Sunday, 22 July 2007

Arabian Nights

As the Russian poet in a story by P G Wodehouse would have put it: “I spit me of Harry Potter! Gandalf no good!”

I’ve just been watching Alexander Korda’s stylish 1940 film The Thief of Bagdad. Now that was real magic, oxymoron or no: a glorious reminder of a lost world of innocence and wonder.

A slideshow is here.

2 comments:

Staggo"s List said...

As a child, I consumed over and over again Burton's Arabian Nights. I still read it. What a wealth of repeatability.

Anonymous said...

I completely agree with you about Korda's sumptuous celluloid extravaganza. My father clearly recalls the excitement of watching it in the cinema as a boy and it remains one of his favourites. The restored version on DVD is a joy to behold.