Instrumentation
3.3(III=ca).3(III=Ebcl+bcl).3(III=cbsn) - 4331 - timp- perc(5): finger.cym/tamb/2 glsp/tgl/cyms/SD/handdrum(darabuca)/BD/xyl/TD/susp.cym/sleigh bells/2 tam-t/mcas/mark chimes/whip/bell tree/camel bells/mar/ vibraslap/riv.cym/(guiro)/(castanets) - harp - strings(12.10.8.6.4)
Availability
Full score and parts for hire
Programme Notes
Starring: Douglas Fairbanks Snr, Julanne Johnston, Snitz Edwards
Director: Raoul Walsh
Production Company: Douglas Fairbanks Snr. USA, 1924
Duration: 147 minutes
Film Print: 35mm and DCP colour print available from Photoplay Productions (UK and Europe), Cohen Film Collection (Rest of World) (Film Speed: 19-22 frames per second)
A landmark of the silent era, The Thief of Bagdad was made at enormous expense. It sparkles with the energy and acrobatics of the swashbuckling Douglas Fairbanks Snr. and the seductive designs of William Cameron Menzies. Ahmed is the thief-turned-deliverer. He embarks on a series of exotic adventures to win the hand of his beloved princess. Magic and the most extraordinary special effects, including a flying carpet, abound in this Arabian fantasy.
Carl Davis's exotic and imaginative score is based on Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, and also some of the Russian master's other, lesser-known works. For the Mongol invasion, he drew on a little-known opera called The Invisible City of Kitezh, although elsewhere the music depicting the Mongols is original Davis.