Featured Audience Ratings

• AJ V

  
  The first half of the movie is a predictable romantic comedy type story, but it changes in the middle and gets exciting as the thief goes on an epic adventure to win the princess. This is a really long movie, a little too long, but it's got some really cool special effects in… More
  The first half of the movie is a predictable romantic comedy type story, but it changes in the middle and gets exciting as the thief goes on an epic adventure to win the princess. This is a really long movie, a little too long, but it's got some really cool special effects in the second part and Fairbanks is awesome as usual.

• Veronique K

  
  silent "thief of bagdad" is raoul walsh's lush classic with original swashbuckler douglas fairbanks in the imaginatively turbulent exotic land of arab...it is intertwined with the bizarre outlandishness of persia, india, china as well as the essence of arab under… More
  silent "thief of bagdad" is raoul walsh's lush classic with original swashbuckler douglas fairbanks in the imaginatively turbulent exotic land of arab...it is intertwined with the bizarre outlandishness of persia, india, china as well as the essence of arab under intepretation of the primary stage of hollywood aesthetism. the visuality is mythically expressionistic thrived with every stroke of riotous imageries, such as the prophetic magic crystal upon the pupil of indian buddha with multiple hands, the swirling marine palace with mermaids, the flaming caves within the moon and the mongol eccentric courtesies.....of course, it also includes the cameos of the first chinese american hollywood star, anna may wong as the undercover mongolian slavegirl who doublecrosses the princess. inevitablly chineses are the ultimate villains douglas fairbanks have to confront then conquer. fairbanks stars as the title role, theif of bagdad, who is a frivolous but resourceful man abiding upon the life philosophy of grasping everything he wants at once...an incorrigible crook who lives for his own pleasure...he enjoys his unrepetant thieveries until his arms are set upon the fair chaste princess of bagdad, so he gotta earn himself a honour of prince by seeking the rarest treasure on earth seperately with his competitors: princes of persia, india, and mongol...how shall he overwhelm the persian flying carpet, indian crystal ball and mongolian healing golden apple? eventually chinese mongols are the evil ones who entrap the princess then besiege bagdad with insidious ambush...the odd thing is mongols are all dressed in the constumes of merchurian dynasty in the last century of china as if it's whimsical pastiche of silent hollywood with all the background extravagenza which functions highly upon human endeavor in the age without CGI...the result might be blatantly exposable but still a granduer visual feast....most of all, our athletic swashbuckler douglas fairbanks is flamboyantly dashing enough to live up as the fearless romantic hero. "theif of bagdad" is somehow the best exemplification of the so called "american orientialism" with a distorted image upon the east by dismissing it as "primitive, slavish, exotic, manipulative, and amoral," particularly upon china. arab, persia, india and china are all "orient" by the ancient definition of the occident, so " the more eastern the more twisted" would be the principle to comply. personally, as what i mentioned before upon "the shanghai gesture," at least being "primitive, slavish, exotic, manipulative, and amoral" is still uncompromisingly edgy with its luring characteristics. so far, the coolest asian hollywood star to me is still anna may wong with her quirky orientalness blended in the sensuality which populates in 20s~40s.

• Pierluigi P

  
  My favorite version of the Arabian nights tale is this wonderful, timeless epic fantasy with a great acrobatic performance by Douglas Fairbanks. magical ride for all of us who are still kids.

• John B

  
  There is a reason why Douglas Fairbanks was such a great silent film performer..he just oozes charisma and wouldn't let something like words get in his way. It stands the test of time in the era of talkies and is such fun to watch.

• MJS M

  
  An early example of a fantasy adventure, starring the silent film star Douglass Fairbanks. An early work from director Raoul Walsh, who would go on to have a very long and prestigious career in the early studio system well into the 1950s. I could really see the roots of Indiana… More
  An early example of a fantasy adventure, starring the silent film star Douglass Fairbanks. An early work from director Raoul Walsh, who would go on to have a very long and prestigious career in the early studio system well into the 1950s. I could really see the roots of Indiana Jones here, this is exactly the kind of pulpy adventure that inspired that character. Still the story telling isn?t brilliant and most of the movie didn?t quite live up to the great first twenty minutes or so. It sort of seems like they tried to fill the film with too much? stuff, it can never dwell on any one cool thing as it keeps moving on to other things too quickly. I sort of got the feeling this is sort of the silent equivalent of a Roland Emmeich movie, I don?t mean that as an insult so much as a description. I?m sure it was a major spectacle at the time, but plotwise it?s a bit iffy. Still I liked watching it and its definitely a great time capsule. I?ve heard the 1940 remake is even better, and I?ll definitely check that out when Criterion puts it out on DVD.