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The Thief of Bagdad (1940) More at IMDbPro »

1 article from 2008

27 May 2008 9:06 PM, PDT | avclub.com | See recent The AV Club news »

From cinema's inception, it split into two different camps: Those inspired by the Lumière brothers' "Employees Leaving The Lumière Factory," which was the original prototype for films that reflect or document real life, and those inspired by Georges Méliès' "A Trip To The Moon," which operates in the realm of pure escapism and artifice. There may be no greater example of the latter than Alexander Korda's awe-inspiring 1940 production of The Thief Of Bagdad, a Middle Eastern fantasia that springs from the screen like an illustrated storybook come to life. Sparing no expense, Korda hired top-flight artisans (including co-director Michael Powell, composer Miklós Rózsa, and cutting-edge effects man Lawrence Butler), constructed massive sets in London and Hollywood, and shot in a beautiful three-strip Technicolor. Treating cinema as a giant toy box, Korda resembles a child with an overactive imagination, giddily piling on every exotic and magical conceit the story can. »

- Scott Tobias

1 article from 2008