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Product Description

This is considered the definitive version of this silent classic masterpiece about a charming thief's love for a beautiful princess that leads him to change his ways. Giant genies, flying carpets and evil sorcery make it a very imaginative epic of this Arabian Nights Adventure. Restored to the original tints. 1924 , b&w, silent

Product details

MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ G (General Audience)
Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.6 x 4.3 x 2.2 inches; 11.2 Ounces
Director ‏ : ‎ Raoul Walsh
Media Format ‏ : ‎ NTSC
Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 20 minutes
Release date ‏ : ‎ January 1, 1985
Actors ‏ : ‎ Douglas Fairbanks Sr, Snitz Edwards, Charles Belcher, Julanne Johnston, Sojin
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00001W0G9

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4.5 out of 5

286 global ratings

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4.5 stars. The original silent film, a stunning achievment.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 26, 2014

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4.5 Stars

This wonderful film by Raoul Walsh, and starring Douglas Fairbanks has been properly restored by The Cohen Media Group. The excellent transfer came from two 35mm negatives and retains the original color tints of the film. I was a bit confused as to why the inter-titles would change color however. The transfer comes with a 1080p video resolution and a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, as was the original film. Frankly I was expecting the usual problems with many of these films from the silent era. But I have no complaints. Cohen has done a masterful job with only barely noticeable imperfections (flicker, scratches). Obviously the film will not look as good as modern day movies, but this is about as good as I've seen for movie from this era.

While the film is silent, an enhanced musical score comes from a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track (lossless 2.0 stereo is also available). The score comes from Carl Davis who also conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra. He uses flourishes from Rimsky-Korsakov to supplement his own work. It works and sounds perfect for the film, even down to the drum beats in synch with some of the film action. There are no language options other than the English inter-titles.

Extras include an audio commentary by Fairbanks biographer Jeffrey Vance, a series of photographs taken during the shoot and a restoration trailer. There is also a booklet with an essay by Laura Boyes, the film curator of the North Carolina Museum of Art.

I won't go into great detail regarding the plot itself but here it is. The fantasy is set in the caliphate of Bagdad. A ripped and athletic Fairbanks plays Ahmed (the thief) who manages to survive by hoodwinking the wealthier citizenry. He manages to steal a magical rope from a street magician. With it he is able to make it into a climbable pole. He and his associate (Snitz Edwards) devise a plan to climb the wall of the Caliph's palace and steal a large treasure. He stumbles into the sleeping quarters of the young princess (Julanne Johnston) and is instantly smitten. These early scenes feature the 40 year old Fairbanks jumping over rocks, blocks and other barriers. He also is adept at climbing walls and a rope/pole. It's pretty remarkable stuff.

The Caliph (Brandon Hurst) has decided it's now time to marry off his daughter and invites suitors to show their stuff. Three princes show up; a Persian, an Indian and a Mongol (Sojin Kamiyama). The Mongol sees this as an easy way to conquer Bagdad without blood being spilled. If the princess doesn't choose him, he's prepared to take the city by force. Ahmed decides to disguise himself as a prince and make a play for the princess himself. The princess decides she will wed whoever ventures into the countryside and return with the most valuable gift. She gives them 7 moons to get the gift and return.

Ahmed, until now a "non-believer" seeks guidance from a "Holy Man" (Charles Belcher). He is sent on a dangerous mission to obtain a magical box, but he must fight a series of monsters along the way. The Mongol has a secret weapon inside the palace in the form of slave girl (Anna May Wong), one of the princess's attendants. She poisons the princess with some smoke and now the race is on to get back to the palace. The Indian (Noble Johnson) is able to see the ill princess using his found crystal ball. They use the Persian's (Mathilde Comont) found flying carpet to get there, and when they do, the Mongol's magic elixir brings the young woman back from near death. All the while, Ahmed is racing back with the magic box riding a flying horse.

This is all pretty cool by the way. The film is big and grand. It has huge sets and some very convincing special effects. Sure a piano wire is visible once and a while but I'm not sure how they did the thing with Ahmed turning into a whirling dervish. I suspect theater goers of 1924 were stunned by the grandeur of the film and I'm sure the ladies were swooning over Fairbanks's bare chest and gymnastics. The film does require some patience even for lovers of silent films. It runs 2 ½ hours but is highly enjoyable. A great package.

