The Thief of Bagdad (1940 film): Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|1940 British film}} |
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{{Infobox film |
{{Infobox film |
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| name = The Thief of Bagdad |
| name = The Thief of Bagdad |
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| image = Thief Of Bagdad (1940).jpg |
| image = Thief Of Bagdad (1940).jpg |
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| caption = |
| caption = Theatrical release poster |
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| director = [[Michael Powell]]<br>[[Ludwig Berger (director)|Ludwig Berger]] <br>[[Tim Whelan |
| director = [[Michael Powell]]<br>[[Ludwig Berger (director)|Ludwig Berger]] <br>[[Tim Whelan]] |
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| producer = Alexander Korda |
| producer = [[Alexander Korda]] |
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| writer = [[Lajos Bíró]]<br>[[Miles Malleson]] |
| writer = [[Lajos Bíró]]<br>[[Miles Malleson]] |
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| starring = [[Conrad Veidt]]<br>[[Sabu |
| starring = [[Conrad Veidt]]<br>[[Sabu (actor)|Sabu]]<br>[[June Duprez]]<br>[[John Justin]]<br>[[Rex Ingram (actor)|Rex Ingram]]<br>[[Mary Morris]] |
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| music = [[Miklós Rózsa]] |
| music = [[Miklós Rózsa]] |
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| cinematography = [[Georges Périnal|George Perinal]] |
| cinematography = [[Georges Périnal|George Perinal]] |
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| editing = [[Charles Crichton]] |
| editing = [[Charles Crichton]] |
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| studio = [[London Films]] |
| studio = [[London Films]] |
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| distributor = [[United Artists]] |
| distributor = [[United Artists]] |
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| released = {{film date|df=yes|1940|12|5|US|1940|12|25|UK}} |
| released = {{film date|df=yes|1940|12|5|US|1940|12|25|UK}} |
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| color_process = [[Technicolor]] |
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| runtime = 106 minutes |
| runtime = 106 minutes |
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| country = United Kingdom |
| country = United Kingdom |
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| language = English |
| language = English |
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| budget =$1,750,000<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/variety140-1940-11/page/n139/mode/1up|magazine=Variety|title=UA Meeting|date=20 November 1940|page=20}}</ref> |
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| budget = |
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⚫ | | gross = over $1 million (US/Canada)<ref name="tino">{{cite book |last=Balio |first=Tino |title=United Artists: The Company Built by the Stars |date=2009 |publisher=[[University of Wisconsin Press]] |isbn=978-0-299-23004-3}} p172</ref><br>5,134,653 admissions (France, 1946)<ref>[http://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.boxofficestory.com/&prev=search French box office of 1946] at Box Office Story</ref> |
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|gross = over $1 million (US/Canada)<ref name="tino">{{cite book |
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| last = Balio |
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| first = Tino |
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| authorlink = |
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| coauthors = |
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| title = United Artists: The Company Built by the Stars |
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| date = 2009 |
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| publisher = [[University of Wisconsin Press]] |
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| isbn = 978-0-299-23004-3 |
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}} |
}} |
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⚫ | '''''The Thief of Bagdad''''' is a 1940 British [[Technicolor]] [[historical fantasy]] film, produced by [[Alexander Korda]] and directed by [[Michael Powell]], [[Ludwig Berger (director)|Ludwig Berger]] and [[Tim Whelan]], with additional contributions by [[William Cameron Menzies]] and Korda brothers [[Vincent Korda|Vincent]] and [[Zoltán Korda|Zoltán]]. The film stars Indian-born teen actor [[Sabu Dastagir|Sabu]], [[Conrad Veidt]], [[John Justin]], and [[June Duprez]]. It was released in the US and the UK by [[United Artists]]. |
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Although produced by Alexander Korda's company [[London Films]] in London, the film was completed in California due to the outbreak of [[World War II]]. |
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⚫ | '''''The Thief of Bagdad''''' is a 1940 British [[Technicolor]] [[ |
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[[Georges Périnal]], credited as George Perinal, won the [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Cinematography]], [[Vincent Korda]] for [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Art Direction]], and [[Lawrence W. Butler]] and [[Jack Whitney]] for [[Academy Award for Best Visual Effects|Special Effects]]<ref name="Oscars1941">{{cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1941 |title=The 13th Academy Awards (1941) Nominees and Winners |access-date=17 June 2013 |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706093728/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/13th-winners.html |archive-date=6 July 2011 <!--Added by DASHBot-->}}</ref> (marking the first use of the "manual [[Chroma key|bluescreen]] technique"<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/leap-of-faith/ |title=Working Knowledge: Blue Screens—Leap of Faith |author=Mark Fischetti |date=1 February 2008 |magazine=[[Scientific American]]}}</ref>). [[Miklós Rózsa]] was also nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Original Music Score]], a first for a British film at the Academy Awards.<ref name="NY Times">{{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/49447/The-Thief-of-Bagdad/details |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017170512/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/49447/The-Thief-of-Bagdad/details |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 October 2012 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=The New York Times |date=2012 |title=NY Times: The Thief of Bagdad |access-date=13 December 2008 }}</ref> |
