The Wonder Picture of All Time

In 1940, The Thief of Bagdad made film history when it became the first movie to use blue screens.

The technique allows filmmakers to combine two or more pieces of film into one and while this movie obviously looks primitive by today’s CGI standards, I love it with all my heart.

I mean, the picture's got flying carpets, a beautiful princess, an evil wizard, a giant genie who gets crammed into a little bitty bottle and some lovely songs.

But most of all, it’s got a kind of magic that makes me blissfully believe in the impossible.

The film stars Sabu, Conrad Veidt--Major Strasser from Casablanca--June Duprez and John Justin.

I can’t begin to guess how my times I’ve seen the movie and I have such fond memories of watching it with my mother that it’s impossible for me to watch it now without thinking of her.

We were particularly fond of Sabu’s number “I Want to be a Sailor.”

“I want to be a sailor, sailing out to sea," he sings, "no plowboy, tinker, tailor's, any fun to be.”

The movie started filmming in Britain, but the production relocated to Hollywood at the start of the Blitz. In fact, there was such a long break in the filming that Sabu's early scenes had to be re-shot because he had grown several inches.

Scenes that were going to be shot on location in Africa were eventually filmed in and around the Grand Canyon.

I remember discussing this film with a co-worker in the early 1980s—who claimed to be a film buff—and I was shocked and somewhat annoyed when he complained about the special effects.

‘I’m King of the World’

Seriously, dude? That’s all you got out from watching the movie? The film was four decades old by this time, so I don’t know what this guy was expecting.

Back when it was released the movie was billed as “The Wonder Picture of All Time.”

Yes, by modern standards, the effects are abysmal, but at the time they were cutting age. The Jazz Singer, which effectively ended the silent film era, was only 13 years old by then.

And despite its ancient effects, The Thief of Bagdad has more life, more enchantment and more honest emotion than anything you’ll find in the Marvel Universe.

Now I see some internet snoops are getting twisted about James Cameron’s Titanic, which came out in 1997, starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

A person on TikTok complained about a point in the film involving an establishing shot of the upper deck of the Titanic’s bow. The entire scene was done in CGI, prompting the TikToker to proclaim that “it’s fake as fuck.”

I should mention that I never cared for Titanic, but this Monday morning quarterbacking from a quarter century vantage point irritates me.

I'm concerned about CGI being overused. While computer-generated images can be very effective, they shouldn't dominate a film, which is something I see in many superhero flicks.

And the fact that this internet-bred controversy is erupting shortly after the Titan submersible disaster is a bit creepy.

It’s kind of eerie to hear these complaints about a film that I saw in the theater shortly after it came out. Amazing how “now” so quickly turns into “then.”

Now be honest, I mocked movies, music, clothes and slang from my parents’ era. And I have no doubt that the infants currently in baby carriages will be shouting “Fake as fuck” when they get older and view today’s movies.

But right now, I think I’m going to treat myself to another viewing of The Thief of Bagdad. It’s time to sail out to sea once again.