9 people found this helpful

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Jonathan J. McCullough

Excellent execution of a ground-breaking and entertaining cinematic masterpiece of all time.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 22, 2020

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Aside from perhaps Charlie Chaplin's The Kid, Raoul Walsh's The Thief of Baghdad is my favorite silent movie, and one of my favorite movies period. I've seen many prints of this well-loved and dog-eared classic, but the Cohen Films version has been the clearest and most enjoyable I've seen yet. Like many previous iterations, this one features a Rimsky-Korsakov inspired Scheherezade accompaniment, but rather than just randomly slopping the track onto the film, they've obviously arranged the music to correspond what's going on in the film, which helps match the music to the sentiment and scenes the audience is seeing, much like a live orchestra would have done at a premier screening when this film first debuted in 1924. Although the special effects may not be what we are accustomed to in today's snoozy CGI spectacles, they are as fresh, novel, and entertaining as any you may have seen in the best examples available at any time since this film first showed. They are also all the more remarkable since these were all practical, "in-camera" effects using the most sophisticated tricks of the time, so much so that it makes you wonder, just how did they actually do that?!? The editor used only as many inter title cards as were necessary, and no more; this is pure cinema, a charming and captivating romp that audiences of every stripe will enjoy. It is entertaining from the very first frames until the very last, and would serve as an excellent introduction for kids or adults alike to the many pleasures that silent films have to offer.

In addition, this significant cinematic accomplishment really is the keystone, the uncontested original, the very first successful iteration of the action-adventure genre. There is no Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark without The Thief of Baghdad. No Star Wars: A New Hope. The hero's journey, the damsel in distress, the new complications, the depths of despair, the triumphant return--all now-standard features of today's films--are presented for the first time in this film. It's all here. Everything released since then have been digital approximations of Xerox copies of mimeographs of the fresh, original, daring and dreamlike shadows of the imagination first presented, and arguably best presented, here in silver nitrate celluloid nearly a hundred years ago. Watch it. Rewatch it. Share it with a friend. They'll thank you.

11 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Sursubbu

Visually enchanting vintage fantasy adventure gets a smashing blu-ray release

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 30, 2018

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As the name verily suggests, Thief of Bagdad is a fantasy adventure inspired by the lore of the Arabian Nights. Which is not to suggest that the film in any way adopts the complex multi-story nature of that famous literary work, nay this is a straightforward story of flamboyant heroism saving the day and winning the prize. And Douglas Fairbanks is about as textbook a definition of flamboyant heroism as it gets. Aged 40 at the time this film was made, Fairbanks has the lithe physique a 20-year old would envy and athletic grace to match. It's sheer pleasure just watching him shimmy up ropes, leap over tables, trampoline in and out of oversized pots. But Fairbanks wasn't just the hunky star of this film. He was also producer (a co-production with his equally famous spouse Mary Pickford) and if Hollywood legend is to be believed, ghost-director along with Raoul Walsh.

In the film Fairbanks is the titular thief, a feckless braggart cheerfully taking what he wants from the streets and mansions of Bagdad, until he meets with the princess in the disguise of a foreign prince. Suddenly our man is sick of his existing lifestyle and wishes to win the princess honorably. Off he goes on a quest that requires him to fulfil several challenges before he can return with the ultimate MacGuffin that will allow him to sweep up her royal highness. Also in the mix is an evil Mongol lord who wishes to possess the princess and Bagdad by any means possible. The hero must win the day, dragons (also giant bats and spiders) must be slayed, damsels must be rescued, chest-thumping good must win over beady-eyed evil.

ToB's script is light on nuance and hardly justifies the 2.5 hour running time, but the film is an undeniable spectacle. Celebrated art director William Cameron Menzies was then a newcomer, but justified Walsh and Fairbanks' faith with towering vistas of full-scale minarets and fortress walls, swirling staircases and intricate ornamental designs for the palace interiors, immersive depictions of underground caves and even an aquatic realm (specially shot using distorted glass filters to achieve the effect of waves). The camera simply surrenders to the impact of Menzies' sets, accentuating their scale - in many scenes, the human element occupies only the bottom third of the screen, giving maximum visual space to the architecture. It makes for a most interesting if also sometimes disorienting impact on the viewing. The optical FX are less impressive but there are some notable in-camera FX, including the use of a carpet actually suspended several hundred feet by a crane doing a flyby around the palace, brr.

In terms of flaws, the film does have pacing issues, with bales of obvious padding material. The princess, as played by Julanne Johnston is a milksop, given to such fainting and sighing as would make a Victorian lady envious. Far more intriguing was the sultry and resourceful Anna May Wong as the Mongol lord's evil spy in the palace, she would have made a better match for the thief, so what if she's a bad girl herself? As for Fairbanks his exaggerated gestures get tiresome after a bit. If you played a drinking game over the number of times he spreads his arms out in joy or surprise, often over the most nondescript elements, you'd be pie-eyed before a third of the movie.

