Arabian Nights

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Arabian Nights

NC-17

Released May 14, 1974

2h 35m

Fantasy

Drama

Romance

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Popcornmeter

83%

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12 Reviews

76%

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1,000+ Ratings

The third installment in director Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Trilogy of Life" films depicts a multiplicity of narratives culled from the famous Arabic anthology "The Book of One Thousand and One Nights." At the center is the story of Nur Ed Din (Franco Merli), a naif who purchases a slave girl, Zumurrud (Ines Pellegrini). The two fall in love, but Zumurrud is kidnapped soon after. She escapes her captors and, disguised as a man, ultimately becomes king of an exotic land.

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

A typical puzzlement from Pasolini, a major figure who never made a major film.

Oct 23, 2007

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…there’s plenty of pleasure watching regular Pasolini stars like Franco Citti or Ninetto Davoli give their usual lip-smacking performances, and the Iranian locations are absolutely stunning...

Rated: 3/5

Sep 16, 2022

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Fernando Trueba

El Pais (Spain)

With Arabian Nights, Pier Paolo Pasolini achieves his most tender, fresh, and cheerful film. [Full Review in Spanish]

Aug 1, 2019

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James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

while Arabian Nights has its share of impressive vistas and narrative trickery, its fundamental emotional disconnect renders it inert--a beautiful bit of exotic fantasy that quickly dissipates

Rated: 2/4

Jan 4, 2013

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Though not emotionally involving, it's visually beautiful and the stories have a dazzling magical appeal.

Rated: B-

Aug 10, 2011

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TV Guide

A lyrical celebration of polymorphous sexuality.

Rated: 3.5/4

Oct 23, 2007

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Teddy B

Definitely the best shot of Pasolini's filmography, 'Arabian Nights' has the pleasure of being directed by such an interesting (if not always effective) figure. His cold, erotic touch gives a new and occasionally investing perspective on the immortal tales of the 1001 nights (without Sheherazade).

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/20/25

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Leo P

Is this the Monna Lisa of cinematography? You want to see it again and again,but you don't know why. Is it the ultimate achievement of human kind which must be preserved for time to come as a token of our existence? Contains the most horrifying depiction of the Devil ever.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/03/24

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Jose R

Lush, sexy, entertaining and beautifully shot.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/11/23

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Charles S

Kind of like the book there are endless silly disjointed stories devoid of moral or really anything but shock value, but now with Italian sexploitation. The main characters ham up all their acting to make the stories even goofier which is even more outlandish juxtaposed against the side characters acting pretty naturally on authentic middle eastern sets. You probably won't get bored watching this, but you also won't really come away with anything but tourist spectacle and confusion

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/14/23

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Audience Member

Great movie, but it hasn't aged very well

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

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Audience Member

An extraordinary work of art. Visually textured, sensual, and genuinely erotic. The structure of tales intersecting is a thing of wonder. It is of course possible to make an Orientalist criticism of this film, but it is such a celebratory aesthetic experience that this criticism ends up feeling reductive. Like in the other entries of the Trilogy of Life, this film is also politically conscious in its rejection of modern bourgeois society which even extended to his use of working-class non-actors, and in it's feminism. This film was shot largely in Yemen, which makes it even more than an artistic achievement — it's also a document of places that no longer exist after being bombed to rubble by the horrific Saudi-led, U.S.-backed war that continues to this day.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

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Pier Paolo Pasolini

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Synopsis

The third installment in director Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Trilogy of Life" films depicts a multiplicity of narratives culled from the famous Arabic anthology "The Book of One Thousand and One Nights." At the center is the story of Nur Ed Din (Franco Merli), a naif who purchases a slave girl, Zumurrud (Ines Pellegrini). The two fall in love, but Zumurrud is kidnapped soon after. She escapes her captors and, disguised as a man, ultimately becomes king of an exotic land.

Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Producer: Alberto Grimaldi
Screenwriter: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Production Co: Produzioni Europee Associate (PEA), Les Productions Artistes Associés
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Romance
Original Language: Italian
Release Date (Theaters): May 14, 1974, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 5, 2017
Runtime: 2h 35m

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