The Thief of Bagdad

A monumental fantasy tale that has it all: thieves, princesses, evil rulers and monsters in the underworld, and strangely enough, it holds together much better than the date of manufacture would make you believe. Fairbanks was not only a great equilibrist but also cool bloke (a kind of Belmondo of the silent era), and Walsh had storytelling running in his veins. If it were half an hour shorter, I'd be jumping in joy, but even so, it's very balanced relaxing entertainment where it's hard to find any downright laughable filmmaking failure. (05/06/2018)

This time, I was pleasantly surprised. I'll admit straight away that silent films aren't my cup of tea, but here the sets were absolutely incredible and beautifully designed, plus there were excellent monsters and stunning special effects that, considering the year of production, sometimes seem unbelievably advanced. This was my first encounter with Douglas Fairbanks, but I hope it’s not my last. The film simply shows that with a good and interesting story, one can endure even without sound. (07/01/2014)