Stars:
Sabu, Conrad Veidt, June Duprez, John Justin, Rex Ingram, Miles Malleson and
Morton Selten
Directors:
Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell, Tim Whelan, and Zoltan Korda
Feature
length: 1 hour and 46 minutes
Extras:
Trailer
Languages:
English and Spanish Language Monaural
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 20
Sound:
Monaural Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1999/DVD Release: 2002
Theatrical
Distributor: United Artists
Home
Video Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
The
evil Jaffar (Conrad Veidt) has usurped the throne from the rightful heir (John
Justin) and used his magic to blind him and turn his vagabond friend Abu (Sabu)
into a dog. Now beggars, the reputation of the blind man with the dog that can
distinguish a true coin of the realm from a counterfeit has preceded them and
bought them back to the attention of Jaffar, who brings them back into the
kingdom because only the true Prince and heir to the realm can awake the
Princess (June Duprez) from her enchanted sleep. When the blind Prince does
this, his sight is restored and Abu is returned to his human form. However
Jaffar quickly has the Prince throne in a dungeon with the intention of having
him executed at dawn and then taking the Princess as his bride, thus
legitimizing his ascendance to the throne. Abu escapes and eventually finds
himself upon a remote beach where he unlocks a genie from a bottle (Rex Ingram).
Together they go on a wondrous journey to the roof of the world where Abu
undergoes various challenges to get an all seeing eye that could give him the
power the save the Prince and defeat Jaffar only if he can use his gift for
thievery to perform a selfless act?
This
1940 Technicolor feature has much to delight fantasy film fans with a genie who
is both menacing and jolly at the same time, an old Sultan more interested toys
than his subjects, a dastardly villain in the classic sense, and mythic trials
that span many cultures to include a Shiva like being, a giant Buddha with a
magic eye, green troglodyte like guards, a giant spider, and a magic flying
carpet. Sabu lights up the screen with natural charisma and sells fanciful
aspects no matter how dated they appear. Conrad Veidt dictates the role of
Jaffar like a professional, and Rex Ingram is truly unforgettable as the genie.
Unfortunately John Justin is miscast in the role of the Prince and whenever the
story focuses on him one might wish the filmmakers got back to Sabu pronto or
that maybe through some grace of 21st century technology, one can
simply reedit the film and put someone else in his place as the Prince.
Well
the character of the Prince is essential to the story or else we have no reason
for much of this story’s events to take place so we are left with a film that
is a mixed success. With four Directors calling the shots the film’s style is
somewhat stilted mixing stock footage, second unit location shooting, and studio
shots together, but the different elements look like they all belong in separate
movies and thus distracts the viewer away from the story rather than sustain his
or her suspension of disbelief. The matte effects and the composite shots are
dated, but the film still has a mythic quality to it that rises above what was
possible in 1940. The only other caveat I have about the film is that the first
hour is pretty slow and the more magical elements do not occur until the second
half of the film, but for anyone who remembers seeing this film on TV on a
Sunday afternoon or has an older relative or friend who remembers this film from
their childhood, this DVD is for you or them.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
presents “The Thief Of Bagdad” in the original theatrical release format of
approximately (1.33:1). After screening this DVD I am not sure whether or not
this film was digitally mastered from the best materials possible because at
points the image yields a very fine bit of compression grain while other scenes
look a bit soft. In fact there is at least one shot that is definitely out of
focus. Fortunately this does not occur often, but it does occur. Aside from
that, the Technicolor image looks simply beautiful on this DVD and is so clear
that at times it dates the effects more than they probably ever appeared on
broadcast television. A clear two-channel English Monaural Soundtrack is
included along with a two-channel Spanish Language Monaural Soundtrack and
English Captions and Closed Captions for the hearing impaired as well as Spanish
Language Subtitles encoded on to the DVD as options.
Aside
from the full screen theatrical trailer (2:40) there are no other extra features
on this DVD though one can appreciate just how good “The Thief Of Bagdad”
does look despite any faults on DVD after seeing the trailer, which has frayed
with age. The menus are standard interactive still frames that are easy to
navigate. An old film the whole can enjoy, “The Thief Of Bagdad” is
available now on DVD-Video at retailers on and offline from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.