Synopsis: Impressive telling of the Arabian Nights tale
Directors: Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger, Tim Whelan, Zoltan Korda
Actors: Conrad Veidt, Sabu, John Justin, June Duprez
Date: 1940
How viewed: Bought on Amazon
Rating: 4/5
David Meyer says:
The story lags, the transitions are clumsy, and the dialogue is occasionally campy, but the intent - to combine available technology, unlimited imagination, and a substantial budget to create a captivating dream for adults and children - is fully realised.
I say:
This is the stuff of fairy tales, featuring, of course, the evil wizard (with the power to summon up storms, and turn a boy into a dog) and the young King, who are both in love with the beautiful princess (who falls into a Sleeping Beauty type coma). It also comes with the obligatory sword fights (surprisingly gory in places), impressive beards, moustaches and indeed eyebrows (!!), a flying carpet, man-eating spider, killer robot, huge genie who is released from a bottle and grants 3 wishes, a rose (whose scent erases memory, what??) and of course, being saved from execution at the last moment (though does beheading really count as the threatened 'death by a thousand cuts'). I expected the film to be a bit clanky, and of course it is in some places, but, give over, it was released in 1940, and so the special effects aren't that special - but it's still a technicolour dream with plenty to enjoy. 
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