NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (July 2020): Kino have transferred Arthur Lubin's Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves to Blu-ray. It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. It looks like a big improvement - notable in the colors as compared to the single-layered paler Eureka from 10-years ago. Skin tones warm and contrast improves as it exports a sharper image. This is quite an upgrade.

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono (16-bit) in the original English language. I couldn't distinguish much difference from the Eureka that has a similar audio transfer. The score is by Edward Ward (The Vanishing Shadow, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Night Must Fall, The Women, Boys Town)  and the Kino offers optional English subtitles (see sample below) on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray includes a new audio commentary by Film Historian Phillipa Berry who does an excellent job again. She is well prepared identifying what she calls 'The Montez Stock players' those with supporting roles in "The Queen of Technicolor" series of films. She tells a shocking story of the disastrous life of Scotty Beckett (Ali Baba as a child in the film). Wow. I really enjoyed her comments referencing other movies ex. the swimming scene comparing to Ecstasy with Hedy Lamar or Blonde Venus with Marlene Dietrich - although with pre-code, the latter were both naked. She identifies the Malibu Canyon location (now public parkland) for some sequences and much more. Excellent job. There is also a theatrical trailer.

Like its predecessor, Arabian Nights, the Kino Blu-ray of 1944's Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves has lush sets and costuming, Technicolor splendor, exotic representations of Maria Montez, Jon Hall and Turhan Bey in an enjoyable 'One Thousand and One Nights' folk-tale put to film - no matter how Hollywood-ized. Great fun - they don't make'em like this anymore. Enjoy!

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ADDITION: Eureka - Blu-ray (August 2010): Quite a substantial improvement - in comparative analysis the DVD looks to be vertically stretched.  Grain is apparent and the image flows nicely in motion on the single-layered Blu-ray.  Audio makes a bump as well with a lossless track giving some depth to the 2.0 channel stereo.  There are no extras save the isolated effects and music track - also in a lossless transfer. Eureka's Blu-ray bests the DVD in every area although colors aren't as rich. This is a great boys adventure with some romance tucked inside - easily worth the price to those keen!

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ON THE DVD (2009): This looks quite strong. I don't have the enthusiasm I did for The Trail of the Lonesome Pine but this is still far better than I would have anticipated. It's hard to believe this film is over 65-years old. This is another DVD release of the 'Universal Backlot Series' - described as 'an ongoing collection of rare gems, overlooked, ground breaking work and films of historical and cultural importance - many for the first time ever on DVD'. Detail has a few stellar moments but I'd still say the color is the star.  Universal have used a similar method (exporting the exact same bitrate) for transferring these classic - and it produces very impressive results. There is some occasional noise but it didn't hinder my viewing. I hope the screen captures below give you a decent idea on how it will look on your system. NOTE: There are PAL editions so the film available on DVD, but I seriously doubt they could hold a candle to this in regards to image quality.  

The 2.0 channel mono audio is unremarkable but reasonably clear and consistent. Certainly good enough for watching and enjoying the film. There are no supplements - not even a trailer so the pricing again seems somewhat aggressive but if you are a fan of this type of nostalgic adventure - you can't really go wrong. I must say, 'The Caribbean Cyclone' looked pretty sweet.  

Gary W. Tooze