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Posted: **Thu Feb 21, 2008 9:12 pm**

The Thief of Bagdad, legendary producer Alexander Korda's Arabian Nights marvel, is one of the most spectacular fantasy films ever made, an eye-popping effects pioneer brimming with imagination and technical wizardry. When Prince Ahmad (John Justin) is blinded and cast out of Bagdad by the nefarious Jaffar (Conrad Veidt), he joins forces with the scrappy thief Abu (the incomparable Sabu, in his definitive role) to win back his royal position, as well as the heart of a beautiful princess (June Duprez). With its luscious Technicolor, vivid sets, and unprecedented visual wonders, The Thief of Bagdad has charmed viewers of all ages for decades.

SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES:

- New digital transfer from restored film elements
- Two audio commentaries: one featuring renowned directors Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese, and one with film and music historian Bruce Eder
- Visual Effects, a documentary about the technical achievements of The Thief of Bagdad, featuring interviews with special-effects masters Ray Harryhausen, Dennis Muren, and Craig Barron
- The Lion Has Wings (1940), Alexander Korda's propaganda film for the English war effort, created when The Thief of Bagdad went into production hiatus
- Excerpts from codirector Michael Powell's audio dictations for his autobiography
- Excerpts from a 1976 radio interview with composer Miklos Rózsa
- Stills gallery featuring rare images of the film's production and photos shot in Dufaycolor Optional music and effects track
- Theatrical trailer
- PLUS: A booklet featuring new essays by film scholars Andrew Moor and Ian Christie

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Posted: **Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:00 pm**

Is there a release date for this yet?

Posted: **Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:03 pm**

5/27, according to the CC site.

Posted: **Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:04 pm**

The Lion Has Wings (1940), Alexander Korda's propaganda film for the English war effort, during The Thief of Bagdad's production hiatus

Oh, wow, this is a fairly major extra -- considering that it was also partially directed by Powell. It's nowhere as good as Thief. (It's the kind of mess that a movie with multiple directors often result in -- sort of the flip-side of Thief, in a sense.) But it's still entertaining and a historically significant film, since it helped convince Churchill not to shut down the British film industry during the war.

Posted: **Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:07 pm**

I'm certainly impressed with the extras. The contribution of Scorsese and Coppola alone is enought to buy this.

Posted: **Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:19 pm**

Having seen this recently, I'm really interested in how much better it will look than the MGM, which I agree with david looked great. The extras look fantastic as usual though, so I'm sure it will be a terrific release.

I read in another thread here that Schoonmaker said Small Back Room is next up on the Criterion slate, but are there any other P+P films that have been confirmed as coming from Criterion before/after SBR?

Posted: **Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:27 pm**

Ivy Mike wrote:I read in another thread here that Schoonmaker said Small Back Room is next up on the Criterion slate, but are there any other P+P films that have been confirmed as coming from Criterion before/after SBR?

Didn't she mention Oh Rosalinda!! as well? I think they've long held the rights to Elusive Pimpernel, and I'm hoping they picked up Spy in Black amongst whatever Korda stuff they scored recently. I don't necessarily want these things to go the way of Eclipse, but I suppose they could.

Posted: **Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:38 pm**

Great! I thought I would avoid double-dipping, but TWO commentaries AND "Lion" make this completely unavoidable for me.

Posted: **Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:38 am**

Although I welcome the arrival of 'Lion has Wings' it seems to have scuppered any chances of a comprehensive P&P Wartime collection where it would have sat better than its rather arbitrary(?) inclusion here. I know it's a Korda/Powell link but is there any other thematic crossover that I'm missing??

Posted: **Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:45 pm**

Special Features wrote:... [made] during The Thief of Bagdad's production hiatus

Posted: **Sat Feb 23, 2008 7:53 am**

I'm wondering what "restored digital transfer" means, since when they do their own exclusive telecine they brag "new, restored HD digital transfer". This doesn't seem to be "new" or "HD", so there's a chance we may well be seeing that glorious mgm transfer.

Posted: **Sat Feb 23, 2008 8:18 am**

HerrSchreck wrote:I'm wondering what "restored digital transfer" means, since when they do their own exclusive telecine they brag "new, restored HD digital transfer". This doesn't seem to be "new" or "HD", so there's a chance we may well be seing that glorious mgm transfer.