But in all, ToB is worth visiting as a thrilling adventure that in its time defined spectacle. Using the Cohen Films restoration as its basis the Eureka video presentation is stellar, given the film's age and elements. Some footage using optical FX is noticeably softer, but such elements are only rarely seen thanks to the film's reliance on actual sets and in-camera FX. The Carl Davies score, inspired in part by Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade is a thrilling accompaniment to the action. Extras include a text essay with stills detailing elements from the production and an audio commentary. There is also the customary booklet with an essay on the film.

4 people found this helpful

S. Lornie

Old School Fantasy

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 18, 2019

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In the last 15 years or so, I have found modern cinema to be quite lacking. Because of Hollywood's incompetence, I have turned to near 100 year old classics to get my fantasy movie kick. I have tried out films like the legendary Metropolis, the criminally forgotten Die Nibelungen amongst many others. In this bundle of movies, I have discovered just how good the silent era was for this kind of film.

Recent visits to Ray Harryhausen's Sinbad series made me wonder if there was any similar style films out there. That is when I landed on The Thief of Bagdad from 1924. It's a fairly romanticised tale based on Tales From the Arabian Nights and stars Douglas Fairbanks, one of the top stars of the time. The film is about a petty thief named Ahmed, a man who enjoys picking pockets and getting up to some mischief. In an attempt to mug the Princess of Bagdad, he becomes infatuated by her and goes out of his way to meet and win her heart.

The story is simple enough and is very easy to follow. It progresses from a light hearted story and into reasonably dark fantasy territory. The movie is split into two contrasting sections. Some might find the first hour a bit slow, but I enjoyed it. I found the acting for the most part to be quite convincing. A few of the actors physical gestures were a little over the top. But that seems to be a common thing in the silent era. The worst offender of the lot is Douglas Fairbanks himself. The first twenty minutes or so looks quite silly as he waves his arms all over the place like he's on some sugar rush. But the acting as a whole was consistently good and a joy to watch. My favourite of the lot was by far Sojin Kamiyama, who was a very convincing villain. His up right posture, lack of physical emotion and evil glare was absolutely spot on. He was perfect for the role.

Naturally with a movie from this period, the sets are quite epic in scale and the costume design is fantastic. Each character wears outfits that I can imagine are extremely colourful but the beautiful bluray restoration shows us the viewer so many wonderful little details in the patterns etc. In terms of set and costume design, this is an absolutely beautiful movie. This is solidified more by the excellent special effects. Everything from the magic carpet to the monster appearances look fantastic. There's also a good use of colours to represent day and night cycles etc. In terms of scale, It may not compare to Intolerance for example but it's a real technical marvel that holds it's own against other films of the time.

As I mentioned above, this is a lengthy movie. It sits at a good two and a half hours. Some might get a bit fed up with the first half as the love story does drag on a little. But once the quest to win the Princesses hand is announced, the movie kicks into high gear. It's a highly enjoyable movie and an excellent edition for those who enjoy collecting older films on bluray. The transfer has very little in the way of noticeable damage, looks very clean and extremely sharp. I would highly recommend picking this up.

One person found this helpful

Jaffa

STYLE OVER CONTENT?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 5, 2016

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Speaking here about the Eureka Masters of Cinema release. Beautiful picture quality on both formats and a great score by Carl Davis. Have to say that although the film itself is a wonderful technical achievement, there is very little story to get excited about, and with nearly two and a half hours to kill, the narration does drag in places.
There's no doubting the magnificence of Fairbanks' vision. a truly stunning silent production, but the real stars are the design, art direction and photography. Some of William Cameron Menzies sets are extraordinary; at times dwarfing the actors on screen.
Special effects are tremendous, a mixture of camera tricks, model work and matte shots.
A real visual feast indeed, but for this reviewer, something is indeed missing in terms of a story.
The box claims one of the top 100 films of all time as voted by the AFI. Based on the era it was made, I'd have to go along with that.

11 people found this helpful

Dr. Retro Dave

Still Hailed as an Instant Slient Film Classic!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 5, 2021

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And this title shows, check it out!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

David Garside

Classic fantasy

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 11, 2020

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Epic Arabian Nights adventure, fully restored and tinted with a superb musical score.

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The Thief of Bagdad w/Douglas Fairbanks Sr.

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Genre	Fantasy
Format	NTSC
Contributor	Tote Du Crow, Brandon Hurst, Charles Sylvester, Jesse Lasky Jr., Charles Stevens, Sadakichi Hartmann, Noble Johnson, Douglas Fairbanks Sr, Charles Belcher, Winter Blossom, Jesse 'Lone Cat' Fuller, David Sharpe, Raoul Walsh, Anna May Wong, Mathilde Comont, Jess Weldon, Etta Lee, Julanne Johnston, Sojin, Snitz Edwards, K. Nambu See more
Runtime	2 hours and 20 minutes