I don't know. I missed it.
Letty
It was made in 1992. Since my 5 year old granddaughter moved in, Disney movies have been the main attraction around here.
colorbook, I guess we all have a five year old in us somewhere. I watched everything that my kids watched because I thought it was a communication factor. and I declare, my friend, I think it still is. <smile>
Talk about watching shows with kids - I've seen more Power Rangers, Star Wars, Teletubbies episodes than there are reruns of I Love Lucy.
I hear you Edgar... don't forget...The Wiggles, Blues Clues and
ABC Kids :wink:
edgar, somewhere amongst the relics of my closet, there lies an old video of the Thief of Baghdad. I bought it to show my school kids during one of our units of study. I loved it. Fantastic FX for that time.
When I was a kid the teacher entertained us with still frame films of Disney's Brer Rabbit. A record would play, beeping when time to go to the next frame.
I remember those story records too
Those old films like The Thief of Baghdad are still good.
If that's the Thief of Bagdad version with Sabu and Rex Ingram as the genie, I thought it was great. The color was superb.
That's it, Raggedy. Rex Ingram? My word!
Let's see if I can remember Sabu's song:
I want to be a sailor sailing on the sea.
(something) life and tinker, tailor not the life for me.
Aunts and cousins,
Have them by the dozens
Drive a man to be
A highway robbery.
I want to be a sailor
Can't you understand it.
That sea's the life for me.
The life for me.
Wow! How did I remember that?
Oh Good Heavens. I had forgotten all about that song. But, I think you've got it. Yes, I can hear Sabu singing it. (lol) And, that was indeed Rex Ingram as the Genie.
I just googled Ingram's filmography. I am stunned at the flicks that he appeared in. I am also shocked that so many of his appearances read:
uncredited--uncredited--uncredited. He was an excellent actor! No wonder I didn't recognize the name.
I watch TCM a lot and have seen Rex Ingram in Green Pastures and Cabin in the Sky. I just read that he was in Elmer Gantry and Your Cheatin' Heart in the 60s. He graduated from Medical School of Northwestern Univ., but gave up medicine to go to Hollywood. I can still remember that loud bellowing laugh of his in Thief of Bagdad.
You're not suggesting that "The Alamo" was directed by Ron Howard, edgarblythe?
I found the film far more historically correct than the John Wayne highly fantasized product but it had no real soul. It was almost a didactic history lesson, a docudrama if you want but with an action/adventure complexion.
I agree that the fiddling scene was inspired but the rest of the film had a kind of devotion to consistancy that reflects our current President's ailment. The attack itself was handled quite well with some seamless special effects.
I think you're blaming the film's score when, in fact, it had script and directorial problems.
Perhaps I hallucinated when I thought Ron Howard's name was on The Alamo.
I did enjoy watching the film despite the problems and the epilogue of Santa Anna biting it at the end was welcome even though somehow anti-climactic. Good acting, too, but not sure I would return to watch this film. I guess if it were on cable and in hi-def I might be tempted. It sure didn't draw any box office and was a commercial flop for Disney in a long string of commercial flops.
Ron Howard was supposed to direct Alamo but backed out for some reason.
During the final credits I could have sworn Ron's named rolled across the screen.
I didn't pay close enough attention so I looked up the comprehensive credits on IMDb:
John Lee Hancock was the director and Howard was listed as one of the producers:
Todd Hallowell .... executive producer
K.C. Hodenfield .... associate producer
Ron Howard .... producer
Mark Johnson .... producer
Philip Steuer .... executive producer
Louisa Velis .... associate producer
I remember I kept having "The Green Leaves of Summer" pop into my head while watching this movie. If they'd pushed out the envelope a bit more with more bravura even if it deviated from its perchance for authenticity, they could have had a hit movie. There was not enough profiling of the characters by assuming everyone knew all there was to know about each one. It was like reading through a history book and while that's not inherantly bad (historic movies are often criticized for gross rewritings of history) and was more engaging than a history professor's lecture but just barely. Like I said, the seige was terrific filming but the rest of the film lacked heart. Say all you want about John Wayne, he did manage to give scenes like the first appearance of Santa Anna's army more scope. Admittedly more scope than was probably accurate but that's where the creative element of making one of these films comes in -- the delicate balance of showing real history and dramatizing it with imagination. Kubrick did it with "Spartacus," Bronson with "The Fall of the Roman Empire" and "55 Days at Peking."
