According to Roger Ebert, The Thief of Bagdad is so good that it deserves to be placed in the same category as The Wizard of Oz. Released in 1940, The Thief of Bagdad is one of several remakes of a 1924 silent film of the same name. Out of all them, none gets more attention than the 1940 iteration of the story, which is arguably even better than the original.

16 years after the release of the Douglas Fairbanks-led 1924 Hollywood classic, three different directors (Michael Powell, Tim Whelan and Ludwig Berger) teamed up to helm a British version. With Sabu, Conrad Vecht, and John Justin leading the cast, The Thief of Bagdad followed an epic adventure story set in a fictionalized take on ancient Baghdad.

The movie focuses on an unlikely team-up between a king and a thief, who find themselves at odds with Jaffar, an evil sorcerer who takes over the throne and sets his sights on the princess that the king is in love with. It’s a rather traditional good vs. evil fantasy story, but still a favorite of famed critic Roger Ebert, who gave it a four-star rating.

Roger Ebert Said The Thief Of Bagdad Is One Of The Best Fantasy Movies Ever Made

Roger Ebert gave The Thief of Bagdad an extremely positive review, and even classified it in his “Great Movies” list. Calling it “one of the great entertainments” and describing it as being “on a level with Wizard of Oz,” Ebert had a great deal of kind words for its storytelling, as well as the performances of Sabu and Vecht, but saved most of his praise for its visual approach.

Ebert talked about how its combination of color and costumes was used to “introduce a rainbow,“ and went on to discuss how impressed he was with its special effects. As Ebert points out, The Thief of Bagdad “moves from one spectacular special effects sequence to another.“

It’s true that the Thief of Bagdad is full of stunning scenes that are heavy on visual effects. It takes full advantage of its existence in an Arabian Tales-inspired fantasy world, employing a flying carpet, a six-armed goddess, a giant genie, and a monstrous spider creature for its heroes to fight.

The Thief of Bagdad, of course, isn’t the only movie to make heavy and consistent use of visual effects, but The Thief of Bagdad does it in a way that isn’t tiresome or flashy. Roger Ebert explains in his review that every effect is included in order to “deepen and further the story.“

Like The Wizard Of Oz, The Thief Of Bagdad Was Way Ahead Of Its Time

Its special effects are a huge part of The Thief of Bagdad’s charm, but they’re more than just a positive feature of the film. In fact, they’re the primary reason why the 1940 film is one of the most influential fantasy movies ever made. Ebert’s review underscored this, discussing how its visual techniques can be spotted in other movies that followed, including Star Wars.

This goes to show why Roger Ebert’s comparison to The Wizard of Oz is so appropriate. On one hand, suggesting that any 1940s fantasy film is comparable to the 1939 masterpiece may feel like a gross exaggeration, but when looking at the incredible visual sequences in The Thief of Bagdad, it’s not hard to see what makes it such an important film.

Roger Ebert Nailed What Made Thief Of Bagdad Better Than The Original Movie

The Thief of Bagdad accomplished a rare feat, in that it’s widely regarded as an improvement on the original. The remake’s 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes is only slightly higher than the original film’s 97% rating, but it also boasts three Academy Awards.

Surpᴀssing the original isn’t easy for a remake to do, especially when it too is thought of as a masterpiece in its own right. It would seem, however, that the 1940 movie pulled this off, and Roger Ebert’s comments reflect how this was possible: it splits its main character into two people.

In the original Thief of Bagdad, the central conflict was between Abu and Jaffar, but the remake divides the battle to defeat Jaffar between Abu and Ahmad. Creating an additional protagonist marked a mᴀssive deviation from the source material, but like Ebert said in his review, “the silent character needs no one to talk to.“

The remake smartly splits them into two, giving Abu someone to interact with. Given how busy the character is in the original narrative, such a move actually works for the narrative, and allows elements of Douglas Fairbanks’ portrayal of Abu to rub off on both of its protagonists.

The Thief of Bagdad would struggle to become one of the greatest fantasy movies of all time if it had failed to escape the shadow of its original, and it manages this effectively.