Considering they went to the trouble of flying around the globe to find and scan a negative (as discussed in a blog post) as the basis for their transfer, it would seem strange for them to just wind up using the MGM transfer instead. Why go to all that trouble for nothing?

Posted: **Sat Feb 23, 2008 8:30 am**

CSM126 wrote:
HerrSchreck wrote:I'm wondering what "restored digital transfer" means, since when they do their own exclusive telecine they brag "new, restored HD digital transfer". This doesn't seem to be "new" or "HD", so there's a chance we may well be seeing that glorious mgm transfer.
Considering they went to the trouble of flying around the globe to find and scan a negative (as discussed in a blog post) as the basis for their transfer, it would seem strange for them to just wind up using the MGM transfer instead. Why go to all that trouble for nothing?

A simple no-smarm mention woulda sufficed. I don't read those blogs anymore, and was just going by the "about the disc" transfer info on the title's page, which reads:

SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES:

- Restored digital transfer

Kind of a blah attribution.

Posted: **Sun Mar 30, 2008 2:16 am**

They were not quite met. The commentary with Scorsese and Coppola is nice, but what would have had me running to the store to buy this would have been the inclusion of the 1924, Raoul Walsh-directed version of Thief of Bagdad starring Douglas Fairbanks.

Whether that was ever in consideration for this release, I probably won't ever bother to find out. But even if its exclusion was for copyright, resource or material reasons, I'm still disappointed that the original silent wasn't included in this set somehow. Walsh and Fairbanks' version complimenting the Korda would have made for an absolute knock-out, must-must buy release. =D>

Posted: **Sun Mar 30, 2008 11:05 am**

While I agree there's no need to replicate the Walsh version here, I wonder whether anyone can enlighten me whether the Kino is an improvement over the apparently older version curated by Shepard as released in Europe by arte France and arte Germany. I bought that one recently thinking it would be the same as the Kino and only learned afterwards that it is not, as the Kino has an orchestral soundtrack and the arte has a theatrical organ accompaniment. I'm quite happy with that one but would like to know whether there's actually unseen footage on the Kino apart from the outtakes/additional scenes in the extras.

davidhare wrote: But then I can't see the reason for a Criterion of the Powell. Especially when the MGM was 10 bucks and the other PAL releases over the years were similarly budget.

As to the film/transfer itself, agreed. I guess it all depends how much of a Powell fan you are or how much you are a fan of this particular film. I'm really keen on the commentaries and the interviews, and of course on "The Lion has wings", which I haven't seen yet. Still, of course, no reason to do "Thief" first when "Pimpernel", "Rosalinda" and "Honeymoon" are still nowhere to be found.

Posted: **Sun Mar 30, 2008 1:13 pm**

I havent seen the Shepard, but I can tell you one thing (I grabbed the Kino when they boxed up the Fairbanks stuff w the Black Pirate & the new Thief which I love):

Most transfers of Thief look reasonably excellent aside from a section roughly around the last reel of the film-- owing to the fact that the original neg still exists and is:

1) picture perfect, sterling, but for
2) that section of nitrate decomp towards the end (zone of the poison golden apple being acquired).

Kino addressed this (as does Orson Welles in his intro to the film done for PBS decades ago, included on the Kino), and it seems to be universal: I have an old no-name vhs of the film from a long time ago which I bought in some Suncoast video or other... and the image is pristine but for the decomp in the same zone. Someone would really hafta have suffered a whomping from a Detroit die caster metal press to come up w a bad transfer on this title (but for that last section). I don't know if the Shepard has the original tints (which are quite subdued and beautiful, btw), but the Kino does.

I agree w David above, I really cant see myself shelling out for a title with such a sublime preexisting transfer I was lucky enough to grab when it was out.

Posted: **Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:59 pm**

Thanks, Schreck. The Shepard also has the tints (and they look wonderful indeed), and also that one scene with the decomposing nitrate of course. That sounds like there's not much difference, then, as the image of the arte is as good as one could expect from them. It also has a brilliant discussion of the film by Eisenschitz and Grion as an extra, and a curious little short film (10 mins.) from 1925 called "Grief in Bagdad", a parody of the Fairbanks film with all the main parts acted by chimpanzees... I really enjoyed that one.

