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THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1924) review
Once again I have to sing the praises of THE
ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE. Not too long ago I wrote
a review for their presentation of Buster Keaton’s
THE GENERAL. I wrote on and on about the magic
of that night. How Guy Forsyth and his band had
created a seemingly unduplicatable purely magical
movie experience. They had.
Well, it’s happened again, but this time with the
Douglas Fairbanks THIEF OF BAGDAD. A movie,
that it is very likely many of you have never seen. I
hadn’t. I’ve tried, but everytime I had set out to seek
it out at a video store they didn’t have it.... as is the
case with most of Fairbanks’ films (and silent films in
general for that matter).
For months I have been eagerly awaiting the
presentation of THE THIEF OF BAGDAD at the
Alamo. I missed the first showing, but today... well I
caught the second, and my God... what a presentation.
There were two levels of perfection here.
First you had the film. A film that is so energetic, so
ravishingly beautiful, that the only thing you are
capable of exuding is adoration for the movie. I’m a
long time fan of Douglas Fairbanks. I’ve seen his
PRIVATE LIFE OF DON JUAN, THE MARK OF
ZORRO, IRON MASK, DON Q SON OF ZORRO
and that’s it. I’ve been dying to see ROBIN HOOD,
THE BLACK PIRATE and THE THIEF OF
BAGDAD for years!
I’ve been secretly holding out for a theatrical
presentation, and gee whiz.... This sure was the way
to see it.
What I love and adore about Douglas Fairbanks is the
pure joy of adventure he puts into his films. The way
he’ll throw his arms tall and wide when he is
triumphant. The way he’ll arch his back and place his
arms upon his hips and roar with silent laughter. The
fire in his eyes, the derring-do coarsing through him.
It’s infectious. In fact.... it makes you want to start
trying to do impossible stunts. Now this film did not
have a sword battle one, but it did have adventure.
And of all the Fairbanks films I’ve seen thus far... this
is by far the most adventurous.
He also has the greatest co-star of any of his films I’m
familiar with. And who is that?
Well, it’s none other than William Cameron Menzies.
Who?
William Cameron Menzies.... No... he’s not an actor,
but he touched every frame of the film with his
stunning vision. He was the art director, and all
around GOD of Hollywood Set Design. From
THINGS TO COME to INVADERS FROM MARS
to the Sabu THIEF OF BAGDAD and a brushstroke
or two upon GONE WITH THE WIND. Oh... and
the amazing Cave Sequence from THE
ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER 1938(which I
own in 16mm and marvel at the brilliance of).
What a perfect star for Menzies’ perfect sets. Having
seen 8 million viewings of the various EPISODE
ONE trailers... The thoughts of his THINGS TO
COME design work has been popping about with a
gentle smile to my face. But what Lucas is bringing
us is a Technicolor vision of a Menzies Sci-Fi
Fantasy. And it is glorius. In THIEF OF BAGDAD
(1924) though, we are looking at the brilliance of
black and white art direction. Painted shadows and
forced perspectives. Sets built larger than anyone
dares build today. A creation far more beautiful and
whimsical than the locations that they claim to be of.
The film can’t help but to capture your imagination.
Imagine if Ray Harryhausen had teamed up with the
extravagance of Menzies at his height.... The mind
boggles. To see Ray’s Pegasus (from CLASH OF
THE TITANS) flying with Fairbanks upon it’s back
over Menzies’ cityscapes.... The spires, the doors
with teeth, the arches and deco fantasies.... Wow.
And it had the directing talents of Raoul Walsh, who
brought us “TOP OF THE WORLD MA!!!” and
THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON and Roy
‘Mad Dog’ Earle and THE NAKED AND THE
DEAD (a film hardly anybody remembers but that I
love).
NOW, for the second perfect thing about the
screening tonight.
Kamran Hooshmand and the 1001 NIGHTS
ORCHESTRA.
They should go on tour with this movie. They’d sell
out Los Angeles and New York for weeks after the
initial reviews. The score they created was
immense... so much so that the audience began
clapping to the beat and getting really really really
into it by the end of the film.
What was so special?
Well.... (Big Breath) First off, the instrument
selection included the following: Barbat (‘ud), Saz
(baglama), Santur (hammered dulcimer), Spanish
Guitar, Daf (Kurdish frame drum), Riqq (Middle
Eastern tambourine), Darabukkah (ceramic drum),
zarb (tonbak) (a Persian Drum), tabla (Indian drum
pair), Qanun (a Middle Eastern zither with 72
strings), Accordian, Acoustic Bass, Guitar, Clarinet,
Zurna, Duduk (reed instruments), Violin, Indian Sitar,
Asian/Far Eastern percussion, gongs, wind
instruments, classical oboe, medieval oboe and
wooden flute. And there were more. 10 fantastic
musicians played these instruments to create a unique
and fantastical sound to bathe the film with.
The score incorporated: Iranian folk song melodies, a
Sephardic song, Persian folk song melodies,
Greek/Macedonian folk tunes, Arabic tunes,
Arab/Andalucian music, Egyptian music, Armenian
folk music, Turkish folk music.... as well as original
music written by Kamran Hooshmand and.... an
arabic version of the (Pulp Fiction-made famous)
tune... MISERLU.
All of this music and film created a thrill, a charge
that lit through the audience. Both young and old
were cheering, clapping and excitedly waiting for the
next moment as if their life depended upon it.
