The thief of Bagdad can easily be one of the most enjoyable and easy silent movies that I have seen. Not once have i been tempted to make a pause or to improvise a dub on the characters using funny voices (..okay i did do it a couple of times). Apart of the central 20 minutes the whole movie is quite fast-paced filled with gags, amazing costumes and stunning scenarios.Douglas Fairbanks is just THE actor for this kind of movie. Flamboyant, athletic, awesome smile typical of an overconfident reckless man who knows he is smarter than average.. he is the perfect hero for this story. The special effects used are admirable for the time. You just keep wondering how the hell did they do that in 1924, the genius behind some of the cinematography is praiseworthy, just look at the underwater scenes (this part was very exciting for me, CGI just took the fun out of guessing how did they do this or that effect). The costumes are quite funky, which was new for me to see in these kind of movies. Seriously, the costumes are so cool, everyone looks ready for their Saturday night disco or ninja parade. And the scenography.. seeing the underwater city and the city of Baghdad during the golden age just made me want to get a time machine and go see it myself. On the other side of the coin, the film drowns in orientalist commonplace stereotypes. The ancient arabic centre of culture is represented with the typical magical-dreamy architecture which is quintessential in orientalist productions (for the record, orientalism = western representation of eastern cultures) and the parallels with Disney's Aladdin come very easy for the young viewer. The Mongols are represented as a sort of mash-up between opium-café thugs from imperial china, and weird Japanese ninja-samurai, not exactly the mongols that you would expect given their nomad history etc..One special mention goes to the christianization of Islam. The one guy which role is to be a spiritual guide to the thief doesn't fail to show how good things and happiness must be earned through hard-work and sacrifice; in doing so he shapes the perfect Christian American citizen, a man now adverse to cheating and shortcuts, ready to pursue his American Dream by undertaking a near-impossible quest to get the princess of his dreams, showing that purity and determination will get him his happiness! GO American WAY! But in the end, is it a bad thing? Does orientalism offend the history of the middle east? Maybe nowadays it would, but what would the Hollywood people know in 1924 of how did the mongols look like, or whether golden-age Bagdad had penis-shaped towers or not. Besides, this version of Arabia is the coolest and most creative one I've seen, even for today's standards. Recommend 10/10!

I found this silent film in the book of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I knew there was a 1940 remake that got much higher ratings from critics, but I was definitely looking forward to seeing this classic original, from director Raoul Walsh (High Sierra, White Heat). Basically in the city of Bagdad lives (Ahmed) The Thief (Douglas Fairbanks) steals anything valuable and to get him by, and he has stolen a magic rope that he can summon to climb high heights, and using this he can sneak into the palace of The Caliph (Brandon Hurst). But his habit for thievery fades away when he sees the Caliph's daughter, The Princess (Julanne Johnston), he is instantly infatuated, but he is forced to escape when spotted by The Mongol Slave (Anna May Wong). The Thief is determined to win the heart of the Princess, and he hears from His Evil Associate (Snitz Edwards) that a princess has been stolen during the reign of a previous ruler, and he gets his chance the next day when it is her birthday. She is given the fortune that whoever touches a rose bush will be the man she married, she is hoping it will not be one of the three princes, Prince of the Indies (Noble Johnson), obese Prince of Persia (Mathilde Comont) and the Prince of the Mongols (Sôjin Kamiyama), they all pass, and the Thief appears in stolen garments, and he only touches the rose bush when his horse throws him into it. The Princess is delighted and chooses the Thief as her husband to be, but he had plans to abduct her and with his great love for her confesses all to her, he is arrested after being overheard by the Mongol Prince's spy, he is punished with lashes, and before further torture he is bribed by the Princess to be let go. She is told she must choose another man to marry, therefore she tells all potential princes that they should find her a gift after "seven moons", and the one she will marry will be the one who has the rarest treasure, the Thief feels despair, but visiting The Holy Man (Charles Belcher) he is directed to a place that great hidden treasures lie. The Indian Prince finds a crystal ball that can show anything you want to see, and the Persian Prince finds a magic flying carpet, but the Mongol Prince has his own plans to take over the kingdom and use the Princess as his incentive, and to help with his plan he has a slave poison the Princess, and he will use a magic apple to cure her. Meanwhile the Thief has had many adventures in the mysterious land, and the treasure he