Arabian Nights (TV, 2000)
 | Arabian Nights (2000) (TV) |
| Category: | Movies |
| Genre: | Action & Adventure |
When Night Falls, the Adventure Begins!
SYNOPSIS:
Although this mini-series falls short of the main story which includes Queen Scheherezade, Sultan Schariar and Prince Schahzenan, it made up with its desire to tell wonderful stories! The exciting plots of bold and oftentimes hilarious characters of Scheherezade's tales are enough to entice one to watch it. This is perhaps too perfect to ease a night of boredom.
Scheherezade, played by the Jewish actress Mili Avital, is an enthusiastic storyteller who gets advice from her father about the stories she tells. Whenever the sultan raises a point, she always has a story to back up her stand - which the Sultan eventually could not refuse to hear. Sultan Schariar who is always in a fit of insanity and is often bothered by his nightmares, never notices that his wife's stories are able to pacify him from his madness. Their story-telling sessions begin at night until early in the morning, in which Scheherezade would cut her narrations and tell the Sultan that she'd continue "tomorrow night". She angers him at this excuse but it proves to be a clever way to stay alive - to hold the story in ransom until the next night.
You can expect a sort of sepia-colored screen with Arabian Nights due mainly to its Persian setting. The hot deserts will make your eyes sweat, but the visual effects will make you forget all that. Creature effects by the renowned Jim Henson's Creature Shop are seamlessly imaginative. The fluid animation is almost as real as the actors themselves. The cast is also playfully chosen, from the genies and the demon to the adventurous Alladin (who looks more Chinese than Persian) and the main characters themselves.
The Sultan was able to gather the courage he needed all along from the lessons which accumulate every time a story ends and a new one starts. One will definitely be as mesmerized as the sultan is from every turn of event that Scheherezade extemporaneously comes up with. With the guidance of her father, Scheherezade was able to last each night unharmed and alive by keeping the sultan hooked with her heroes as she narrates her improvised tales that teaches the sultan some lessons about life. These especially apply to his relationship with his brother Schahzenan, who thinks Schariar is a coward to not have killed his wife yet.
It's amazing how in the latter part of the series, all the tales served their purpose as the Sultan's weapons against Prince Schahzenan's evil plot. If you're the kind of person who keeps fastforwarding and couldn't wait to see the ending, it will be of no good use to you to see how it all ends if you weren't able to know what happens in the stories of Scheherezade. So if you're up to a different kind of adventure, Arabian Nights is just around 4 to 5 hours of marathon. You'll be amazed at the tales and perhaps you'd want to become a storyteller yourself.
SYNOPSIS:
Long
ago, the Sultan Schariar has gone mad after getting traumatized at his
near assassination in which his wife collaborated. When the Sultan
discovered his wife locked in a passionate embrace with his only
brother, he flings his sword at the prince and accidentally murders his
adulterous queen. Tortured by his wife's ghost, the maniacal and
cowardly sultan must marry another to save his kingdom. But being now
suspicious to women, he wants to avoid future matrimonial disgrace by
planning to have his bride executed the morning after the wedding.
To prevent this, the Grand Vizier's daughter and a childhood friend of the Sultan, Scheherezade, offers herself to be that bride. Now, she must gamble that her plan will work as she tries to cure his madness by telling him story after wondrous story. A master storyteller herself, the newly crowned sultana escapes death night after night with her mesmerizing tales of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Aladdin and his Magic Lamp, countless warriors, supernatural duels, and ferocious genies.
All the while, the Sultan's villainous brother is making plans of his own and Scheherezade's stories are more useful against him than anyone can anticipate.
To prevent this, the Grand Vizier's daughter and a childhood friend of the Sultan, Scheherezade, offers herself to be that bride. Now, she must gamble that her plan will work as she tries to cure his madness by telling him story after wondrous story. A master storyteller herself, the newly crowned sultana escapes death night after night with her mesmerizing tales of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Aladdin and his Magic Lamp, countless warriors, supernatural duels, and ferocious genies.
All the while, the Sultan's villainous brother is making plans of his own and Scheherezade's stories are more useful against him than anyone can anticipate.
People need stories, more than bread, itself!
Although this mini-series falls short of the main story which includes Queen Scheherezade, Sultan Schariar and Prince Schahzenan, it made up with its desire to tell wonderful stories! The exciting plots of bold and oftentimes hilarious characters of Scheherezade's tales are enough to entice one to watch it. This is perhaps too perfect to ease a night of boredom.
Scheherezade, played by the Jewish actress Mili Avital, is an enthusiastic storyteller who gets advice from her father about the stories she tells. Whenever the sultan raises a point, she always has a story to back up her stand - which the Sultan eventually could not refuse to hear. Sultan Schariar who is always in a fit of insanity and is often bothered by his nightmares, never notices that his wife's stories are able to pacify him from his madness. Their story-telling sessions begin at night until early in the morning, in which Scheherezade would cut her narrations and tell the Sultan that she'd continue "tomorrow night". She angers him at this excuse but it proves to be a clever way to stay alive - to hold the story in ransom until the next night.
You can expect a sort of sepia-colored screen with Arabian Nights due mainly to its Persian setting. The hot deserts will make your eyes sweat, but the visual effects will make you forget all that. Creature effects by the renowned Jim Henson's Creature Shop are seamlessly imaginative. The fluid animation is almost as real as the actors themselves. The cast is also playfully chosen, from the genies and the demon to the adventurous Alladin (who looks more Chinese than Persian) and the main characters themselves.
The Sultan was able to gather the courage he needed all along from the lessons which accumulate every time a story ends and a new one starts. One will definitely be as mesmerized as the sultan is from every turn of event that Scheherezade extemporaneously comes up with. With the guidance of her father, Scheherezade was able to last each night unharmed and alive by keeping the sultan hooked with her heroes as she narrates her improvised tales that teaches the sultan some lessons about life. These especially apply to his relationship with his brother Schahzenan, who thinks Schariar is a coward to not have killed his wife yet.
It's amazing how in the latter part of the series, all the tales served their purpose as the Sultan's weapons against Prince Schahzenan's evil plot. If you're the kind of person who keeps fastforwarding and couldn't wait to see the ending, it will be of no good use to you to see how it all ends if you weren't able to know what happens in the stories of Scheherezade. So if you're up to a different kind of adventure, Arabian Nights is just around 4 to 5 hours of marathon. You'll be amazed at the tales and perhaps you'd want to become a storyteller yourself.
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