Posted: **Mon Mar 31, 2008 10:13 am**

CSM126 wrote:
HerrSchreck wrote:I'm wondering what "restored digital transfer" means, since when they do their own exclusive telecine they brag "new, restored HD digital transfer". This doesn't seem to be "new" or "HD", so there's a chance we may well be seing that glorious mgm transfer.
Considering they went to the trouble of flying around the globe to find and scan a negative (as discussed in a blog post) as the basis for their transfer, it would seem strange for them to just wind up using the MGM transfer instead. Why go to all that trouble for nothing?

Because flights are tax deductible and it's time out of the office?

Posted: **Mon Mar 31, 2008 10:49 am**

Tommaso wrote:While I agree there's no need to replicate the Walsh version here, I wonder whether anyone can enlighten me whether the Kino is an improvement over the apparently older version curated by Shepard as released in Europe by arte France and arte Germany. I bought that one recently thinking it would be the same as the Kino and only learned afterwards that it is not, as the Kino has an orchestral soundtrack and the arte has a theatrical organ accompaniment.

If I may mildly hijack this thread to ask a similar question regarding the Image Feyder set? On the Arte 'Poil de Carotte' there is a 5 min. trailer from 'Visages d'enfants' where the flesh tones are decidedly an acidic looking green. Strangely the vignetted shots cut into the sequence do not share the same fate and the flesh tones are mildly sepia along with the overall tinting. (So it may not be due to generational bounce from a beta intermediary source or similar).

Can anyone comment on a comparison between the French single issue and the U.S. box set or at least give the thumbs up to the Image box? (I've checked the Beaver review that seems only bothered by combing rather than this).

Posted: **Mon Mar 31, 2008 12:43 pm**

I can unequivically give the thumbs up to thaat Image Feyder box. I don't remember being bugged particularly hugely by the tints (and have been basically been beaten into submission anyhow getting used to electronic tinting on some titles and the FWMS, as well as the low bitrates on so many Kino & Image discs resulting in a "thin" image vs heavy tints), and the material is absolutely fantastic. Gary shouldnt have mentioned the combing, as these are such old, very old silent films w 16-18fps rates, progressive encoding is rarer than a third set of teeth.

Posted: **Mon Mar 31, 2008 1:21 pm**

HerrSchreck wrote:I can unequivically give the thumbs up to thaat Image Feyder box. I don't remember being bugged particularly hugely by the tints (and have been basically been beaten into submission anyhow getting used to electronic tinting on some titles and the FWMS, as well as the low bitrates on so many Kino & Image discs resulting in a "thin" image vs heavy tints), and the material is absolutely fantastic. Gary shouldnt have mentioned the combing, as these are such old, very old silent films w 16-18fps rates, progressive encoding is rarer than a third set of teeth.

Thanks for that info mein Herr. The box set does seem the way to go and I don't think I'll miss out much on the Pabst L'Atlantide by not going the separate issue route.

It does seem a shame that electronic tinting does seem such a hit and miss affair. I might be wrong in my assumption that this particular anomaly might be the result of a low rent telecine transfer that wanting to back off on a heavy sepia tinting has allowed the green to seep in to the flesh tones (pun intended) which happens if you're just twiddling the Chroma knobs instead of more time consuming colour correction.

Posted: **Tue May 13, 2008 7:14 pm**

Beaver
Looks like Coppola and Scorsese were recorded separately

Posted: **Tue May 13, 2008 7:34 pm**

Nice to see an isolated music and effects track making a comeback too! (have not seen many on recent DVDs)

Posted: **Tue May 13, 2008 7:36 pm**

domino harvey wrote:Beaver
Looks like Coppola and Scorsese were recorded separately

Why do I have the feeling that controversy is about to ensue over Gary's assertion of superiority of the Cri image over the MGM?

Posted: **Tue May 13, 2008 8:02 pm**

Because the MGM is a legendary and amazing example of a technicolor transfer done right: examples (can only grab from david hare's grabs, sorry no frame/frames)--

MGM:

CC:

MGM:

CC:

MGM red/blue:

CC same:

Veidt + damsel MGM:

CC:

Wide shot MGM:

semi-wide CC:

.

I'd say the masters appear to be very similar. I don't see one outshining the other much.. hinting at what I somewhat suspected, which is that in the standard def zone, it's well nigh impossible to outdo the MGM. Until absoluteframe/frame side-by-sides can be produced, I'd say the jury's still out. The CC looks a smidgeon edge enhanced, but thats about it. The color temps are about identical.

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431 The Thief of Bagdad

431 The Thief of Bagdad

Re: 431 The Thief of Bagdad

My expectations for this release were......