The Thief of Bagdad (1940)

 Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger, & Tim Whelan's "The Thief of Bagdad"


After the rousing success of new technicolor films in the late 1930s, like 1937's "A Star is Born," 1938's "The Adventures of Robin Hood," and the smash success of 1939's "The Wizard of Oz," the United Kingdom tried their hand at making a technicolor epic, 1940's "The Thief of Bagdad." Produced by Alexander Korda, the film required multiple directors in order to compose the extensity of the film visual landscape. Production began in London but had to be moved to California to be completed due to the start of World War II.

The film is essentially a remake of the Raoul Walsh 1924 film of the same name. That film, like this one, is loosely based on the classic Arabic fairy tale, "One Thousand and One Nights," or as it is commonly referred to in the west, "Arabian Nights." Most contemporary American would understand the story to be that of the classic Disney film "Aladdin,' in which a thief tries to win the heart of a princess with the help of a magical genie. This iteration of "The Thief of Bagdad" is only differs in that the thief is broken up into two separate characters, a young prince usurped by the evil Jafar, and a young beggar boy named Abu. 

The film's primary achievement is its visual elements, like its technicolor visuals, its epic and grand scale set pieces, and its use of visual effects. In fact, "The Thief of Bagdad" is the very first film to use the "manual bluescreen" technique. It's achievement in technology, along with the technicolor films that came before it, helped usher in a new era in color film.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rio Bravo (1959)

Image
  Howard Hawks' "Rio Bravo" To conclude the filmography of Howard Hawks, I watched his 1959 western film " Rio Bravo ." I've got to say that I was expecting a lot more out of this picture based on all the praise for the film. That is not to say that I didn't like it, it was a fine time at the cinema (I was not at the cinema, I was at home). I can't say that I should have expected more, as I'm not entirely that big of a fan of Howard Hawks. Even his best film (to me), " The Big Sleep " is arguably one of the weaker film noirs that I've seen. " Rio Bravo " is a film that apparently is a response to 1952's " High Noon ," which was an allegory about Hollywood's blacklisting and McCarthyism. Howard Hawks and John Wayne felt the film was anti-American and instead made " Rio Bravo " to broadcast an alternative perspective in which the hero of the story doesn't shy away from justice. I personally ha...
Read more

King Kong (1933)

Image
  Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack's "King Kong" There are many post-Depression American 'box office' films that I have seen in my film studies journey. Most of these post-Depression box office films don't typically sit right with me. The films I have in mind are the gangster and monster films that swept the nation in the early 1930s. These films typically were meant to placate an anxious American audience. However, the depth to their thematic intricacies leave something to be desired. Even without this depth, the 'entertainment' aspect of these films were not very entertaining to me. However, there is one film that utterly surprised me, 1933's adventure epic " King Kong ."   The story is well-known. A group of filmmakers travel to a remote island to take advantage of strange and interesting natural wildlife unknown to the outside world. There they meet an indigenous people, all terrified of a large, monstrous primate living on...
Read more

The Big Sleep (1946)

Image
  Howard Hawks' "The Big Sleep" After watching Howard Hawks' 1946 film noir " The Big Sleep ," I have to say that it is not one of my favorite film noirs. That being said, it was definitely the best Howard Hawks film I've seen thus far. It did not have the typical dark ending that permeates the whole film with bleak darkness, which probably made it a lesser noir for me. In fact, it felt more like a 'studio noir,' if that makes sense. I'm not going to go into the entire plot of the film, especially because the entire plot is incredibly convoluted. In fact, this was a major strike against the film at the time of its release. Many reported that they could not keep up with what was happening. I've got to say that, for myself, this was the case as well. I found myself having to rewind to figure out what exactly I missed or who was who. However, upon reflection, the convoluted plot may only add to the feverish intoxication of the film.  Because...
Read more