blue fringing of the Technicolor mattes often shows through), while others hold up quite well (the giant spider looked amazing and its' movements really made it appear to be alive). The sets, usually backed by lush and detailed matte paintings, are beautiful and befitting of the story, and the music, by Miklós Rózsa, is considered to be some of the finest ever made for a film. Generally I'm not big on characters within film breaking out in song, but it works here because it ties so well into the events on the screen. The full screen (original format) looks really good, despite a few minor flaws, and the audio comes through very well. I was surprised at a lack of features (there's a good looking trailer) for this particular film, given its' significance in terms of being one of the best fantasy films ever released, but better to have it than not at all I suppose. Cookieman108