Popular reviews

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  Review by SilentDawn ★★★★ 1

  79

  Absurd depictions of exoticism and brown-face aside, the technical audacity of the effects-work, and the charming Technicolor glory of its set-design and palette is something to behold. A set-piece of Sabu up against a giant (and gross looking) spider still thrills and excites.

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  Review by chavel ★★★★

  The Thief of Bagdad is a pedigree lavish adventure that has been slighted in recent movie conversation but at the time was an instantly revered classic: All those silks of so many colors! Fights with Arabian sabre swords and crossbows! Combat with a gigantic spider! Oh look, a genie and a flying carpet! The disgraced Prince Ahmad (John Justin) pairs up with teen thief Abu (Sabu) to rescue a princess (June Duprez) and defeat evil Jaffar (Conrad Veidt). This fairy tale is a consummation of old-fashioned movie magic that is shamelessly corny and with acting, that’s well... a little too over the rainbow. Michael Powell (“The Red Shoes”) is the primary of three credited directors.

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  Review by ❄️ Cammmalot ❄️ ★★★★ 2

  Cinematic Time Capsule
  1940 Marathon - Film #72

  ”And now my little braggart you can be a thief and a hero all in one”

  What film inspired your love of movies?

  As I’m watching this, all I could think about was how much these Oscar winning effects must have amazed a legion of young viewers in 1940 and inspired them to want to become filmmakers.

  A flying horse, a terrifying spider, and a giant wish granting Djinn must have been so cool. Future generations would have their blue screen composition and computer generated effects, but to see that amazing flying carpet in 1940, must have been the very definition of cinematic magic.

  BONUS POINTS for the fabulous hypnotic stare of…

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  Review by Jim Film ★★★★★

  "The Sultan is an old man, and old man are like children. He guards his toys more jealously than he guards his daughter. But, I say no more. Now, out of my way, you masters of one thousand fleas. Allah be with you, but I doubt it."

  The precursor for Disneys Aladdin is a tale old as time solidified in this timeless classic, Abu played by Sabu is easily the greatest in the film and I'd like to highlight primarily the witty charm of the duo but Jafar is absolutely unrelenting in this adaptation. The film is the type of classic epic with quick dialogue and dynamic direction that reiterates the knowledge Michael Powell had for the camera and in…

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  Review by Wesley R. Ball ★★★★★

  Directed by Michael Powell and five others, The Thief of Bagdad is a towering triumph that whisks its audience to a spectacularly colored world of adventure and magic. Narrating the classic tale Arabian Nights style, the film depicts the adventures of banished king Ahmad and Abu as they seek to overthrow the evil seductive magician Jaffar and thwart his nefarious plan to marry the princess and rule over all of Arabia. It's a classic adventure tale that's been told countless times before and has been redone since then, but I guarantee you won't find another adaptation quite like this one. The Thief of Bagdad mixes the best of classic Arabian tales in a nice even mixture of fantasy and swashbuckling…

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  Review by Ben Hibburd ☘🏀 ★★★½ 4

  So, apparently I watched this remake without realising it was so, therefore I can't compare it to its predecessor. However, judging this film on its own merits "The Thief of Bagdad" is a whimsical fairytale-esque adventure that on the one hand is a technical marvel for its time. And on the other underpinned by a rather dull and interesting script filled with generic characters.

  "The Thief of Bagdad" stars John Justin as young King Ahmed, curious about how his subjects live he decides to walk amongst them, he's then betrayed by the opportunistic Jaffar (Conrad Veidt). Convinced of his death, Ahmed teams up with a thief Abu (Sabu) to reclaim his rightful throne and save the princess from the clutches…

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  Review by comrade_yui ★★★★★ 1

  the bejeweled folk-tale which tells its tale with such innocent conviction that you are voluntarily thrown to another realm of exotic intrigue, mystic romance, decadent wizardry, feats of astonishment and unearthly places -- it is no embellishment to say that this is a fantasy on the level of the wizard of oz or star wars, because it is; our main character is literally blinded by the technicolor wonder of the sights that he sees! i can imagine the powerful hold this would have on an impressionable child in the way that i would watch jurassic park or indiana jones over and over again as a kid -- there's a certain type of fantasy-adventure that enlivens the mind and speaks to…

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  Review by PUNQ ★★★★½

  The Thief of Bagdad (1940) is an enduring adventure film and probable the most ambitious visual effects film made since King Kong (1933). It's the original bluescreen movie!

  There are quirks about The Thief of Bagdad (1940), and in a way the characters don't match the personality of Douglas Fairbanks in the original The Thief of Bagdad (1924). But what positives it has! The splendid fairytale color! The wonderfully grandeur of the sets! All the exploits of genies, flying horses, gigantic spiders and wherever this dreamy trip took us! Brilliant escapism! And most of all.... Conrad Veidt, evil as he was born to be!

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  Review by Paul Elliott ★★★★

  This Michael Powell directed adaptation of One Thousand and One Nights and a loose remake of the silent classic starring Douglas Fairbanks features Indian film actor Sabu Dastagir as young thief Abu.

  Abu meets King Ahmad (John Justin) after the king has been deceived and deposed out of Bagdad by the evil Jaffar (Conrad Veidt). Ahmad attempts to find a way to reclaim his previously held status and the two assist one another in reclaiming both his throne and the city. On their journey, Ahmad falls in love with a princess (June Duprez), and Abu undertakes a series of adventures containing a genie (Rex Ingram), a flying carpet, and other mythological items.

  Sabu provides an excellent portrayal of Abu in…

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  Review by Fabian ★★★½ 8

  Seeing this as a magical fantasy adventure from a historical context, if you imagine yourself in the audience of a theatrical screening in 1940 when it was released, the British technicolor fantasy of an Arabian adventure in The Thief of Bagdad is a sparkling achievement and a genuinely entertaining miracle that must have been perceived as groundbreaking at the time of its release. Seen through a modern lens, there is not too much about The Thief of Bagdad that still holds up, and some of the stereotypical depictions of Arabian characters through a British lens are now uncomfortable to watch. Acting and writing are a bit too corny at times, but the lavish set pieces put this into a league…

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  Review by Joshua Dysart ★★★½ 3

  Production design pornography. Full of visual poetry, lots of great in-camera effects (giant plaster genie foot! YES!), the earliest blue screen work, and bold compositions.

  But Ahmad, the king robbed of his kingdom by Jaffar, is an insufferable douche.

  Jaffar, on the other hand, is outstanding. He’s the most human thing in this high-gloss, low-emotional content flick. Conrad Veidt is a huge asset to the project. He just owns that shit. One of the best evil sorcerers ever put on film. His heart aches so he does evil. I’m all in. Love it.

  Sabu as Abu is a fantastic protagonist too. I could watch him steal ancient magical Jewels grown from the third eye of statues at the top of…

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  Review by Colin the dude ★★★★½

  The lengthy section where Abu reveals the genie and then fights the giant spider is just chock full of all-timer imagery.

  1. Giant genie foot.

  2. Giant genie ear.

  3. Abu flying on genie shoulder, holding onto genie ponytail and talking into giant genie ear.

  4. Giant puppet spider fight.

  The rest of the movie rests mostly on Sabu's charisma.