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Although this production is a remake of the [[The Thief of Bagdad (1924 film)|1924 version]], the two films have |
Although this production is a remake of the [[The Thief of Bagdad (1924 film)|1924 version]], the two films have differences, the most significant being that the thief and the prince are separate characters in this version. The screenplay is by [[Lajos Bíró|Lajos Biro]] and [[Miles Malleson]], who also appears in the film as the Princess's father, the Sultan of Basra. |
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==Plot== |
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In ancient [[Basra]], a blind beggar begins telling the film's story in [[Flashback (narrative)|flashback]] (mimicking the style of the ''[[One Thousand and One Nights|Arabian Nights]]''), revealing that he is really Ahmad, the young, naive king of [[Baghdad|Bagdad]]. Wanting to know more about his people, Ahmad is tricked by Jaffar, his [[Grand Vizier]], into going in disguise into the city. Jaffar then has him arrested and usurps the throne. In prison, Ahmad meets the young thief Abu, who arranges their escape. They flee to Basra, where Ahmad meets and falls in love with the Princess. Jaffar, however, also journeys to Basra, intent on having the Princess for himself. |
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Jaffar, a powerful [[Magician (fantasy)|sorcerer]], provides the toy-obsessed Sultan of Basra with a mechanical [[flying horse]] in exchange for his daughter's hand in marriage. The Princess, now in love with Ahmad, runs away, but Jaffar uses magic to blind Ahmad and turn Abu into a dog. She is captured and taken to the slave market, where she is bought by Jaffar's agent. At the palace, though, she falls into a deep sleep and cannot be awakened. Halima, Jaffar's minion, tricks Ahmad into awakening the Princess. He is then dismissed with the dog to the city's docks, where he concludes his story. |
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The film's backstory is told in flashback, mimicking the style of the ''Arabian Nights''. |
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The Princess is tricked into boarding Jaffar's ship. Jaffar tells her that she can cure Ahmad's blindness only by allowing the sorcerer to embrace her. She submits and the spells are lifted from both Ahmad and Abu. When the pair sail in pursuit, Jaffar raises a storm that shipwrecks them. Returning to Basra, Jaffar uses a mechanical dancer to kill the Princess's father. He then returns to Bagdad with the Princess. |
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Ahmad ([[John Justin]]), the naive King of [[Baghdad|Bagdad]], is convinced by his evil [[Grand Vizier]], Jaffar ([[Conrad Veidt]]), to go out into the city disguised as a poor man to get to know his subjects (in the manner of his grandfather [[Harun al-Rashid]]). Jaffar then has Ahmad thrown into a dungeon, where he is joined by the young thief Abu ([[Sabu Dastagir|Sabu]]), who arranges their escape. They flee to [[Basra]], where Ahmad becomes acquainted with its Princess ([[June Duprez]]), who is so beautiful that no man can look upon her. However, Jaffar also journeys to Basra, for he desires the Princess. Her father, the Sultan ([[Miles Malleson]]), is fascinated by the magical mechanical flying horse Jaffar offers and agrees to the proposed marriage. Upon hearing the news, the Princess, by now deeply in love with Ahmad, runs away. Confronted by Ahmad, Jaffar magically blinds him and turns Abu into a dog; the spell can only be broken if Jaffar holds the Princess in his arms. |
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Abu awakes alone on a deserted beach. He finds a bottle and opens it, releasing an enormous [[Djinn|genie]] so embittered by his long imprisonment he announces he will kill the boy. Abu tricks the genie into submitting to him and granting him three wishes. The first wish is wasted, but the genie helps Abu steal a magical jewel, the "All-Seeing Eye", that enables him to find and reunite with Ahmad. With the jewel, Ahmad sees Jaffar using his magic to make the Princess forget her true love. Despondent, Ahmad quarrels with Abu, who inadvertently uses his third wish to send Ahmad back to Bagdad. |
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The Princess is eventually captured (but not recognised) and sold in the slave market. She is bought secretly by Jaffar and taken to his mansion, but falls into a deep sleep from which he cannot rouse her. Ahmad is tricked by Jaffar's servant Halima ([[Mary Morris]]) into awakening the Princess. Halima then lures the Princess onto Jaffar's ship by telling her that there is a doctor aboard who can cure Ahmad's blindness. The ship immediately sets sail. Jaffar informs the Princess about the spell; she allows herself to be embraced, whereupon Ahmad's sight is restored and Abu is returned to human form. They chase after the ship in a small boat, but Jaffar conjures up a storm to shipwreck them. |
