Rating: 
Summary: A masterpiece to been seen by all generations
Review: "The Thief of Baghdad" is a masterpiece and should be seen by the present and future generations. It is a movie complete and all its aspects. I was 10 when I first saw "The Thief of Baghdad" and since then I could never forget the moments of enchantment it brought to me everytime (more than 10 times)I went to the movies to see it on the big screen. It was and still is my fantasy favorite movie. In the Middle 60's I finally found a copy in 16mm at a distributor and had to rent a projector to show the film at home. Although the copy was in very bad conditions I could even so, be able to go back to the days of my childhood while enjoying this wondereful film.
Recently I púrchased a VHS copy at Amazon[.com] and virtually "obliged" my 18 year-old daughter to watch it. It was a prize to have the film with me at all times. The new edition in DVD is perfect and reveals all the splendor the film brings.
Rating: 
Summary: BEAUTIFUL
Review: A beautiful rendering of Arabian tales, which spark the imagination. Nice to see this stuff before Western greed and distorted religion destroyed the region!
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Fantasy Adventure!!!
Review: A blinded beggar, Ahmad, with his wise dog, is begging for food and coins in the harbor of a distant city. The Grand Vizier Jaffar requests that the beggar should be brought to the palace to help his beloved Princess wake up from a deep trance like sleep, since legends tell him that only a blind man can awaken the princess. During the blind man's visit, he tells the story of his life and how he once was the King of Bagdad and his dog was a thief named Abu. The story also reveals that he was blinded by the evil Vizier Jaffar and how he fell in love with the Princess. Thief of Bagdad is a captivating fantasy tale with magical items, dubious creatures, and enchanting adventures of a long lost king. The wide variety of creatures, items, and adventures is delicately balanced with a well written story, precise cinematography, and special effects that do not ruin the story despite the age of the film. The experience that is provided through this cinematic event is a magical story that offers both entertainment as well as contemplation, which is useful for young and old.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Fantasy Adventure!!!
Review: A blinded beggar, Ahmad, with his wise dog, is begging for food and coins in the harbor of a distant city. The Grand Vizier Jaffar requests that the beggar should be brought to the palace to help his beloved Princess wake up from a deep trance like sleep, since legends tell him that only a blind man can awaken the princess. During the blind man's visit, he tells the story of his life and how he once was the King of Bagdad and his dog was a thief named Abu. The story also reveals that he was blinded by the evil Vizier Jaffar and how he fell in love with the Princess. Thief of Bagdad is a captivating fantasy tale with magical items, dubious creatures, and enchanting adventures of a long lost king. The wide variety of creatures, items, and adventures is delicately balanced with a well written story, precise cinematography, and special effects that do not ruin the story despite the age of the film. The experience that is provided through this cinematic event is a magical story that offers both entertainment as well as contemplation, which is useful for young and old.
Rating:
Summary: "You loooooook mah-velous!"
Review: Besides being wondrously acted (Veidt as the wicked vizier, Rex Ingram as the "djinni" and Sabu as the "thief" are all superb), scrumptiously scored (Miklos Rozsa), this is a film that, in all its Technicolor glory is magnificent to view. No matter how advanced filmmaking has become, there is something about those early flicks' occasional dabbles in color that transcends today's pristine shadings.
A fine fantasy flick is this one and worthy of inclusion in a videophile's library.
