When I was presented with the chance to review The Thief of Bagdad I jumped at the chance, but I have to admit I was thinking of the 1940 film from Michael Powell starring Conrad Veidt. When this film from 1924 showed up on my doorstep, I was a little disappointed. When I saw that it was a silent film with a runtime over 2 1/2 hours, my heart sank.
Buy The Thief of Bagdad (1924)I’m not against silent movies. I’ve watched quite a few of them, and enjoyed most of those. But silent movies take an extra level of concentration. The fact that there isn’t any spoken dialogue or any sort of Foley sound effects makes my mind drift. I have to constantly and very intentionally force myself to stay focused. It works a muscle in my brain that is naturally flabby. Two and a half hours is an awfully big workout for that muscle.
I have to admit I took a few breaks while watching it. I’d hit the pause button, get a drink, go to the bathroom, and look at my phone for a few minutes before returning to the film. I’m glad I watched it, though, for it is truly a magnificent film. But I’d be lying if I said it was easy.
The set design alone is worth it. They say the sets took 65 weeks to build, covered six and a half acres of the Pickford-Fairbanks studio, and cost a whopping $1,135,654.65 to make. It was worth every penny. Much of the film takes place inside the city of Bagdad, with enormous buildings that dwarf the characters. Director Raoul Walsh loves to film them in long to medium shots with the people and animals looking like tiny playthings enveloped by this fantastic, Art Nouveau-styled city.
There is a long stretch toward the end of the film where our hero goes on a long adventure through a fantastic fantasy land full of mythical creatures and monsters. Here, the sets take on a magical, almost psychedelic quality.
The special effects are incredible as well, with several effects having never been done before. There is a winged horse, a flying carpet, an invisible cloak, a magic rope, and fearsome monsters. It all looks amazing.
The story is a simple thing, and frankly it runs a bit long, and slacks in the middle. The Caliph of Bagdad (Brandon Hurst) declares that his daughter, the Princess (Julanne Johnston), needs a husband. A series of princes come to woo her, but she does not like any of them. At the same time, a thief, Ahmed (Douglas Fairbanks), sneaks into her palace looking to steal some treasures. But one look at her and he falls in love. She falls for him too, but when the Caliph learns of who he is, he has Ahmed whipped.
The princess declares she will choose whichever prince brings her the rarest treasure. Ahmed learns of a treasure that will grant him any wishes and goes on a mighty adventure across fantastic worlds. He battles great monsters and crosses treacherous lands. He captures the magic treasure box, turns himself into a prince, and marries the princess.
The best parts are his adventures hunting the treasure. They are visually stunning and a lot of fun. Unfortunately, they don’t begin until almost two hours into the film, and even then, it keeps cutting away to watch the other princes find their precious items or plot some treachery against the princess (the great Anna May Wong has a small roll as a slave who poisons the princess).
Those first two hours are really kind of dull. The sets are amazing, and the filmmaking is good. There are numerous moments that are interesting. Ahmed steals a magic rope that sticks stiffly in the air, enabling him to sneak into the princess’ palace. He lies lazily above a fountain with his arms stretched out, snatching men’s purses when they lean in for a drink. Fairbanks prances and preens, his bare chest puffed out, his tight silk pants showing off more than the censors would allow just a few years later (the audio commentary hilariously gets stuck talking about his buttocks several times). But those moments are interspersed amongst a lot of talking (and in a silent film talking scenes are especially boring) and nothing happens with any urgency.
Raoul Walsh is billed as director, and while he certainly had a hand in making the film, this is truly Fairbanks’s baby. He wrote it, and came up with all the visual concepts, the sets, the costumes, and the look of the entire thing. Apparently, he even directed some of the more difficult parts of the film. He gets full credit all around.
I can appreciate how spectacular the design of everything is, how the costumes are imaginative, the sets wonderfully built, while still finding myself struggling to pay any attention to the story at hand. It is without a doubt, a great film, and a historically important one. It should be seen by anyone with the slightest interest in the history if cinema.
Kino Lorber presents The Thief of Bagdad with a 4K restoration produced by Patrick Stanbury of Photoplay Productions. It looks amazing. Extras include:
- Audio Commentary by Film Historian Anthony Slide
- Introduction by Orson Welles
- Nineteen Minutes of Outtake Footage
- Special Effects Test Footage
- The Original 1924 Score by Mortimer Wilson, Performed by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Presented in 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo
- Optional Six-Minute Musical Prelude