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In Bagdad, Ahmad is reunited with the Princess, who remembers him. They are imprisoned by Jaffar and condemned to death. Abu helplessly witnesses all this with the jewel's aid. In anger, he destroys the jewel, which frees the "Old King" of the "Land of Legend". Abu is given a magic crossbow as a reward. He steals the king's [[magic carpet]] and flies on it to Bagdad. Abu's appearance fulfils an ancient prophecy and sparks a revolt against Jaffar by the city's inhabitants. Abu kills the fleeing Jaffar with the crossbow, and Ahmad is restored to power. Abu, alarmed by Ahmad's plans to educate him to become the vizier, flies off on the carpet in search of fun and adventure. |
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Abu wakes up alone on a deserted beach and finds a bottle. When he opens it, an enormous [[Jinn|Djinn]] or genie ([[Rex Ingram (actor)|Rex Ingram]]) appears. Embittered by his long imprisonment, the genie informs Abu that he is going to kill his rescuer, but Abu tricks him back into the bottle. The genie then offers to grant Abu three wishes if he will let him out again. The hungry boy uses his first wish to ask for sausages. When Abu demands to know where Ahmad is, the genie flies Abu to the top of the highest mountain in the world. On it sits a temple, and in the temple there is an enormous statue with a large jewel, the All-Seeing Eye, set in its forehead. The genie tells Abu that the Eye will show him where to find Ahmad. Abu fights off a giant guardian spider while climbing the statue and steals the gem. |
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Jaffar refuses to magically bind the Princess to his will as he genuinely wants her to love him, but she both fears and hates him. The Princess pleads with Jaffar to return her to Basra, and he does so willingly. However, she implores her father not to force her into marrying Jaffar, and the Sultan promises he will not let Jaffar have her. Furious at the Sultan breaking his word, Jaffar presents him with another mechanical toy, a dancing statue of the many-armed "Silver Maid" ([[Mary Morris]], in a dual role), and it stabs the Sultan to death. |
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The genie then takes Abu to Ahmad. When Ahmad asks to see the Princess, Abu has him gaze into the All-Seeing Eye. Ahmad despairs when he sees Jaffar arranging for the Princess to inhale the fragrance of the Blue Rose of Forgetfulness, which makes her forget her love. In agony, Ahmad lashes out at Abu for showing him the scene. During the ensuing argument, Abu unthinkingly wishes Ahmad to Bagdad. The genie, freed after granting the last wish, abandons Abu alone in the wilderness. |
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Ahmad appears in Jaffar's castle and is quickly captured, but seeing him restores the Princess's memory. The furious usurper sentences them both to death. Abu, unable to watch his friend's impending doom, shatters the All-Seeing Eye and as a result is transported to the "land of legend," where he is greeted by the Old King ([[Morton Selten]]) and thanked for freeing the inhabitants, who had been turned to stone. As a reward, he is given a magic crossbow and is named the king's successor. However, to save Ahmad, Abu steals the king's magic [[flying carpet]] and rushes to the rescue. |
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Abu's marvellous aerial arrival in Bagdad (which fulfils a prophecy cited in the course of the story) sparks a revolt against Jaffar. Abu kills the fleeing Jaffar with his crossbow, shooting him in the forehead, and Ahmad regains his kingdom and his love. However, when Abu hears (with growing alarm) Ahmad telling the people of his plan to send him to school to train to become his new Grand Vizier, Abu instead flies away on the carpet to find his own fun and adventure. |
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==Cast== |
==Cast== |
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* [[Miles Malleson]] as the Sultan of Basra |
* [[Miles Malleson]] as the Sultan of Basra |
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* [[Morton Selten]] as the Old King |
* [[Morton Selten]] as the Old King |
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* [[Mary Morris]] as Halima, Jaffar's agent |
* [[Mary Morris]] as Halima, Jaffar's agent, and the "Silver Maid" |
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* Bruce Winston as the Merchant |
* Bruce Winston as the Merchant |
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* [[Hay Petrie]] as the Astrologer |
* [[Hay Petrie]] as the Astrologer |
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* [[Roy Emerton]] as the Jailor |
* [[Roy Emerton]] as the Jailor |
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* [[Allan Jeayes]] as the Story Teller |
* [[Allan Jeayes]] as the Story Teller |
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* [[ |
* [[Robert Greig]] as Man of Basra (uncredited) |
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* [[ |
* [[Glynis Johns]] as Maid of the Princess (uncredited) |
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* [[Tao Porchon-Lynch]] as The Golden Idol (uncredited)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_YlqCNGKMw | title=99-Year-Old Dancer Shares Secret for Long Life | via=YouTube | date=8 January 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://thetaoexperience.com/theatrefilm/ | title=Theatre/Film }}</ref> |
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Korda had intended to cast [[Vivien Leigh]] as the Princess.<ref>[[Robert Osborne]], [[Turner Classic Movies]]</ref> |
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==Production== |