Rating:
Summary: One of the great fantasy film in cinema history
Review: Few classic films demands or can benefit more from transfer to DVD than Alexander Korda's magnificent THE THIEF OF BAGDAD. At a time when British cinema lagged desperately behind Hollywood in technical proficiency, Korda was nothing short of a miracle worker. Although lacking the resources that Hollywood had to offer, Korda was able to produce a movie that stood up to the best of Hollywood in beauty, creativity, color, and fantasy. Two of the greatest fantasy films ever made appeared in 1939 and 1940: THE WIZARD OF OZ and THE THIEF OF BAGDAD. There are two reasons that THE THIEF OF BAGDAD is a great film and has stood the test of time. The first is the tremendous art direction. The movie is a function of Korda's vision. French auteur criticism holds that the "author" of a film is the director, but this is clearly an exception to that. Korda, the producer, was the creative force behind this film, and, in fact, employed as many as a half dozen directors during the course of making the film. One of the uncredited directors and one of the credited art directors was the great William Cameron Menzies, regarded as one of the giants in art design in film history. Even today, this is a gorgeous film to look at, and in an age when computers can create absolutely anything on the screen, it is delightful to watch a film in which others managed to achieve magic working with considerably less than we possess. The second reason that this film succeeds so marvelously is the cast. Ironically, the ostensible lead in the film is remarkably forgettable. But several of the other performances are quite unforgettable. Conrad Veidt is magnificently ominous and devious as Jaffar in what is probably one of his three most memorable roles (the others being his performance as the Somnambulist in the German Expressionist classic THE CABINENT OF DR. CALIGARI and his famous turn as Rick's nemesis Maj. Strasser in CASABLANCA). He is so fine in his role that it is hard to imagine anyone else being better. Sabu, who plays Abu, enjoyed one of the more unusual film careers in Hollywood history (to which he returned after returning from WW II as a highly decorated war hero), and this is possibly his finest film. But apart from Veidt, my favorite performer is the great Rex Ingram's memorable performance as the genie. In an era in which it was virtually impossible to have a film career as an African-American while refusing to compromise one's dignity by playing subservient roles, Rex Ingram was perhaps the great exception. While other black actors forged careers playing servants and red caps and cooks and various other undignified roles, Ingram always managed to stand out as a proud, self-respectful individual. After Paul Robeson and before Sidney Portier, Ingram was perhaps the finest black actor in Hollywood. He managed always in his films to project great intelligence, pride, and self-possession. In many roles, he was more than a little imposing, and that comes out in his portrayal as the Genie. Yes, Abu outwits him and extracts a promise for three wishes, but he clearly is not a safe, tame genie. Even while doing Abu's bidding, he radiates danger. Had Ingram's career spanned the decades at the end of the 20th century instead of those in the middle, he would have been recognized as a truly massive talent. Today he would have been a major star, something that simply wasn't possible in 1940. This is a must-see film for anyone who loves great cinematic fantasy, adventure, or British film. It is also one of those rare films that can be enjoyed as much by small children as by adults.
Rating:
Summary: Restored at last!
Review: Hail! Hail! This first of all fantasy films finally has a restoration worthy of it! I was so disappointed in the laser disc release. The color was off. It was orangey. The DVD corrects it to the proper hue.Thank you, MGM Home Entertainmet
Rating:
Summary: A Fairy Tale concealing the Prennial Wisdom
Review: I first saw this movie as a child in the 1940's. The effects were the best ever for the time, and even look really good today. This is another hero tale complete with a lowly but likable thief who undergoes the classic perils all heros face, but the placement is beaufifully fantasic with the mystery of sultans, evil vizer, genii, minerets, blue rosess of forgetfulness, and magical toys that come to life in Baghdad and Basra. It became my family's all time favorite, along with another Sabu movie, Jungle Book. If this is the type of fantasy and truth you like, go for it.
Rating:
Summary: A Fairy Tale concealing the Prennial Wisdom
Review: I first saw this movie as a child in the 1940's. The effects were the best ever for the time, and even look really good today. This is another hero tale complete with a lowly but likable thief who undergoes the classic perils all heros face, but the placement is beaufifully fantasic with the mystery of sultans, evil vizer, genii, minerets, blue rosess of forgetfulness, and magical toys that come to life in Baghdad and Basra. It became my family's all time favorite, along with another Sabu movie, Jungle Book. If this is the type of fantasy and truth you like, go for it.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Classic Fantasies and a Triumph of Technicolor
Review: I have always been charmed by this fantasy adventure. To me,it beats Oz for color,dash, and imagination, and maybe equals it for music when you consider Miklos Rozsa's score at his height of power. Was there ever a princess as lovely as June Duprez, or a magician as cunningly evil as Conrad Veidt ( the bad Major Strasser in Casablanca.) (The color alone deserves a special DVD edition.) This was Korda freres at their best.Current packaging with Man Who Could Work Miracles pairs it with another charming if not as memorable fantasy from the UK. Both of these deserve the DVD treatment, with restoration to full splendor. Is someone at the MGM home video reading this?.
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