Review of The Thief of Bagdad (1940) by Eric F — 14 Apr 2009

"The Thief of Bagdad" is a strange film to see in your twenties. Although it's one of the most influential special effects features of all time, it's now terribly ancient and at times even laughable. That being said, however, it's charm has not deteriorated at all. I found myself smiling, cheering, laughing (whether with or at the film), and simply immersing myself into a campy world of giant spiders, monstrous genies, and mechanical flying horses. As an adventure story this more than holds up, and it is still just as captivating as any other fantasy film of our generation. Is it silly to watch Arabian kings who look anything but Arabian, primitive blue screen editing that leaves a thick blue outline around our heroes, and a flying horse who is simply galloping on the air as if it were land? Well, yes. Once you invest in the film, however, the power of the imagination kicks in: the strings disappear and we're left with nothing but a majestic spectacle. This is filmmaking magic.

The film begins in the middle of our story, where we meet an Arabian King, Ahmad (John Justin), who now lives as a blind begger. Ahmad tells his story: his evil adviser, Jaffar (Conrad Veidt), had tricked him into leaving his palace and was then placed in jail by authorities not aware of Ahmad's identity as the king. There he meets Abu (Sabu), a young adventurer. The two of them escape to Basra and meet the local princess (June Duprez), whom Ahmad immediately falls in love with. However, because Jaffar also has his sights set on the princess, he places a blindness curse on Ahmad and turns Abu into a dog. Still following?

The film, at this point, largely shifts to another story entirely - the story of a shipwrecked Abu who must find his way back to Ahmad. He ends up on a beach where he finds a bottle. Once opened, a giant genie (Rex Ingram) emerges and attempts to kill him. Abu is able to trick the genie back into the bottle, and only lets him back out once the genie agrees to grant him three wishes. One of these wishes involves acquiring an all-seeing eye, which is located on the highest mountain, and guarded by a giant spider and weird reptile-people. How do they get to this mountain? The genie flies, of course! And so, once Abu finds Ahmad, he must go and rescue our hero, help him get the girl, bring justice to the land, and go on happily ever after.

I loved this film. It's overstuffed, overlong, and extremely campy, however I can't recall the last time i've had so much fun watching a movie. As a 21-year-old, I watched the film as a child - I battled along with Abu as he fought the giant spider, and then soared along the sky on the back of a genie. The film is an antique, and none of it looks entirely convincing, but a more charming picture you're unlikely to find.

"The Thief of Bagdad" was released last year by Criterion, and the disc comes packed with special features including a commentary by Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. It's certainly a film worthy of the space it'll take on your shelf. I'd highly recommend seeking this one out.