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Producer Alexander Korda, after a search for a director, chose German filmmaker [[Ludwig Berger (director)|Ludwig Berger]] in early 1939, but by the early summer became dissatisfied with Berger's overall conception of the movie—feeling it was too small-scale and intimate—and, specifically, the score that Berger proposed to use. Essentially behind Berger's back, British director [[Michael Powell]] was brought in to shoot various scenes—and Powell's scheduled work grew in amount and importance while, in the meantime, Korda himself did his best to undercut Berger on his own set; and while publicly siding with Berger on the issue of the music, he also undercut Berger's chosen composer ([[Oscar Straus (composer)|Oscar Straus]]) by bringing in [[Miklos Rozsa]] and putting him into an office directly adjacent to Berger's with a piano, to work on a score. Eventually, Berger was persuaded to walk away from the project, and American filmmaker [[Tim Whelan]], who had just finished work on another Korda-produced movie (''[[Q Planes]]'') was brought in to help augment Powell's work. However, work was suspended with the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, for Powell was taken off the picture and put to work on the morale-boosting documentary ''[[The Lion Has Wings]]''. |
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By the end of the year, Korda found himself running out of money and credit, and in the spring of 1940 he arranged to move the entire production to Hollywood (where some shots of the movie's young star Sabu had to be redone, for he had grown more than {{convert|3|in}} in the year since shooting had commenced). Powell remained in England, so direction was taken up in Hollywood by [[William Cameron Menzies|Menzies]] and [[Zoltan Korda]] during the summer of 1940—including shots of the heroes in the [[Grand Canyon]], [[Monument Valley]], [[Bryce Canyon]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=D'Arc |first1=James V. |title=When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah |date=2010 |publisher=Gibbs Smith|location=Layton, UT |isbn=9781423605874 |edition=1st}}</ref>{{rp|287}} and the [[Painted Desert (Arizona)|Painted Desert]]; the scenes in the Temple of the Goddess of Light, among the last to be written, were done late in the summer, and the film was being edited and re-structured into the autumn of 1940.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}} |
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At some point during production, the film was being written as a musical. The finished film has three songs, but others were written, with recordings of some surviving, including one verse of Rex Ingram singing a song written for the genie. |
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The film is notable for being the first film [[Peter R. Hunt]] worked on, serving as an associate editor at 15 years old.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peter R. Hunt -AZ電癮人 |url=https://www.azmov.com/star/274905 |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=AZ電癮人-AZMOV |language=zh}}</ref> Hunt later worked on six ''[[List of James Bond films|James Bond]]'' films, including directing 1969's [[On Her Majesty's Secret Service (film)|''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'']]. |
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==Reception== |
==Reception== |
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[[File:The Thief of Bagdad (1940) (cropped).jpg|thumb|266px|Lobby card showing the Princess and Ahmad imprisoned and awaiting their execution]] |
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The film was Korda's most successful in the US.<ref name="tino"/> |
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The film was Korda's most successful in the U.S.<ref name="tino"/> The film was also a success in Europe, selling 5,135,145 tickets in France and becoming the seventh-most-attended film of the year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jpbox-office.com/fichfilm.php?id=9670 |title=The Thief of Bagdad (1940) |publisher=JPBox-Office |access-date=2019-07-23}}</ref> |
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The film premiered at [[Radio City Music Hall]].<ref name="NYT">{{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B03E6D91E3EE33ABC4E53DFB467838B659EDE |title='The Thief of Bagdad,' a Delightful Fairy Tale, at the Music Hall |author=Bosley Crowther |work=The New York Times |date=6 December 1940 |access-date=26 July 2009}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' reviewer [[Bosley Crowther]] enthused that the film "ranks next to ''[[Fantasia (1940 film)|Fantasia]]'' as the most beguiling and wondrous film of this troubled season". Crowther praised "its truly magnificent color" and the performances of all five main actors. |
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[[Roger Ebert]] |
[[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' added ''The Thief of Bagdad'' to his "Great Movies" list, calling it "on a level with ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]]''". According to Ebert, "It maintains a consistent spirit, and that spirit is one of headlong joy in storytelling." He praised the performances of Sabu and Veidt ("perfectly pitched to the needs of the screenplay"), but he was less impressed with the chemistry between Duprez and Justin ("rather bloodless").<ref name=Ebert>{{cite web |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090506/REVIEWS08/905069995/1004 |title=Thief of Bagdad (1940) |author=Roger Ebert |publisher=RogerEbert.com |date=6 May 2009 |access-date=26 July 2009}}</ref> |
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Its 1924 predecessor holds a 96% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and its 1940 remake has a 100% rating based on 29 reviews, with an average score of 8.70/10. Its consensus states: "Dashing, dazzling, and altogether magical, ''The Thief of Bagdad'' is an enchanting fantasy for children of all ages."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1021232-thief_of_bagdad/ |title=The Thief of Bagdad (1940) |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=18 April 2021}}</ref> |
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==Influence== |
==Influence== |
