Film Review: The Thief of Bagdad (1924)

When it comes to works of fantasy and myth, it takes effort to relay the sense of wonder or whimsey that accompanies such things as magic or otherworldly creatures.  It's always been easy to relay such things through books, poetry, or even reciting it verbally to others.  On film, it's a far bigger challenge, and 1924's The Thief of Bagdad stands as one of the earliest and most ambitious attempts to conceptualize and execute a work of fantasy for the big screen.  It's a big production, with huge sets, a huge crowd of extras, lavish costumes, and convincing special effects.  It all works together to bring to life a fantastic world of flying carpets, magic ropes, mermaids, giant apes, and invading foreign armies, all contained within an exotic Arabian backdrop.

The film is pretty long, and it drags at certain parts (mostly the middle).  However, it does have a lighthearted whimsey to the tone, and in the characters, which keeps it entertaining and fun, even after all these years.

This story is a big and sprawling adventure, but thanks to the way it's told, with simple dialogue and exaggerated acting, it's never convoluted.  It's successful at telling a complicated series of events without losing the audience, and with a cast of decent and lovable characters.  I have no idea how this film compares to its original novel, but it appears to maintain the appropriate tone and all the right elements of a proper Arabian fantasy.

This film uses solid photography and editing.  Acting is very exaggerated and over-the-top, which can be laughable at times, but for a silent film it's quite forgivable.  Writing is simple but effective enough.  This production has huge sets, props, and costumes; a lot of it seems to reflect a more stereotypical view of Arabian and Asian culture, rather than trying to be anything realistic.  Special effects are great though; even after all these years, there are many shots that you can look at and wonder, how did they do that? In spite of that, the imagery is often great.  The music score is great too.

The Thief of Bagdad is not only a seminal classic for fantasy films, it's also one of the biggest and most imaginative silent-era films I've seen.

Recommended!

4.5/5 (Entertainment:  Good | Story:  Very Good | Film:  Very Good)