The Thief Lord
by Richard Claus
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DVD details
Actor: Aaron Johnson, Bob Goody, Carole Boyd, Jasper Harris, Jim CarterDirector: Richard Claus
Brand: Fox Home Entertainment
Writer: Richard Claus
Producer: Alexander Buchman
Producer: Avi Bouhadana
Producer: Bill Shephard
Producer: Bob Bellion
Writer: Cornelia Funke
Writer: Daniel Musgrave
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 98 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-03-14
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Reviews of The Thief Lord
DVD Review: Strictly a film for the little kids.
Summary: 2 Stars
I was kind of disappointed. Even though distributor Fox decided not to release the movie theatrically in the US, I still kind of hoped that the movie would be great. But it's just not. When I was watching the movie, I couldn't help but notice that they basically crammed as many big events from the book in as possible, but left out the main point of the book, which was these orphan kids living together in a movie theater, and how they've all become like a family. The movie just kind of misses this point completely, instead choosing to go from one big event to another and barely giving these characters any time to sit down and simply chat with eachother, letalone actually develop.
The movie alters the timeline a bit; Prosper and Bo had been living with the Thief Lord and the other homeless kids for a while when the book started. In the movie, they basically just moved in, so they just meet the thief lord and the other kids at the start of the movie. So over the course of the movie, there is really no great friendship between them. It seems like they're more like acquaintances than people who become life-long friends with these street kids.
Without the developed friendship between these characters, there's just no...importance to anything. Nothing seems to be at stake. When the big plot twist is revealed, it's a big "so what?" to those who haven't read the book; you didn't get to know these characters or the Thief Lord enough to really care.
Without all the character development, this movie just flies...QUICKLY. The big plot twist that happens about half way through the book, (You know it if you read the book,) happens only 30 minutes into the movie. Just to give you an idea of how quickly this goes by.
Other flaws in the movie are flaws carried over from the book which are made somewhat worse. One complaint that I had about the book was that these characters were just too law-abiding for street kids. But the movie takes this even further; in a movie about street kids, NOTHING, not a single thing, is stolen in this movie. And yes, for those who read the book, in the movie, they don't keep the fake money. Also, what happens to Barbarino seemed kind of farfetched in the book, but in the movie, all realism is COMPLETELY lost regarding this plot point. Similarly, the book's first half was excellent, while the 2nd half was kind of a step down...the movie, unfortunately, basically rushes through the first half to get to the 2nd half, which means there's about 20 minutes at the start of this movie that are really great...then it just kind of loses steam.
Overall, I was really disappointed with this. What we have here is a movie that speeds through the book's big events but forgets the main themes of the book and leaves these characters kind of in the dark. Hornet is reduced almost to a cameo, Mosca's character bares almost no resemblance to the character in the book, Riccio's thievery is never mentioned, Scipio isn't nearly as arrogant and stubborn as he should be....yet Prosper and Bo's relationship, (the 2 brothers who are the main characters) actually ends up working well. The acting was good all around, and of course Venice makes for some cool scenery. The movie also does a good job (a great job, actually) of picking up the pacing near the end. (The movie ends shortly after the Isola Segreta scenes, yet almost everything is included.) Victor and Ida were perfectly cast, as was Barbarosa, (although his beard isn't red in the movie...) But, of course, the movie ends on a happy note whereas the book's ending was, I thought, supposed to be kind of bittersweet.
What we have here is a movie for the younger kids, basically. It takes the chase scenes and the good scenery from the book and kind of throws it together, but (possibly in an effort to keep up the pacing to appeal to a younger audience,) the character development is completely lost. Younger kids will love it; it's simple enough to understand and probably fast enough so they won't get bored. But older viewers who haven't read the book may be put off by how shallow it ends up being, and those who have read the book may be disappointed by how simplified the story was and how character-less these characters are.
Description of The Thief Lord
Features include:
?MPAA Rating: PG
?Format: DVD
?Runtime: 98 minutes
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