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The film has been highly influential on later movies based on ''[[The Book of One Thousand and One Nights]]'' setting. For example, the Disney film ''[[Aladdin (1992 Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' borrows freely from it, particularly the characters of the evil vizier and the sultan, both drawn with a marked similarity to the characters in ''The Thief of Bagdad''. The villain [[Jafar (Aladdin)|Jafar]] is named after the character played by Conrad Veidt, himself named after the historical vizier [[Ja'far ibn Yahya]], who served [[Harun ar-Rashid]].<ref>{{cite book |last =Rovin |first =Jeff |title =The Encyclopedia of Supervillains |publisher =Facts on File |date =1987 |location =New York |isbn = 0-8160-1356-X |pages=168–169}}</ref> Like the sultan of the earlier film, Disney's Sultan is obsessed with toys. The thieving monkey Abu in the Disney cartoon is based on the character of the same name played by Sabu.<ref>An episode from [[Aladdin: The Series]] also uses the Rose of Forgetfulness in the episode "Forget me Lots". [http://www.fosteronfilm.com/fantasy/thiefbagdad.htm Foster on Film – Fantasy: The Thief of Bagdad<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[Richard Williams (animator)|Richard Williams]], speaking about his film ''[[The Thief and the Cobbler]]'', said that one of his interests was in creating a fantasy film that did not copy from it. The ''[[Prince of Persia]]'' video game franchise also shares similar characteristics with the film.<ref>[[Jordan Mechner]] mentions that the Prince of Persia was "inspired by the [[Thousand and One Nights]] and by movies like the 1940 ''Thief of Bagdad'' in which an evil grand vizier has seized power and imprisoned the princess." {{cite AV media | title = How Prince of Persia Defeated Apple II's Memory Limitations; War Stories; Ars Technica | date= 17 March 2020 | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw0VfmXKq54 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/sw0VfmXKq54 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> |
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⚫ | Larry Butler invented the first proper [[chroma key]] process for the special effects scenes in this film, a variation on the existing "[[Matte (filmmaking)|traveling matte]]" process. This technique has since become the standard process for separating screen elements and/or actors from their backgrounds and placing them on new backgrounds for special effects purposes and has since been used in thousands of films.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}} |
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Likewise, various plot elements of ''The Thief of Bagdad''—most notably, the theft of the ruby from a high place and the battle with the giant spider—derive from the 1928 short story, "[[The Tower of the Elephant]]", by [[Robert E. Howard]].{{Citation needed|reason=Was this a source? Or was it just two unrelated stories that included the same events?|date=July 2012}} |
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This film later influenced the creation of the Malay film ''[[Abu Hassan Penchuri]]'' ("Abu Hassan the Thief", 1955), which was set in Baghdad.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}} |
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⚫ | Larry Butler invented the first proper [[chroma key]] process for the special effects scenes in this film, a variation on the existing "[[ |
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==Home media== |
==Home media== |
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The film was released on |
The film was released on VHS by [[The Samuel Goldwyn Company]]. The film was released on DVD by [[MGM]] in 2002. The [[Criterion Collection]] released a two-disc DVD release in 2008 that includes a commentary track by filmmakers [[Martin Scorsese]] and [[Francis Ford Coppola]], who are both longtime fans of the film (their comments were recorded separately and then edited together). |
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It |
It has been released on [[Blu-ray#B|Region B]]–locked [[Blu-ray]]s in Germany (Anolis Entertainment, 2012) and the UK (Network Distributing, 2015).<ref>{{cite web |title=The Thief of Bagdad Blu-ray (United Kingdom) |url=http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Thief-of-Bagdad-Blu-ray/114170/ |publisher=Blu-ray.com}}</ref> The UK disc also includes image galleries and the original theatrical trailer. The German disc features the same extras, plus additional trailers, an audio commentary and a 53-minute documentary on the film's star, Sabu. |
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==See also== |
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* [[List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes]], a film review aggregator website |
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==References== |
==References== |
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===Bibliography=== |
===Bibliography=== |
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{{refbegin}} |
{{refbegin}} |
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* {{cite book | |
* {{cite book |last=Leibfried |first=Philip |author2=Willits, Malcolm |title=Alexander Korda's '''The Thief of Bagdad''', An Arabian Fantasy |publisher=Hypostyle Hall Publishers |location=Hollywood, CA |year=2004 |isbn=0-9675253-1-4}} |
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*''The Great British Films'', pp 55–58, Jerry Vermilye, 1978, Citadel Press, ISBN |
* ''The Great British Films'', pp 55–58, Jerry Vermilye, 1978, Citadel Press, {{ISBN|0-8065-0661-X}} |
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{{refend}} |
{{refend}} |
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==Further reading== |
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* {{cite book |editor1-last=Haydock |editor1-first=Nickolas |editor2-last=Risden |editor2-first=E. L. |last=Kelly |first=Kathleen Coyne |date=2009 |title=Hollywood in the Holy Land |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |chapter=Medieval Times: ''Bodily Temporalities in ''The Thief of Bagdad'' (1924), ''The Thief of Bagdad'' (1940), and ''Aladdin'' (1992)'' |pages=211–214 |isbn=978-0-7864-4156-3}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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{{Wikiquote|Thief of Bagdad}} |
