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Rating: 5 out of 5
What would a fantasy adventure look like or appeal to you? Would it be battling against a giant spider to steal a giant ruby? Would you try to save a beautiful princess from the clutches of your former evil advisor? How about finding a genie that grants you three wishes, but before that tries to step on you because he has a grudge? How about being turned into a dog and spotting out fake coins because your owner is blind?
In 1940, several directors (Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger, Tim Whelan, Alexander Korda, Zoltan Korda, and William Cameron Menzies) made one of the most entertaining and fantasy movies ever made. One that is uplifting but also keeps you on the edge of your seat. An early Technicolor film that has some of the most beautiful sceneries and colors. The film has adventure, love, some singing, and best storytelling.
“The Thief of Bagdad” loosely borrows from the 1924 version of a “The Thief of Bagdad.” In the 1940 version of the “The Thief of Bagdad,” the two main characters are the thief, Abu, and the king, Ahmad. The story starts off with a blind man (Ahmad) along with his dog, asking for donations, and telling stories. A man comes by and throws a coin in the bowl when the dog barks. The man gets upset when Ahmad states that the dog can spot out fake coins. As a test, the man throws down many coins when the dog picks out the false coin. The man surprised by the dog states, “this is no dog but the reincarnation of a debt collector.”
The story continues when the blind man gets asked by a woman to come with her. The blind man tells a story about when he could he. The next scene is of the thief, Abu. Abu steals anything he can get his hands on and gives some spare food to the people. As people chase after him, we next see the king of the kingdom Ahmad with his royal advisor, Jaffar, looking over an execution. Ahmad states that Jaffar stood between him and his people. Ahmad wanting to give people happiness, ventures out with the advice of Jaffar to learn from the people. Ahmad sits in on a sermon and learns that the people hate him and think of him as a tyrant. Before Ahmad can return, Jaffar has him arrested and thrown into prison to be beheaded in the morning. While in prison, Ahmad meets the master thief, Abu. Together they escape the clutches of Jaffar. After learning about each other identities, the pair decides to travel to Basra. While in the city, Ahmad falls in love with the beautiful princess. As the princess and Ahmad fall in love, Jaffar descends upon the kingdom to manipulate the Sultan and claim the princess as his wife. The story continues with Ahmad trying to get back the princess and with Abu going on an epic journey to help.
The greatest thing about this film is not the story but the special effects. Being a film from 1940, the special effects are some of the best in film and still hold up today. The special effects are what make this film such a transcendent film. Some examples of this are the Sultan’s mechanical toys. The flying horse was something to see. Seeing a horse fly through the air is pretty interesting. Another is the goddess with six arms. The best one deals with the genie. When the genie is released from his bottle, the smoke spews out as a giant person towers over like a mountain. When the genie flies through the castle, the effects showing Abu by his ear makes him look so small. Other examples of the special effects are the battle with the giant spider that sent a shiver down my arms, the magic carpet, and the All-Seeing Eye.
The color of this film is outstanding. Being a Technicolor film, I was impressed and amazed by the colors. From the get-go, they seemed to pop from my screen. When the ship first came on screen, my exact thoughts were, “That’s some bright colors right there.” The scenery also popped. The blue mountains exploded from the screen along with the pink elephant. One of the best movies that showed color.
The story is outstanding. One of the best. Even though Ahmad was the king and he was trying to get back what he lost, the actual story was about Abu. Abu was really the main character and focus. He provided the comic relief, and the story is built around him. He was the one that saved Ahmad from prison. He was the one that found the genie, and he was the one that ultimately defeated Jaffar. Now that I think about it, Ahmad really didn’t do anything in the whole film. The story is excellent because it showed a person going from absolutely nothing to becoming a hero and a king at the end. It also showed that you can’t live other people’s dreams and for you to go out and find your own fun and adventure. As Abu said at the end, “You found what you were looking for. It’s time for me to find my own fun and adventure.”
Sabu, as Abu was great. Sabu was only 15 at the time, but he was charming and exciting. He showed Abu as a person full of life. He is very quick headed as he tricked the genie back in the bottle when he was about to get stepped on. The way he knows how to steal from people is priceless. How he managed to steal pancakes and then all of a sudden, talk his way out of getting free honey. Conrad Veidt, as Jaffar was brilliant. He was manipulative and cunning. When the movie closed up on his eyes as he said, a curse was pretty creepy. I like how they showed his evil intent while making the room black around him.
June Duprez as the Princess and John Justin as Ahmad. Duprez seemed like the want of all men. She seemed somewhat dry at times. She tried to be the damsel in distress, but it didn’t come off as wanting help, and it was just a dry acting job. On the other hand, Justin was very passionate in what he was doing as Ahmad. He seemed like the exact opposite of Duprez. It didn’t mess to well when they were on screen together. Rex Ingram, as the Djinn, was terrific. As the Djinn, he was loud and entertaining. He had that evil laugh that made you shake in fear but told some of the best jokes in the film. The anger she showed after being inside the bottle for over 2000 years and wanting to step on Abu was quite a funny scene.
The 1940 version of “The Thief of Bagdad” is by far one of the best movies for fantasy of all time. The story is excellent and entertaining. The special effects is what really drives the story along with the colors. I had so much fun watching this movie and you will to.
