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Amazon.com Essential Video
Often hailed as the greatest fantasy film ever made, The Thief of Bagdad (1940) was producer Alexander Korda's crowning achievement. Deservedly winning Academy Awards® for art direction, color cinematography, and special effects, this Arabian Nights adventure appeals to all ages with its fantastical tale of Abu (Sabu), the little thief who befriends the prince of Bagdad (John Justin) and foils the nefarious plans of the evil grand vizier (Conrad Veidt), who seizes control of Bagdad and covets the princess of Basra (Joan Duprez). From its gorgeous, epic-scale sets to flying horses, magic carpets, and, best of all, Rex Ingram's towering jinni of the bottle, this Thief has all the magic of the tales that inspired it, and vibrant Technicolor brings it all to life in dazzling style. Six esteemed directors worked on this infamously troubled production, but the final result exceeded all expectations, becoming an instant classic that endures to this day. --Jeff Shannon
Description
The Thief of Bagdad, legendary producer Alexander Korda's Arabian Nights marvel, is one of the most spectacular fantasy films ever made, an eye-popping effects pioneer brimming with imagination and technical wizardry. When Prince Ahmad (John Justin) is blinded and cast out of Bagdad by the nefarious Jaffar (Conrad Veidt), he joins forces with the scrappy thief Abu (the incomparable Sabu, in his definitive role) to win back his royal position, as well as the heart of a beautiful princess (June Duprez). With its luscious Technicolor, vivid sets, and unprecedented visual wonders, The Thief of Bagdad has charmed viewers of all ages for decades.
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Most helpful customer reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
CRITERION VS MGM = THE EXACT SAME PRINT,
By
This review is from: Thief of Bagdad (DVD)
Yep that's right, I own both the MGM and now the Criterion versions of, The Thief Of Bagdad, and after comparing the opening sequence (with the boats and the cityscape), the scene where the blind man is telling his story so far, to the harem girls (where there's slight blurring in the long shots as well as a slight over enhancement shimmer on the blind man's face) and the registration problem area (where Sabu meets the spider in the temple) the print used is exactly the same one, as both versions have the exact same problems in exactly the same areas.
As for the purported colour saturation differences between the two discs, from my close scrutiny of the movies, I'd have to say that there isn't any difference at all. The reds look over saturated to the point where the Grand Vizier's turban bleeds slightly, the blues are sky blue bright, and the skin tones are coppery, which is true to the skin tones of the people populating this movie. The real question now should be, why Criterion chose to release this film as is, without attempting to do any restoration? I had thought that the reason for the exuberant prices of Criterion DVDs was because we where suppose to be getting the best possible prints of films, but in this case, we're giving the same print with some extras, and expected to pay 3 times the price of the MGM disc. Also of note, the chapter selection is better on the MGM disc as there are pictures with the captions, where as the Criterion chapter select, is text only (something Anchor Bay did away with years ago, because it was too confusing, i.e. the Evil Dead DVD, "Evil dead attack", um, which evil dead attack, there are several, so the description is useless). So, as far as I'm concerned, the choice as to whether to get the Criterion edition rests with whether you want the extras and not with the picture quality. So if you have the MGM DVD and aren't interested in shelling out more cash for a couple of extras (which I didn't find all that spectacular; no feature length making of to be had on this disc) then skip it, but if you don't own the out of print MGM disc, want the extras, or (like me) are a completes, then pick this up, just don't expect an upgraded print. Hope this helps. Note: both DVD's where viewed on a 27" JVC higher end (but not progressive scan enhanced) tube TV with a year old model, Sony DVD player, with the TV colour, contrast, sharpness, etc., set up using the THX optimizer from the, "Cars", DVD.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Gem of a movie,
By
This review is from: The Thief of Bagdad (DVD)
Movies are made to entertain, but some of them magically becomemore than entertainment, the characters, the story, the music the effects all combined make their mark one one's mind and as the years pass by, and these treasures re-appear they make up one heck of a natural high. This is one of these movies. Good 40 years ago, and good forty years after. Im glad that the dvd is of good quality, but even if it was crappy, this movie still pulls all my strings. Sit down, relax, and enjoy a viewing of one of the great films available out there.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Knock-your-eyes-out splendour,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Thief of Bagdad (DVD)
I've been waiting for this 5-star film to come out on DVD ever since I first owned a dvd player - and boy, was it worth the wait! The colour is stupendous and knocks all the video & tv-aired versions into the deep hole where they belong.This is fantasy filmmaking at its peak: the plot & script, the cast, the settings and production values. It seems unbelievable that it was made 60 years ago! My hat (if I wore one) is off to Mr Korda for producing this splendid movie, and to MGM for giving us such a glorious DVD transfer.
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