{{Wikiquote|Thief of Bagdad}} |
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* {{ |
* {{TCMDb title|498726}} |
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* {{IMDb title|0033152 |
* {{IMDb title|0033152}} |
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* {{AFI film|5036}} |
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* {{Screenonline title| |
* {{Screenonline title|438437}} |
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* [http://www.powell-pressburger.org/Reviews/40_Thief Reviews and articles] at the [http://www.powell-pressburger.org Powell & Pressburger Pages] |
* [http://www.powell-pressburger.org/Reviews/40_Thief Reviews and articles] at the [http://www.powell-pressburger.org Powell & Pressburger Pages] |
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* [http://thethunderchild.com/Movies/Fantasies/ThiefofBagdad/MakingBagdad.html The Making of the Thief of Bagdad] |
* [http://thethunderchild.com/Movies/Fantasies/ThiefofBagdad/MakingBagdad.html The Making of the Thief of Bagdad] |
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* {{Rotten Tomatoes|1021232_thief_of_bagdad?}} |
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* ''[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1021232-thief_of_bagdad/ The Thief of Bagdad]'' at [[Rotten Tomatoes]] |
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* [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/496-the-thief-of-bagdad-arabian-fantasies ''The Thief of Bagdad: Arabian Fantasies''] an essay by Andrew Moor at the [[Criterion Collection]] |
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{{Tim Whelan}} |
{{Tim Whelan}} |
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{{Ludwig Berger}} |
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Latest revision as of 12:14, 22 December 2024
The Thief of Bagdad | |
---|---|
Directed by | Michael Powell Ludwig Berger Tim Whelan |
Written by | Lajos Bíró Miles Malleson |
Produced by | Alexander Korda |
Starring | Conrad Veidt Sabu June Duprez John Justin Rex Ingram Mary Morris |
Cinematography | George Perinal |
Edited by | Charles Crichton |
Music by | Miklós Rózsa |
Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 106 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | $1,750,000[1] |
Box office | over $1 million (US/Canada)[2] 5,134,653 admissions (France, 1946)[3] |
The Thief of Bagdad is a 1940 British Technicolor historical fantasy film, produced by Alexander Korda and directed by Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger and Tim Whelan, with additional contributions by William Cameron Menzies and Korda brothers Vincent and Zoltán. The film stars Indian-born teen actor Sabu, Conrad Veidt, John Justin, and June Duprez. It was released in the US and the UK by United Artists.
Although produced by Alexander Korda's company London Films in London, the film was completed in California due to the outbreak of World War II.
Georges Périnal, credited as George Perinal, won the Academy Award for Cinematography, Vincent Korda for Art Direction, and Lawrence W. Butler and Jack Whitney for Special Effects[4] (marking the first use of the "manual bluescreen technique"[5]). Miklós Rózsa was also nominated for Original Music Score, a first for a British film at the Academy Awards.[6]
Although this production is a remake of the 1924 version, the two films have differences, the most significant being that the thief and the prince are separate characters in this version. The screenplay is by Lajos Biro and Miles Malleson, who also appears in the film as the Princess's father, the Sultan of Basra.
Plot
[edit]In ancient Basra, a blind beggar begins telling the film's story in flashback (mimicking the style of the Arabian Nights), revealing that he is really Ahmad, the young, naive king of Bagdad. Wanting to know more about his people, Ahmad is tricked by Jaffar, his Grand Vizier, into going in disguise into the city. Jaffar then has him arrested and usurps the throne. In prison, Ahmad meets the young thief Abu, who arranges their escape. They flee to Basra, where Ahmad meets and falls in love with the Princess. Jaffar, however, also journeys to Basra, intent on having the Princess for himself.
Jaffar, a powerful sorcerer, provides the toy-obsessed Sultan of Basra with a mechanical flying horse in exchange for his daughter's hand in marriage. The Princess, now in love with Ahmad, runs away, but Jaffar uses magic to blind Ahmad and turn Abu into a dog. She is captured and taken to the slave market, where she is bought by Jaffar's agent. At the palace, though, she falls into a deep sleep and cannot be awakened. Halima, Jaffar's minion, tricks Ahmad into awakening the Princess. He is then dismissed with the dog to the city's docks, where he concludes his story.
The Princess is tricked into boarding Jaffar's ship. Jaffar tells her that she can cure Ahmad's blindness only by allowing the sorcerer to embrace her. She submits and the spells are lifted from both Ahmad and Abu. When the pair sail in pursuit, Jaffar raises a storm that shipwrecks them. Returning to Basra, Jaffar uses a mechanical dancer to kill the Princess's father. He then returns to Bagdad with the Princess.
Abu awakes alone on a deserted beach. He finds a bottle and opens it, releasing an enormous genie so embittered by his long imprisonment he announces he will kill the boy. Abu tricks the genie into submitting to him and granting him three wishes. The first wish is wasted, but the genie helps Abu steal a magical jewel, the "All-Seeing Eye", that enables him to find and reunite with Ahmad. With the jewel, Ahmad sees Jaffar using his magic to make the Princess forget her true love. Despondent, Ahmad quarrels with Abu, who inadvertently uses his third wish to send Ahmad back to Bagdad.
