Verdict
Summary
A nicely produced 1001 Nights cinematic adventure with adequate special effects, handsome production design, and a good score by Ken Thorne, Arabian Adventure is a perfect fit for fans of these types of sword and sorcery films from a bygone era.
Plot: An evil magician seeks to gain power by obtaining a magic rose. A peasant boy and a Prince join forces to stop him.
Review: An evil sorcerer named Alquazar (Christopher Lee), who rules Baghdad without his soul to bother him (he’s imprisoned it in a mirror), seeks a magical flower – the Rose of Elil – because he knows one day it will be the catalyst for defeating his own magic. He hires a mercenary hero named Hasan (Oliver Tobias) to track it down, and monitors his progress in a seeing pool. Hasan picks up a kid sidekick – a street urchin boy named Majeed (Puneet Sira) – and they encounter all sorts of perilous adventures, including bloodthirsty raiders, a genie, a magic carpet, a caterwauling Mickey Rooney as a machine maker, and a beautiful princess named Zuleira (Emma Samms). Finally, they grab the magical rose, and instead of delivering it as promised to the evil Caliph, they defeat him with it.
A nicely produced 1001 Nights cinematic adventure with adequate special effects, handsome production design, and a good score by Ken Thorne, Arabian Adventure is a perfect fit for fans of these types of sword and sorcery films from a bygone era. The swordplay is a little stiff, but honestly there’s nothing here to really complain about. Peter Cushing has a small role as an old mage. Directed by Kevin Connor.
Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray of Arabian Adventure is presented in high definition for the first time, and looks better in its original aspect ratio (1:85:1) than in any previous presentations. Special features include an audio commentary by the director, plus the theatrical trailer.
