This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

It was really a feast for my eyes to watch this wonderful, amazingly interesting, magically charged Arabian Nights adventure after so many years. I really enjoyed it and felt the beauty of the golden age of Hollywood unleashing before me like some dream come true. This is a superb Technicolor movie sporting special effects of those seminal times of motion picture technology. The story and the plot is extremely well scripted and filmed. The characters of Jaffar, Princess and the thief played by Sabu, all perfectly get under the skin of their respective roles. Considering the year 1940, it was a far cry for even big Hollywood productions like Casablanca(1942) and Citizen Kane (1941) to be filmed in Technicolor. The special visual effects are more catchy, attractive and thrill oriented than those filmed today with computer aided technology of the 21st century. I, therefore pay my glowing tributes to the producers and directors who endeavored to magically enthrall their audience well over half a century ago. The bewitching music score by Miklos Rozsa adds stymieing ambiance to this fine episode of One Thousand and One Nights. A must see for all the sci-fi crazy generation of this computer graphics age.

This was an entertaining 1940's adventure movie based upon one of the stories of the Arabian Nights (though I have not read that particular book). It is a story about the king of Bagdad who is usurped by his vizier and forced to flee for his life. In doing so he meets up with a young thief and together they go on an adventure to restore the king to his throne and to rescue the king's beloved from the clutches of the evil vizier.As mentioned, I found this movie entertaining, and for an adventure movie it has everything from evil sorcerers to genies to flying carpets. However, it is very noticeable that the makers of this movie had no idea about the intricacies of Islamic culture during the golden age. One notices that most of the main characters look American, and the females have their hair arranged as if they were 1940's Americans. For purists this would most likely put them off the movie, however if one can get past the discrepancies (and of course the 1940's special effects) then as a movie it is not bad.

After reading love letter after love letter to this film from just about every critic, as well as filmmakers like Scorsese and Coppola, I feel a bit churlish and Scrooge- like doing anything other than embracing it without reservation. I certainly enjoyed and appreciated this great looking early Technicolor spectacle, It's fun, sweet, always entertaining, but the effects, while impressive for their day are distractingly dated, and the character development is sketchy at best. The two romantic leads in particular are pretty shallow, and seem to fall instantly in love for no other reason than the story tells them to, On the other hand both Conrad Veight as the sometimes over the top, but enjoyably hateful villain, and Sabu as the lovable lad who helps a king regain his kingdom fare much better. There are sequences I did find flat out wonderful (the whole very famous interaction between Sabu and the genie he finds and frees holds up to all the clips I've seen over the years), And given current politics, seeing Islam treated as benign and poetic is certainly refreshing. Maybe I was over prepared, or expecting too much. I didn't fully 'get' the greatness of 'Citizen Kane' the first time I saw it either, because I was so over-hyped. In any case, it was enough fun that I won't regret giving it another look, and seeing if it grows on me even more with a second viewing.

Co-directed by Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell and Tim Whelen (along with three uncredited co-workers, Alexander Korda, Zoltan Korda and William Cameron Menzies), this lavish fantasy-adventure tells the tale of blind beggar Ahmad (John Justin), who spins a yarn about his life as king before the evil current king Jafar (Conrad Veidt), usurped his place and left him desolate. The story is told in flash backs, and follows his story beginning with his incarceration by jafar, where he meets Abu (Sabu). They escape and go on a quest to regain Ahmad's' rightful place as king.Filmed in technicolor, the sumptuous visuals are exacerbated by the stark, beautiful colours. It has been hailed by the likes of Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola as a masterpiece. It is a very beautiful fantasy. It reminded me of a contemporary travelogue, that shows its mystical, exotic landscapes for an untraveled spectator - although, this is clearly fantasy environments, and was not filmed on any locations except for sets. It also reminded me of the fantasy films of my childhood such as the Sinbad and Jason and the Argonauts adventures, sans Harryhausens fantastic monsters. The simple tale of redemption and fundamental achievement against evil is a story over told. However, with the cinematography and set pieces, this film is pure unadulterated delight. It genuinely is the perfect Sunday afternoon movie. (Although John Justin's diction and general performance does begin to grate).www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com