…well, not quite. The way it was meant to be seen, of course, was up on a giant screen with a live orchestra performing full throttle. Then this larger than life fantasy would be transformed into a work of art. However this Cohen Group release of the Photoplay restoration is the next best thing. Just as with their recent release of D. W. Griffith’s INTOLERANCE, the Cohen Group have used digital technology to come up with an astonishing looking print that is coupled with Carl Davis’ classic score (arranged from various works of Rimsky-Korsakov) which has been newly recorded. The result is a marvel to behold and to listen to.
As other reviewers have pointed out, this version is so captivating that after a while, you forget that you’re watching a silent movie. Douglas Fairbanks is literally poetry in motion as he glides from frame to frame showing off his marvelous body with a remarkably revealing costume during the first hour of the film before becoming the action star we expect in the final hour and a half. Yes, it’s a long movie (at 148 minutes it’s longer than a MARVEL superhero blockbuster) but it’s also jawdroppingly lavish as it was one of the most expensive films of its era and it still remains the ultimate ARABIAN NIGHTS fantasy.
Fairbanks combines several well known stories as he tells the tale of a lowly thief who falls in love with the Caliph’s daughter and then undergoes a series of trials to prove his love. “Happiness Must Be Earned” say the stars in the sky at the film’s opening and boy does Fairbanks’ character earn it. First he is severely flogged for attempting to fool the Caliph and then he embarks on a series of impossible quests that he is somehow able to accomplish. Along the way he battles a giant spider, acquires a flying horse, a magic carpet and retrieves a key from the bottom of the sea.
All of this done with what were then state-of-the-art special effects that still impress today. Add those effects to the exotic costumes, cast of thousands (well, hundreds) and William Cameron Menzies’ magnificent sets which have to be seen to be believed, and you have a magical, unforgettable silent film experience. THIEF is the ideal film to introduce children to silent movies as it has a sense of naivete and wonder that is childlike in the best sense of the word. Make sure, however, that you use this Cohen Group restoration as it truly does present the film the way it was meant to be seen and it is easily the very best of the several DVDs currently available. Most of them are public domain copies and have not been restored.
The Capsule Critic 