There are films the author of this review very much wanted to like, especially if they belonged to the They Don’t Make Them Any More category. Yet, many of them turned into disappointments, and one such example is Arabian Adventure, the 1979 fantasy adventure directed by Kevin Connor.
The plot, inspired by the famous story collection Arabian Nights, begins in Jadhur, a city ruled by the evil Caliph Alquazar (played by Christopher Lee) who came to power through black magic. His tyranny causes the citizens to rebel and plot against him, so he seeks the Rose of Ilil which would make him omnipotent. However, the Rose can be obtained only by someone with a pure heart, and Alquazar chooses Prince Hasan of Baghdad (played by Oliver Tobias), who is promised the hand of his beautiful stepdaughter, Princess Zuleira (played by Emma Samms), in return. Hasan begins his quest equipped with a magic flying carpet and accompanied by Alquazar’s spy, Khasim (played by Milo O’Shea). They are, however, joined by Majeed (played by Puneet Sira), a street urchin carrying a talisman containing his own female genie, Vahishta (played by Capucine).
This film, obviously intended mostly for the youngest audience, draws obvious inspiration from Classic Hollywood films with the same setting, most notably the 1940 version of The Thief of Baghdad. A great effort was invested in recreating a medieval Arab city, with most of the budget going to costumes, props, and even some special effects that were, despite being slightly dated, quite adequate for this sort of film. Unfortunately, all this good effort was almost completely ruined by poor casting. Only Sira, who would later become a successful Bollywood director, shows some genuine enthusiasm and talent in his role. Everyone else appears either bland (which includes Christopher Lee, a veteran who could have played such villainous roles in his sleep) or goes irritatingly over the top, like Mickey Rooney in the role of a false wizard that looked very much like The Wizard of Oz. Direction by Kevin Connor isn’t much better, and the potentially interesting idea of an action-packed finale featuring aerial combat with flying carpets was ruined by poor execution. Only drastically lowered expectations and Ken Thorne’s musical score make Arabian Adventure somewhat watchable.
RATING: 4/10 (++)
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