In Bagdad, Ahmad is reunited with the Princess, who remembers him. They are imprisoned by Jaffar and condemned to death. Abu helplessly witnesses all this with the jewel's aid. In anger, he destroys the jewel, which frees the "Old King" of the "Land of Legend". Abu is given a magic crossbow as a reward. He steals the king's magic carpet and flies on it to Bagdad. Abu's appearance fulfils an ancient prophecy and sparks a revolt against Jaffar by the city's inhabitants. Abu kills the fleeing Jaffar with the crossbow, and Ahmad is restored to power. Abu, alarmed by Ahmad's plans to educate him to become the vizier, flies off on the carpet in search of fun and adventure.
Cast
[edit]- Conrad Veidt as Jaffar
- Sabu as Abu
- June Duprez as the Princess
- John Justin as Ahmad
- Rex Ingram as the Djinn
- Miles Malleson as the Sultan of Basra
- Morton Selten as the Old King
- Mary Morris as Halima, Jaffar's agent, and the "Silver Maid"
- Bruce Winston as the Merchant
- Hay Petrie as the Astrologer
- Adelaide Hall as the Singer
- Roy Emerton as the Jailor
- Allan Jeayes as the Story Teller
- Robert Greig as Man of Basra (uncredited)
- Glynis Johns as Maid of the Princess (uncredited)
- Tao Porchon-Lynch as The Golden Idol (uncredited)[7][8]
Korda had intended to cast Vivien Leigh as the Princess.[9]
Production
[edit]Producer Alexander Korda, after a search for a director, chose German filmmaker Ludwig Berger in early 1939, but by the early summer became dissatisfied with Berger's overall conception of the movie—feeling it was too small-scale and intimate—and, specifically, the score that Berger proposed to use. Essentially behind Berger's back, British director Michael Powell was brought in to shoot various scenes—and Powell's scheduled work grew in amount and importance while, in the meantime, Korda himself did his best to undercut Berger on his own set; and while publicly siding with Berger on the issue of the music, he also undercut Berger's chosen composer (Oscar Straus) by bringing in Miklos Rozsa and putting him into an office directly adjacent to Berger's with a piano, to work on a score. Eventually, Berger was persuaded to walk away from the project, and American filmmaker Tim Whelan, who had just finished work on another Korda-produced movie (Q Planes) was brought in to help augment Powell's work. However, work was suspended with the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, for Powell was taken off the picture and put to work on the morale-boosting documentary The Lion Has Wings.
By the end of the year, Korda found himself running out of money and credit, and in the spring of 1940 he arranged to move the entire production to Hollywood (where some shots of the movie's young star Sabu had to be redone, for he had grown more than 3 inches (76 mm) in the year since shooting had commenced). Powell remained in England, so direction was taken up in Hollywood by Menzies and Zoltan Korda during the summer of 1940—including shots of the heroes in the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon[10]: 287 and the Painted Desert; the scenes in the Temple of the Goddess of Light, among the last to be written, were done late in the summer, and the film was being edited and re-structured into the autumn of 1940.[citation needed]
At some point during production, the film was being written as a musical. The finished film has three songs, but others were written, with recordings of some surviving, including one verse of Rex Ingram singing a song written for the genie.
The film is notable for being the first film Peter R. Hunt worked on, serving as an associate editor at 15 years old.[11] Hunt later worked on six James Bond films, including directing 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
Reception
[edit]The film was Korda's most successful in the U.S.[2] The film was also a success in Europe, selling 5,135,145 tickets in France and becoming the seventh-most-attended film of the year.[12]
The film premiered at Radio City Music Hall.[13] The New York Times reviewer Bosley Crowther enthused that the film "ranks next to Fantasia as the most beguiling and wondrous film of this troubled season". Crowther praised "its truly magnificent color" and the performances of all five main actors.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times added The Thief of Bagdad to his "Great Movies" list, calling it "on a level with The Wizard of Oz". According to Ebert, "It maintains a consistent spirit, and that spirit is one of headlong joy in storytelling." He praised the performances of Sabu and Veidt ("perfectly pitched to the needs of the screenplay"), but he was less impressed with the chemistry between Duprez and Justin ("rather bloodless").[14]
Its 1924 predecessor holds a 96% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and its 1940 remake has a 100% rating based on 29 reviews, with an average score of 8.70/10. Its consensus states: "Dashing, dazzling, and altogether magical, The Thief of Bagdad is an enchanting fantasy for children of all ages."[15]
Influence
[edit]The film has been highly influential on later movies based on The Book of One Thousand and One Nights setting. For example, the Disney film Aladdin borrows freely from it, particularly the characters of the evil vizier and the sultan, both drawn with a marked similarity to the characters in The Thief of Bagdad. The villain Jafar is named after the character played by Conrad Veidt, himself named after the historical vizier Ja'far ibn Yahya, who served Harun ar-Rashid.[16] Like the sultan of the earlier film, Disney's Sultan is obsessed with toys. The thieving monkey Abu in the Disney cartoon is based on the character of the same name played by Sabu.[17] Richard Williams, speaking about his film The Thief and the Cobbler, said that one of his interests was in creating a fantasy film that did not copy from it. The Prince of Persia video game franchise also shares similar characteristics with the film.[18]
Larry Butler invented the first proper chroma key process for the special effects scenes in this film, a variation on the existing "traveling matte" process. This technique has since become the standard process for separating screen elements and/or actors from their backgrounds and placing them on new backgrounds for special effects purposes and has since been used in thousands of films.[citation needed]
This film later influenced the creation of the Malay film Abu Hassan Penchuri ("Abu Hassan the Thief", 1955), which was set in Baghdad.[citation needed]
Home media
[edit]The film was released on VHS by The Samuel Goldwyn Company. The film was released on DVD by MGM in 2002. The Criterion Collection released a two-disc DVD release in 2008 that includes a commentary track by filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, who are both longtime fans of the film (their comments were recorded separately and then edited together).
