Watches
January 21, 2022
A classic epic. It's quite long for a silent film, and there are some segments that could've used a bit of editing, but the lush sets and fun fantasy elements make sure it never becomes too big of a slog. It's not quite up there with its German counterparts, but it was better than I'd expected it to be.
The film is a loose adaptation of One Thousand and One Nights (think Aladdin) and tells the story of Ahmed, a lowly thief who falls in love with the daughter of the ruler of the city. When three princes arrive to ask for her hand, Ahmed disguises himself as a rich nobleman and joins the challenge.
The start of the film is a little rough, and it takes a while before the story gets interesting, but the decent performances, moody cinematography and grand sets managed to hold my attention. There's still about 45 minutes of cruft that probably shouldn't be there, other than that it's a pretty worthy classic.