Sightlines · reception
How The Thief of Bagdad was received
1940 · Michael Powell · The Thief of Bagdad on Sightlines
The arc
A hit in 1940 that won three Oscars (color cinematography, art direction, special effects), it's since climbed from 'lavish matinee entertainment' to sacred-text status — the Technicolor fantasy that Scorsese and Coppola both champion as a formative favorite.
What’s debated
Fans still argue over its authorship — officially three directors, with Michael Powell, the Kordas and others all having a hand — and over how to hold its ravishing Arabian Nights fantasy alongside its very-1940 Orientalism.
Its footprint
It's essentially the blueprint for Disney's Aladdin — a villainous vizier named Jaffar (modeled on Conrad Veidt's), a thief sidekick named Abu — and Rex Ingram's colossal genie rising from the bottle remains one of fantasy cinema's most referenced images.
Where it stands
A cornerstone of fantasy and effects history with a Criterion halo: less watched than the films it inspired, but a 'you must see where this all comes from' title among cinephiles.
Did you know? Production began in Britain but was interrupted by the outbreak of WWII, so the film was completed in Hollywood — with some exteriors shot in the American Southwest, including the Grand Canyon.