Beside me was an Eleven year old boy, that by the
end of the film had saucers for eyes, he was bouncing
upon his knees in his chair sporadically clapping and
looking at his mother with glee splashed upon his
face.
Wow... I thought. That was me....16 years ago...
bouncing in my seat, eyes big as they could be...
Watching Fairbanks in THE MARK OF ZORRO at
the Paramount Theater.... Heh heh heh... poor kid
doesn’t know what pleasures are waiting in a theater
near him... but he’ll go in with the gleam that....
Fairbanks could be in there... and that is enough to
keep you coming back time and time again for the
entirety of your life.
What a joy cinema is. What excitement and thrilling
pleasures exist on that screen. God I love film. I’m
sure you do as well... ain’t it grand?
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I'm moving to Austin. Here in the cinematically DEAD city of New Orleans we have no revival houses. Well, there IS one. But you need to brave the most crime-infested section of town (Nay, the WORLD) to get there. This completely sucks. As for THEIF, I've seen parts and always wanted to catch the whole. I'll try and seek it out on video tonight.
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I just moved away from Austin and am already trying to find a way back. There's nowhere else like it.
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I agree whole heartedly with your article. While I never got to see the "Thief of Bagdad" on the big screen, I have seen the film on video. What a sublime pleasure it was. For me, the silents are pure cinema, meshing the visual with music. Poetry, at its best. When I lived in Indiana, I drove all the way to Cleveland, Ohio to watch Eisenstein's "Battleship Potemkin," play on the big screen, while the Cleveland Orchestra accompanied. I still have my ticket stub from that night. If "Thief of Bagdad" came to L.A., I'd be there in a nanosecond. Anyway, why I too am waiting breathlessly for "The Phantom Menace," it's nice to see an article like this on AICN.
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I've actually never seen The Thief of Bagdad, but it is very high on my must see list, but also very hard to find, as Harry mentioned. But I have seen a lot of other Fairbanks movies, most quite recently, and I love the guy. He's right up there with Bruce Campbell as one of my very favorite "action stars;" he's just so energetic, you've gotta love him. But by far the best movie of his that I've seen is THE BLACK PIRATE! Harry, since you haven't seen this, order the Kino video today!!! You must. It may even be better than waiting for it to ever play on the big screen, because many existing film prints of this movie are lacking the FANTASTIC two-strip technicolor that makes this movie look so damn good. Any fan of adventure movies owes it to themselves to see The Black Pirate; it's truly the king of all swashbucklers.
Brisco -
I saw TOB (the 1924) version a bazillion years ago on PBS and scenes are still burned into my consciousness - the image of Fairbanks leaping from one huge vase to another - jumping from balconies and stairs - amazing acrobatics. Of course, the filmmakers cheated - they measured the distances that Fairbanks could jump naturally and built the sets accordingly, but even so it LOOKED AMAZING. No digital imaging possible or necessary to make Fairbanks look cool. And Harry's totally right about the sets - and about Menzies - Things to Come has brilliant set design, and Invaders from Mars' design is great and immediately recognizable even today - despite the movie's low budget. The designs for the 1924 version of TOB really are amazing - I say the 1924 version because, as Harry mentioned there is a 1940 version, which is also cool and shown on TV lots (or was when I was a kid) - and my fantasy match-up would be Menzies working with Fritz Lang or Stanley Kubrick.... wow...
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who voted The Thief of Baghdad the worst movie they had ever seen must have seen a different movie than the one I saw. For the life of me, I can't possibly comprehend how anyone could make such an assine statement. Perhaps it was because it was in glorious black and white and this upset their mall sensibilities. Or maybe it was because there was no dialogue and they confused it with "I still know what you did last summer" which also had no (literate) dialogue. Maybe the gore quotient wasn't high enough (nothing like some innards thrown on the screen to really livin' up an otherwise dull and lifeless movie). I suppose it could have been because the band music appropriate to the time and setting instead of including the lastest from Rob Zombie or that wonder teen Marilyn Manson. The confusion could have come from the fact that many (especially myself) were very entertained by a movie that didn't include any computer graghics or aliens or an exploding White House. Or maybe,just maybe they didn't see the movie at all and feel they must take a shit on what the consensus feels was a very worthwhile endeavor. At any rate, I wish this one person would have had the common courtesy to at least state why they thought The Thief of Baghdad was the worst movie they had ever seen. But on the other hand, I was probably spared thirty seconds of drivel, so I think I'll just stop now.
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Despair. That is what I feel whenever I read Harry's accounts of watching silent classics accompanied by professionally developed scores. Why despair?
When I read about his impressions of a work-in-progress, I don't despair, because I know I'll eventually see the movie.
When I read about some behind-the-scenes experiences, I don't despair, because only industry insiders (or friends of 'em!) have that opportunity, and I'm fine with that.
But The Thief of Bagdad... performed for the paying public... with an outstanding score...
I will never see or hear, because nobody's interested enough to release it even on video with a decent soundtrack. And I know it's an experience I will never have, unless I move to Texas.
Harry, is there ANY studio/video production company that's interested in releasing vids of these silent classics with the C00L orchestra performances you describe? -
Are you kidding? When this movie came out a long time ago, everyone thought it was the worst movie ever made! A friend of mine saw it, he said it sucked worse than Manos Hands Of Fate, and Plan 9 COMBINED. And I believe him because he says that the good movies are good (Episode 1 for example) and the bad movies are bad (Titanic for example). Sure, give this movie a good review because you feel bad for it, that's fine with me. Enjoy this terrible movie.
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