Please contact me. I only have 3/4's of the movie that my parents recorded from PBS back in 1988 or 89. I'm missing the first half and if anyone has the whole thing on VHS or DVD, please contact me.
shareYou can download a copy from http://www.archive.org/details/ThiefOfBagdad1924 to your hard drive for free. I don't know which score that version has, but it's an excellent score.
shareNo,it's not the one with the Rimsky-Korsakov score!I wonder where someone can find it,I want very much to see it again!I saw this movie years ago,the film combined to this music was really something else,beside the fact that "Sheherazade" is one of my favorite albums on classical music!..
shareIs this the one? I don't know who did the score.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TrWH0ZTgiI
I know the one you're talking about. It was a BBC production that aired on PBS in the late 80s. I don't know, but my guess is that it's still in the BBC media vault somewhere, waiting to be rediscovered. You might want to drop them a line and see what's become of it.
I actually prefer that one too, as opposed to the fully restored KINO DVD release. An organ is no replacement for a fully orchestrated Sheherazade score, as was the case with the BBC airing.
This appears to be the version, Carl Davis is listed in the Cast & Crew as Composer; unfortunately, it's out of stock:
http://www.bestprices.com/cgi-bin/vlink/089218412997.html
I had a complete vhs of the version featuring the Davis score and discarded it shortly before buying the Image dvd. What a #&$^$^#%! decision that turned out to be. The music on the Image disc is banal, at best.
Carl Davis is cinema's answer to the best Broadway composers. Robert Israel is a close second. If I ever again come across The Thief of Bagdad with the Davis score no amount of money will ever again make me part from it.
[deleted]
March 26, 2009
The version of the Thief of Bagdad you're looking for is the version restored by Kevin Brownlow in 1984. This version has the Carl Davis score.
I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Brownlow's restoration on the big screen in Los Angeles last week.
I don't know if a DVD of this version exists, but it's the version you want.
I hope this helps.
I have these for sale on DVD, but please note they are in PAL format and your DVD player must be able to convert from PAL to NTSC. Many do, but be sure to check. Price of the DVD is $10. + $3 shipping and handling. Email me if interested.
shareUpdate!
According to Discdish (http://www.discdish.com/index.php/2013/02/04/blu-ray-dvd-release-the-thief-of-bagdad-1924/):
"The inaugural release of the Cohen Media Groups’ “Cohen Film Collection,” the film was newly restored from two 35mm negatives and incorporates the color tints and tones of the original release prints. It also features music by Carl Davis conducting London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, performing a score that intermingles Davis’ own compositions with the famed “Orientalia” of Rimsky-Korsakov."
I ordered mine!