has found include a cloak to turn him invisible, and magic powder that when he sprinkles will turn into anything he wishes, he makes his way back to Bagdad, as do the other princes when they hear the news of the Princess near death. Her life is saved with the magic apple, the other princes besides the Mongol Prince are regarded useless, but she sees the Thief, Ahmed, transformed into a prince, in the magic crystal ball, but before he arrives the Mongol Prince unleashes his army to take over the city, but the Thief uses his magic powder to summon another army to make the other flee. The Mongol Prince attempts to try and kill this new prince, but Ahmed saves the Princess who takes her away on the flying carpet, and he uses the invisibility cloak to defeat the other characters trying to catch them, and with Bagdad saved and the Princess safe the Caliph in gratitude allows his daughter to marry Ahmed. Also starring Winter Blossom as Slave of the Lute and Etta Lee as Slave of the Sand Board. Fairbanks gives one of his best performance as the often grinning and shirtless almost all the way through scoundrel thief turned brave hero, Johnston looks pretty as the princess longing to find the right prince, and the other supporting characters do their parts well also. I can see that this would have been one of the inspirations for ideas put into Disney cartoon Aladdin, obviously it an Arabian Nights story, and with elements like magic ropes, flying carpets and magic powder there is great spectacle, these special effect moments use terrific camera and editing tricks, and the swashbuckling bits with fights and chases are great fun, a splendid silent fantasy adventure. Very good!

Having made his name primarily in the comedy genre, silent superstar Douglas Fairbanks continued his transformation into swashbuckler with this lavish fantasy epic. Made on grand sets that rivalled the likes of Cabiria (1914), thanks to some spectacular set design by William Cameron Menzies, and featuring some ground-breaking visual effects, the real attraction of The Thief of Bagdad is Fairbanks himself, who compensates for some quite outlandish over-acting with an irresistibly athletic performance. The 1940 remake (for which Menzies was once of a few uncredited directors) cast Sabu as the titular thief, but relegated him to the sidekick of John Justin's Prince Ahmad. Perhaps the makers felt that making a petty thief the hero was a little more than the audience could accept, and so this works as a testament to the effortless likability of Fairbanks.The Thief (Fairbanks) roams Bagdad, taking what he pleases and going wherever his legs will take him. Unmoved by religion, he seeks any opportunity to steal, telling a holy man "What I want, I take!". Seeking the ultimate treasure, he and his associate (Snitz Edwards) break into the palace of the Caliph (Brandon Hurst), where he discovers the Caliph's beautiful daughter (Julanne Johnston) laying asleep. Yet when the guards are alerted, the Thief flees. With the Princess' birthday the next day, Bagdad awaits the mighty rulers and Prince's of other kingdom who will pay tribute to the Princess in the hope of winning her heart. The Thief plans on stealing her, yet when a twist of fate causes the Princess to love him back, he must embark on a mighty quest to bring her the rarest gift he can find, in the hope of winning the favour of her father.With a hefty running time of 150 minutes, The Thief of Bagdad naturally suffers from some lengthy un-eventful periods, occasionally shifting its focus to the plans of the Mongol Prince (Sojin) to win the Princess by force and take over the city of Bagdad. But this is fantasy in its purest form, with magic ropes and carpets, various giant monsters, and a winged horse, all giving the opportunity for some dazzling and charming special effects that prove to be quite spectacular retrospectively. The film is an absolute visual delight, with the grand sets simply blowing my mind in an age of lazy CGI work. But like I said before, the true star is Fairbanks, failing to convince as an Arab but giving a performance of wonderful athleticism that pose no question as to why he was an absolute superstar in his day. The 1940 remake is certainly better remembered, especially for its glorious Technicolour cinematography, but Raoul Walsh's 1924 effort is simply beautiful, with some genuinely thrilling moments during it's climatic final third.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Lavish, incredible, beautiful, and creative cinema of the silent era. One of the best. Every scene is an outstanding, ostentatious, display of a glossy deco-style. This is a silent film that can be throughly enjoyed by those who normally shy away from the pre-sound era, because it is overwhelmingly a visual visit to an otherworld through fantastic set designs and dazzling special effects.There is a bit of hammy acting but it doesn't seem objectionable because it is overshadowed by the grandeur and scope of the production. The current video prints are beautiful and allow all the allure of the adventure to paint a pretty picture of a Fantasyland through the early Hollywood heyday of an industry feeling the strength of its powerful productions.