alr

The Thief of Bagdad

Screening on Film
Directed by Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger, Tim Whelan.
With John Justin, Conrad Veidt, Sabu.
UK, 1940, 35mm, color, 106 min.

O is for Oracles

Based on the fables of The Arabian Nights, this Korda-produced epic remains a cult favorite of American directors such as Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas, who adapted many of the film’s themes in their own respective spectacles. After Abu, a street urchin, is imprisoned for stealing, he meets Prince Ahmad, the recently deposed ruler who has been sent to the dungeon by his former right-hand man, Jaffar. The unlikely duo manages to escape and embark on a wild adventure that involves a genie (winningly portrayed by Rex Ingram), an "all-seeing eye," and a magic carpet. The scale of the production proved too great to complete in World War II–era Great Britain and passed through the hands of six directors before its spectacular completion.

Part of film series

Read more

Cinema A–Z: Treasures from the Harvard Film Archive

Current and upcoming film series

Read more

Jean-Pierre Bekolo, 2024 McMillan-Stewart Fellow

Read more

Chronicles of Changing Times. The Cinema of Edward Yang