Arabian Adventure

Dope

Trailer—Arabian Adventure

source: Arabian Adventure

I first saw this in the late 80s on a vhs. Revisited it recently with my seven year old nephew. I am generous with a 4 for the childhood memories. This one hasnt aged well. Even my nephew didn't like it that much. Terrible acting, too much chatting, very less action, laughable genie aka a blatant rip off from Thief of Baghdad. The lil boy in this one did a terrible job. He ain't no match to Sabu from Thief of Baghdad. Peter Cushing is totally wasted. Basically this one is a poor man's Thief of Baghdad. Revisiting Ray Harryhausen and Charles H. Schneer's movies are better options.

Oliver Tobias (prince hassan) is the prince of getting knocked unconscious in this film. Seriously, keep a count. The real hero of the story is the little child Majid. Excellent evil performance by Christopher Lee as the the evil sultan. The start of the film with the scenes in the market place are nicely done, but the rest of the movie is a bit of a let down - The scenes with Mickey Rooney are weird and could have easily been left out. Acting by Oliver Tobias is quite wooden and ruins the film. Some nice little cameos by Peter Cushing and a young Art Malik. Watch Thief of Baghdad (1977) instead.

Where was this in my movie theater community in 1979? I recall seeing advertisements for this in various papers, teeny tiny little marker said it was playing at some neighborhood theater, but going to the movies a lot in does not have surely would have gone to see it. Those colorful Universal action films which starred the trio I mentioned above were preliminary versions of what special effects master Ray Harryhausen was noted for over 20 years, and while this may not be on the level of those films as far as technical achievements, it is simply gorgeous to look at and truly engaging from start to finish. Puneet Sira could charm the venom out of a cobra as the little Aladdin like boy who assists the handsome Oliver Tobias and a pre-"General Hospital*/"Dynasty" Emma Samms in their fight against princess Samm's evil stepfather (Christopher Lee). The journey that they go on to defeat Lee is amazing even though some moments are very silly and some of the casting is questionable. Milo O'Shea is amusing as Tobias's sidekick, but his Irish dialect is obvious. Peter Cushing is on and off screen so fast that you barely have time to really acknowledge his presence. Mickey Rooney's brief characterization does have a point but he plays it with such self grandeur that it almost becomes deprecating to the film. It does explains on how the metallic monsters are able to move around and spitfire, sort of reminding me of Dick Van Dyke as the inventor in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". Another great sequence involves an evil genie whom Tobias and O'Shea deal with in an amusing fashion. Tobias certainly is handsome and rugged and a great hero, but I do question his casting as well as the very beautiful Samms whose British accent also gets in the way. But it's easy to get past these flaws because the film is fast-moving and enjoyable and filled with gorgeous sets and costumes and a terrific fantasy environment. Don't expect "Aladdin" (2019) going into this but I can see elements of the live action movie that may have not been copied but are certainly obvious. So put aside your 2020 demand for high-tech and loud special effects and just enjoy this for the elegant carpet ride it is. With that attitude, you cannot be disappointed.

This is essentially a remake of the 1941 film durin the sword and sorcery era.The special effects were marginally better but the acting is far worse.The boy actor is no match for Sabu.

Although "Arabian Adventure" is not up to some of the classics ("The 7th Voyage of Sinbad", "Jason and the Argonauts", etc.), it does show its audience a pretty good time. Yes, some of the effects and sets do show their age, and were probably done on a limited budget. Also, it doesn't look like our heroes have to overcome very many obstacles or challenges on the way to achieving their mission. As it is, it's mainly for a family audience, and kids are sure to be charmed. Overall, this is fairly harmless with very little violence and absolutely no gore, although rest assured, the guilty do not go unpunished. Sir Christopher Lee is devilish fun as an evil ruler in the ancient years of the Middle East. He needs to obtain a magical rose in order to solidify the hold of evil on the world, and a young man (Oliver Tobias) who claims to be a Prince is willing to go on the mission. Provided, of course, that he gets to win the hand of the lovely Princess Zuleira (beautiful Emma Samms of future 'Dynasty' fame). Joining Tobias on his journey will be a snivelling toady (Milo O'Shea) and a spunky kid named Majeed (the appealing Puneet Sira, who ultimately walks away with the movie). Adults will delight in a first-rate cast: Capucine, Peter Cushing, Mickey Rooney, John Ratzenberger ("Cliff Clavin" plays a despicable heel in this one), Shane Rimmer, Elisabeth Welch, Suzanne Danielle, Art Malik, Milton Reid, John Wyman, etc. Tobias is an amiable, studly good guy, although it must be said that Sira emerges as the true hero of the piece. This is a child with a good heart who often knows the right thing to do and say. There's a glorious score composed by Ken Thorne, with much of the shooting done at Pinewood Studios in London. The director is Kevin Connor, who in the space of a few years had become an old hand at this type of genre fare. His other credits include "At the Earth's Core", "The Land That Time Forgot", "The People That Time Forgot", and "Warlords of Atlantis". He makes this good, agreeable entertainment, with one original element: the good guys and the bad guys duelling high above the ground while riding magical flying carpets. Seven out of 10.

Love this undemanding kids' fantasy. The least of the John Dark-Kevin Connor films, it's still a fun reminder of summer holidays spent watching such stuff. Great to see Lee and Cushing in any film, if not on screen at the same time, and Ken Thorne's score sets the whole thing off nicely.

Prince Oliver Tobias will be granted permission to marry Princess Emma Samms if he succeeds in a quest to find a magic flower for her father, wicked Caliph Christopher Lee. However, the wicked Caliph has contrived to send along duplicitous Milo O'Shea to make sure the quest fails. This fantasy adventure features special effects which weren't all that special back at the time (back projected backgrounds behind flying carpets with wiggly edges, and models which scream "I am a model!" chief among them), some dodgy fighting, some screamingly though unintentionally funny dialogue, not massively heroic performances from Tobias and Samms, Mickey Rooney overacting as if his life depends on it, and beautifully understated villainy from Christopher Lee. For all that, there is a naïve enthusiasm about it which pleases and, at the time, we had nothing better. But these days we are used to our fantasy being a little less unsophisticated.