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What a relief! The X-Rated ‘Animerama’ trilogy, directed by Osamu Tezuka, went missing for years. Thankfully, all the films were eventually discovered and restored. This is true for ‘A Thousand and One Nights,’ the first movie of the trilogy which came out in 1969. Several animated films for adults emerged during this period, and this happened to be one of the first ones. Fortunately, Discotek Media has made this available in Bluray in America. Call it luck, but this happens to be the single one out of the trilogy that I was able to watch prior to the Blurays being out. It’s not that I support non-legal streaming, but well, it’s tough when you don’t have access to it legally.
I’ve only seen it on home video, but ‘Nights’ provides an insightful comparison to its fellow films ‘Belladonna of Sadness’ and ‘Cleopatra.’ Due to all three being vintage films, they were planned with a different modern pacing and direction. I couldn’t help but think ‘Nights’ was too long, slow in pacing, and a chore like the previously mentioned films. ‘Nights’ was set to get an X rating due to its graphic content, but such themes seem pretty tame to any broadcast television anime today. Those looking for something more suggestive and tantalizing would surely be disappointed with the movie.
Indeed, ‘Nights’ would have been far better if it weren’t riddled with issues that made it hard to reach the audience, ‘Nights’ shines in that aspect. Managing to combine editing techniques from Belladonna and the mix of live action with animation Cleopara did, ‘Nights’ sets out to be just a traditional film. Even though the character was directed in a forgotten adventure, Aldin the optimistic and carefree water merchant is bound to spark your interest.
In the first scene of the movie, we see him walking with a smile on his face. He is on a journey of self-discovery through the desert, and it seems as he is making his way to Baghdad. The song playing appears to be from the Beatles or Monkeys ad the vibe of the song looks like it was created by clubhouse musicians. After learning that he is in the kingdom, we see him fall in love and sleep with a slave girl his first time meeting her. Towards the end of the movie he becomes King of Baghdad, but not before embarking on a life changing adventure. He starts his adventure by facing extreme forms of torture for trying to steal a slave from her owner and being a part of a gigantic robbery with a group of thieves. Following this, he escapes from horrible beasts and meets a genie that grants wishes. During his reign, he abuses his power to build what looks like the tower of babel and orders a secret daughter to join his harem. After 15 years when the movie ends, we locked back into the scene where we see Aldin walking through the dessert as a child toward his next adventure.
The original tales are broad in scope, there are slight nods to many of them. It can be speculated that Aldin is the same Aladdin from the Disney film, or from the equally well known ‘The Thief and the Cobbler’, both made many years later. There might be an over density of elements in these tales, with an over population of secondary characters with their unique agendas. Yet Aldin is a pleasant touch here, which makes the movie better in general. It ultimately demonstrates the relevance of the lead character in a plot.
While this is undoubtedly a most ambitious undertaking, it does not come close to the more imaginative or the more artistic of the films The highest art form of the cinema, I suspect, the cinema critics would not rank this highly because of that, but once again, I suspect if you were to poll the general public, this would be the film they would put in their holes.
While Discotek’s release on Bluray is good, you will notice numerous scratches in the dust of the film print. Anime historian Helen McCarthy did an interesting audio commentary like she did on the release of ‘Cleopatra.‘ That is the bonus feature which stands out the most the original English dub. This is, for all intents and purposes, a lost dub likely created for limited release, perhaps to be viewed on airplanes. It was a fascinating ‘scoop’ when the disc was revealed and luckily, a version was found. The acting was not stellar, but let’s face it, just being able to hear this original version is a blessing. The movie was also cut down by roughly 20 minutes, and since the original was far too long to begin with we can all agree the dubbed version is the ideal version.
No doubt, the full “Animerama” trilogy is best suited for historians whether one is interested in Osamu Tezuka’s works, the rise of Japanese anime films, or X-rated films from the 70s or 80s. And if the statement above still intrigues you, then each movie has something unique to offer. Among them,”A Thousand and One Nights” would be the first I recommend even if it is less ambitious: as the closest you are likely to have to a good time is thanks to a robust charming lead
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