This stunning use of color technology was just a flash of what would come for British auteur Michael Powell.
In my post on
The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), I mentioned director/producer
Alexander Korda’s superhuman ability to recognize talent and unite it on one project:
The Thief of Bagdad, a remake of the
1924 film inspired by the tales of
The Arabian Nights, epitomizes this notion. Maybe this gorgeously epic, sweeping adventure spectacle is more popular in other parts of the world, but I’d never even heard of it, much less seen it until a few years ago - a deprivation which feels criminal.
The vividly bold color palette of this film is exquisite; from the inception of color technology through today, I don’t think any movie has ever utilized blues, pinks, and purples in quite the same way as The Thief of Bagdad.
The production of the movie went through a labored process: evident in its six directors.
Ludwig Berger was the initial choice, but Alexander Korda found his vision for the film too minimal and hired Powell on behind his back - as well as comedy writer/director
Tim Whelan, who shot supplemental material for Powell’s work. As Powell’s role grew exponentially, entirely undercutting Berger’s work, Berger walked away, and soon thereafter a very immediate disaster struck in the form of Britain declaring war on Germany. Being familiar with Powell’s exceptional gifts as a filmmaker, Korda handed him over to
Winston Churchill to make propaganda films to boost British morale (Powell’s films for the next 4-5 years would continue having strong anti-Nazi propaganda). Running low on money, and in a hazardous situation with German air raids on London, Korda packed up production and relocated to the United States, where he, his brother
Zoltan, and
William Cameron Menzies shored up the rest of the film, shooting much of the desert scenes in and around the
Grand Canyon.
Although Powell was one of only six directors on the film, his auteur stamp is readily apparent - from the striking technical achievements to the dreamlike close-ups of flowers to the story’s love triangle - and essential to its stunning aesthetic.
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