It has been released on Region B–locked Blu-rays in Germany (Anolis Entertainment, 2012) and the UK (Network Distributing, 2015).[19] The UK disc also includes image galleries and the original theatrical trailer. The German disc features the same extras, plus additional trailers, an audio commentary and a 53-minute documentary on the film's star, Sabu.
See also
[edit]- List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a film review aggregator website
References
[edit]- ^ "UA Meeting". Variety. 20 November 1940. p. 20.
- ^ a b Balio, Tino (2009). United Artists: The Company Built by the Stars. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0-299-23004-3. p172
- ^ French box office of 1946 at Box Office Story
- ^ "The 13th Academy Awards (1941) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^ Mark Fischetti (1 February 2008). "Working Knowledge: Blue Screens—Leap of Faith". Scientific American.
- ^ "NY Times: The Thief of Bagdad". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2012. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
- ^ "99-Year-Old Dancer Shares Secret for Long Life". 8 January 2018 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Theatre/Film".
- ^ Robert Osborne, Turner Classic Movies
- ^ D'Arc, James V. (2010). When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah (1st ed.). Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith. ISBN 9781423605874.
- ^ "Peter R. Hunt -AZ電癮人". AZ電癮人-AZMOV (in Chinese). Retrieved 5 August 2022.
- ^ "The Thief of Bagdad (1940)". JPBox-Office. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
- ^ Bosley Crowther (6 December 1940). "'The Thief of Bagdad,' a Delightful Fairy Tale, at the Music Hall". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
- ^ Roger Ebert (6 May 2009). "Thief of Bagdad (1940)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
- ^ "The Thief of Bagdad (1940)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
- ^ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. pp. 168–169. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
- ^ An episode from Aladdin: The Series also uses the Rose of Forgetfulness in the episode "Forget me Lots". Foster on Film – Fantasy: The Thief of Bagdad
- ^ Jordan Mechner mentions that the Prince of Persia was "inspired by the Thousand and One Nights and by movies like the 1940 Thief of Bagdad in which an evil grand vizier has seized power and imprisoned the princess." How Prince of Persia Defeated Apple II's Memory Limitations; War Stories; Ars Technica. 17 March 2020. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.
- ^ "The Thief of Bagdad Blu-ray (United Kingdom)". Blu-ray.com.
Bibliography
[edit]- Leibfried, Philip; Willits, Malcolm (2004). Alexander Korda's The Thief of Bagdad, An Arabian Fantasy. Hollywood, CA: Hypostyle Hall Publishers. ISBN 0-9675253-1-4.
- The Great British Films, pp 55–58, Jerry Vermilye, 1978, Citadel Press, ISBN 0-8065-0661-X
Further reading
[edit]- Kelly, Kathleen Coyne (2009). "Medieval Times: Bodily Temporalities in The Thief of Bagdad (1924), The Thief of Bagdad (1940), and Aladdin (1992)". In Haydock, Nickolas; Risden, E. L. (eds.). Hollywood in the Holy Land. McFarland & Company. pp. 211–214. ISBN 978-0-7864-4156-3.
External links
[edit]- The Thief of Bagdad at the TCM Movie Database
- The Thief of Bagdad at IMDb
- The Thief of Bagdad at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- The Thief of Bagdad at the BFI's Screenonline
- Reviews and articles at the Powell & Pressburger Pages
- The Making of the Thief of Bagdad
- The Thief of Bagdad at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Thief of Bagdad: Arabian Fantasies an essay by Andrew Moor at the Criterion Collection
- 1940 films
- 1940s fantasy adventure films
- British fantasy adventure films
- Films shot at Denham Film Studios
- 1940s English-language films
- British epic films
- Films by Powell and Pressburger
- Films directed by Michael Powell
- Films directed by Tim Whelan
- Films directed by William Cameron Menzies
- Films set in Baghdad
- Films that won the Best Visual Effects Academy Award
- Films whose art director won the Best Art Direction Academy Award
- Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award
- London Films films
- Films based on The Thief of Bagdad
- Genies in film
- Films based on Aladdin
- Sound film remakes of silent films
- Films scored by Miklós Rózsa
- British remakes of American films
- Films produced by Alexander Korda
- Epic fantasy films
- Films shot in Utah
- 1940s British films
- English-language fantasy adventure films