1001 NIGHTS (1968)
aka La esclava del paraiso, The Slave of Paradise

Article 3705 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 9-21-2011
Posting Date: 10-6-2011
Directed by Jose Maria Elorrieta
Featuring Luciana Paluzzi, Jeff Cooper, Raf Vallone
Country: Spain / Italy
What it is: Arabian nights fantasy

The son of a vizier returns home to find a usurper has taken over the throne. He joins a band of rebels to bring down the usurper and clear the name of his father. Fortunately, he has the help of a genie.

By coincidence, I’m currently reading the Burton translations of ‘A Thousand And One Nights’ (though in truth, the work is so long that it was bound to happen that some movies from this genre would pop up during the the time). I’m not far into it, but one thing I’ve observed is that there is a greater variety of storytelling there than you usually find among the many movies that wear the “Arabian Nights” banner. Quite frankly, the genre has become rather tiresome to me on a cinematic level, and this rather dull and listless entry does little to change my feelings on the matter. The movie isn’t so much awful as it is uninspired; it’s slow, often dull, and even the fight scenes seem rather tired. The main attraction will probably be the skimpy costumes of the harem girls and the (female) genie, and that may be enough for some viewers. For me, it was just another forgettable foray into the genre.