Viewed in
2010
FormatsPremise
Douglas Fairbanks' classic about an Arabian thief who falls in love with a princess.
Liked
The impressive technology, Douglas Fairbanks.
Thoughts
A charming epic with surprising special effects.
This was actually my first time watching Fairbanks. I was never aware of how dashing he was onscreen. Here, he was shirtless half of the time to show of his defined physique. While his stunts lacked the "wow" factor of his contemporaries, he pulled them off with fluidity and ease. I guess he was the first hunk of the silver screen?
Given the limits of the 1920's, I was truly impressed by visual achievements by the film makers. Director Raoul Walsh played a lot with scale, and filled the screen vertically with grandiose Arabian set designs. Through the use of superimposing images, puppetry and wires, he wowed the audience with exotic locales, giant creatures, winged horses, magic spells, invisible cloaks, and best of all, a flying rug.
Most of the flaws were due to the growing pains of motion pictures. The plot lacked structure, the cast was mostly white (except for Anna May Wong), and the characters' acted like an exaggerated stage performance.
It was pretty amazing that Kino was able to find original sheet music. The score also showed film score at its infancy, as it used traditional stock music, when it should have had an Arabian style. Ironically, it was when they stole from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade" that the score fit the mood.
While I giggled at these flaws, I truly admired and enjoyed this classic, thanks to a charismatic lead and amazing visuals and effects.
What I would change
Changed the score to be setting-appropriate.
Personal
As an Asian-American, I should have known about Anna May Wong. Apparently this was one of her breakouts, leading her down the path as a pioneer for Asian-American actors.
