The Thief of Bagdad

So this time I was pleasantly surprised. I'll admit straight away that silent movies are not my cup of tea, but here the scenery and beautiful set design were absolutely incredible, on top of that there were excellent monsters and stunning tricks that in some moments sound amazingly unbelievable considering the year of production. My first encounter with Douglas Fairbanks, but I hope not the last. It simply shows here that when there is a good and interesting story, it can be enjoyed even without sound. (07/01/2014)

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)