Thief of Bagdad on bluray

[Arndt]

I watched my copy last night. I have always loved this film but have not been able to appreciate the fantastic sets and cinematography as much as they obviously deserve, until now that is. The HD transfer beautifully reveals all the splendour of this extraordinary movie. And the Carl Davis score just draws you in. A fabulous experience.

[fwtep]

Now if we could just get the Korda one on Blu-ray. Come on Criterion!

[Mitch Farish]

Now if we could just get the Korda one on Blu-ray. Come on Criterion!

There is a German blu-ray of Korda's film here

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDRevie ... bagdad.htm

[Nosferatu]

So the Cohen version is 5 minutes shorter than the Kino version and it's in black and white only?

[fwtep]

The German Blu-ray looks nice! But I'm going to wait for Criterion so I don't have to deal with region B.

[Gagman 66]

So the Cohen version is 5 minutes shorter than the Kino version and it's in black and white only?

No, No, No, it has all the same original tints and tones of the Thames Silents, and Kino versions. It's not Black and White. As for the running time, I don't see any difference there, no matter what is listed? There are several alternate shots in the Kino print, that may or may not appear in the Cohen print.

Won't be coming from Cohen I don't think, not unless Rohauer had a print, but how about a Blu-ray Ultimate Edition of IT with both the Carl Davis and William Perry scores? I ask this because IT is screening at the TCM Classic Film Festival with Carl Davis conducting his core live. Thought the Thames version is out of print on DVD from Milestone. So it's time for a upgrade of this title from Kino, or Cohen if they have a print. Maybe supplemented with another couple films.

[Little Caesar]

So the Cohen version is 5 minutes shorter than the Kino version and it's in black and white only?

No, No, No, it has all the same original tints and tones of the Thames Silents, and Kino versions. It's not Black and White. As for the running time, I don't see any difference there, no matter what is listed? There are several alternate shots in the Kino print, that may or may not appear in the Cohen print.

Won't be coming from Cohen I don't think, not unless Rohauer had a print, but how about a Blu-ray Ultimate Edition of IT with both the Carl Davis and William Perry scores? I ask this because IT is screening at the TCM Classic Film Festival with Carl Davis conducting his core live. Thought the Thames version is out of print on DVD from Milestone. So it's time for a upgrade of this title from Kino, or Cohen if they have a print. Maybe supplemented with another couple films.

I think that "It" was purchased from Paramount by Paul Killiam. As such, the rights to it would be held by whoever owns the Killiam Collection. Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong.
As for the Thief of Bagdad BD, it has quickly become one of my favorite blu-rays. My only caveat would be that I thought that the Carl Davis score was somewhat repetitious during the first part of the film. Don't get me wrong though because I still enjoyed the score tremendously. Very few silents are privileged to have three excellent recorded scores (Gaylord Carter, Mont Alto, and Carl Davis). I hope to see more silent film offerings from Cohen.

[Gagman 66]

The rights to IT I have been told are today owned by Photoplay Productions. What other Fairbanks titles does Cohen have? Maybe THE GAUCHO and THE IRON MASK?

[Little Caesar]

The following Fairbanks titles are listed in the Cohen Media Catalog pdf:
The Lamb (1915)
Double Trouble (1915)
The Habit of Happiness (1916)
The Good Bad Man (1916)
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish (1916)
Reggie Mixes In (1916)
Flirting with Fate (1916)
The Half Breed (1916)
The Matrimaniac (1916)
In Again, Out Again (1917)
Wild and Woolly (1917)
Down to Earth (1917)
The Man from Painted Post (1917)
Reaching for the Moon (1917)
His Majesty, the American (1919)
When the Clouds Roll By (1919)
The Mollycoddle (1920)
The Mark of Zorro (1920)
The Nut (1921)
The Three Musketeers (1921)
Robin Hood (1922)
The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925)
The Black Pirate (1926)
The Gaucho (1928)
The Iron Mask (1929)
The Taming of the Shrew (1929)
Reaching for the Moon (1930)
Around the World in 80 Minutes (1931)
Mr. Robinson Crusoe (1932)

[Mitch Farish]

The rights to IT I have been told are today owned by Photoplay Productions. What other Fairbanks titles does Cohen have? Maybe THE GAUCHO and THE IRON MASK?

Jeffrey,

Here is a link to current and potential Cohen projects:

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=10387

Highlights of The Cohen Film Collection include:

The General (1926). The Collection has the original nitrate camera negative of Buster Keaton's Civil War comic masterpiece and is creating, in partnership with The Library of Congress, a 4K scan from a safety fine-grain positive master newly struck for the restoration. The Collection also includes Keaton's Sherlock Jr., Our Hospitality, The Navigator, Go West and dozens of his remarkable short films.

Intolerance (1916). D.W. Griffith's awe-inspiring epic is receiving a 2K restoration that will include an orchestral score by world renowned composer Carl Davis. Other Griffith masterworks in the Collection include The Birth of a Nation (both the 1915 original and the 1930 cut), Broken Blossoms, Way Down East, Orphans of the Storm and many of the groundbreaking shorts directed by the "Father of Film."

Sudden Fear (1952). David Miller's film noir, starring Joan Crawford and Jack Palance, is receiving a 2K restoration.

L'Etoile de Mer (1928). This and other experimental shorts by the avant- garde photographer Man Ray will be released.

Hangmen Also Die (1943). The Collection is working with Britain's Pinewood Studios on a 2K restoration of this Fritz Lang film that will reinstate a short sequence not in the version currently available here.

Song of Freedom (1936). One of six films in the Collection starring the singer- actor-activist Paul Robeson.

Son of the Sheik (1926). Rudolph Valentino's last film is being restored from nitrate material held at the Library of Congress. Valentino's Blood and Sand and The Eagle are also in the Collection.

Jamaica Inn (1939). The Collection will restore this period adventure, the last film Alfred Hitchcock made in England before moving to Hollywood and his first adaptation of a tale by Daphne du Maurier (Rebecca, The Birds).

Fire Over England (1937). This historical drama marked the first screen pairing of Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier and is being restored to honor, in 2013, the 100th anniversary of Leigh's birth. It's one of four Leigh films in the Collection.

The Strong Man (1926). Frank Capra's first feature film stars Harry Langdon, generally regarded as one of the quartet of great silent-screen comics along with Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd (all of whom are also represented in the Collection). One of 14 Langdon films in the Collection.

Douglas Fairbanks films. In addition to The Thief of Bagdad, the Collection includes such early Fairbanks titles as The Lamb and Double Trouble, both from 1915, as well as his later adventure classics The Mark of Zorro, The Three Musketeers, Robin Hood and The Black Pirate. Among the dozens of other Fairbanks titles in the Collection is The Taming of the Shrew, a screen pairing of Fairbanks and his wife, "America's Sweetheart" Mary Pickford.

[Gaucho]

And Mr. Davis' score is really something -- one of the very best I know of.

I just booked my ticket to see Mr Davis conduct his own score for FOUR HORSEMEN with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra on 4 May. He is the best. May he have many, many more healthy years and give us lots of happiness!

Mmmm, envy.
And that's one of his best scores in my opinion - especially the tango sequence.

[Nosferatu]

The Thief of Bagdad I prefer the previous Kino release's score by Mont Alto.

[s.w.a.c.]

Happy to hear that restorations are underway on Hangmen Also Die and Jamaica Inn. Not the best work by either director, perhaps, but important films nonetheless (and titles I will gladly upgrade for).