Arabian Adventure (1979)

Strictly average movie

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

It's pretty fun but it's let down by its slowly paced (though still quite good) script, the less than stellar direction of Kevin Connor and its low budget look. The special effects were not terribly good by 1979 standards but I was more concerned with the cheap sets. I hoped that it would be as outrageously fun as Connor's previous film "At the Earth's Core" or a Ray Harryhausen film but it wasn't, I'm afraid.None of the Caucasians make very convincing Arabs - particularly John Ratzenberger and, of all people, Mickey Rooney - but it was a good idea not to overdo the make-up. Christopher Lee, Milo O'Shea (even if his Irish accent seems particularly incongruous!) and, in a nice cameo, Peter Cushing are certainly the strongest cast members. Oliver Tobias and Emma Samms are not very engaging leads but they're fine. The same is true of the child actor Puneet Sira, now a successful Bollywood director. It also features nice, small appearances from Shane Rimmer and a very young Art Malik.6.5/10, maybe 7/10 if I'm feeling generous.

This was a really nice rediscovery on UK DVD for me; I remember I've watched 'Arabian Adventure' on TV in the 1980s but not since then. I mean, you get flying carpets, jinns, belly-dancers, a beautiful princess to save and Christopher Lee as an evil wizard turning people into toads ("You call yourself my servant?") - what more could you ask for? 'Arabian Adventure' knows the genre standards and delivers. Lest I forget, fire-breathing metal monsters and Peter Cushing with a silly beard are in it as well. One has to admit that the limited budget shows in the set decoration, as the palace looks more like cardboard than marble, and then some effects like the superimposed jinn are rather TV quality than big screen. But fairy tales from 1001 Nights don't need realism that much, I found I could successfully switch into fantasy mode and simply enjoy it. It's an old-fashioned production like they did in the 1940s and 50s, maintaining the same naive charm and that's fine for such kind of things.

I saw this many years ago when it was first released, and though I thought the SFX were dated even for its time, I still enjoyed the film as a whole. The score was above average for a film like this, and the acting was respectably comic for the genre; kids'-adventure.Some familiar faces make their appearance; Ratzenbergger (Cliff from "Cheers"), legend Christopher Lee, Mickey Rooney, Emma Sams and more, adding an amusing and delightful bit of levity to the film.All in all it's an okay film for kids, but today's young ones may get somewhat impatient with some dated effects--notably some of the process shots and miniature work.Still, if I had a copy on DVD I'd most certainly add it to my collection. It's worth taking a look at with your kids on a rainy afternoon or lazy Sunday.Enjoy :-)

Director Kevin Connor shot a nice movie for 4.000.000 US$: Arabian Adventure. If one keeps in mind that this film was produced a long time before CGI and for such a "low" budget (if one compares is with other ones), one could say that this film is really successful and a great fun to watch.The story is a simple fairy of Arabic nights and one night. A young hero loves the attractive daughter of a bad magician. To marry this young lady he has to find a talisman and bring it to the father of this princess. Some of his friends help him to do this job, but one of this "helpers" is a traitor. After a long journey, a lot of dangers and fights he marries his princes and everybody is happy ...The actors aren't that good, many of them haven't a lot of experience and in those days the stunts were not as successful as they are today. But all in all they were OK.If the team had the technical possibilities of today, the special effects would have been quiet good. But for those days, they were really successful.The set-design and the clothes were really very good. One can't say anything against them.I highly recommend this film to all fairy fans. The film keeps what the title promises, it's a real Arabian Adventure.