Le meraviglie di Aladino

This movie has a high '60s camp factor. The Arabian Nights theme of movies certainly opens itself up to it, with its navel-jewel-wearing harem girls and all. You can tell the dubbing's not up to par (and it seems like Donald O'Connor was the only one speaking English on the set). But it does entertain as much as any goofy Italian movie can.

While I could only get my hands on a French-dubbed version of this costumed romp (without even the benefit of any subtitles), I admit to having enjoyed it quite a bit – indeed, more than I anticipated! Bava's involvement notwithstanding, I had long wanted to check this one out, in view of a movie poster of it kept in a scrapbook by my father back from the time of its local theatrical release. I have watched many an Arabian Nights fantasy in my time, so that there was very little novelty in the way of plot here…but the cult director's hand definitely benefited the look of the film – with sets, costumes, special effects and overall color scheme all coming across as rather splendid within their modest confines. Apart from the obligatory Hollywood veteran brought in to act as 'supervisor', we also get an American lead in Donald O'Connor: his comic shtick may be an acquired taste, but the actor's irrepressible energy served the role well in action highlights (not to mention a dance sequence towards the end in which he assumes the garbs of a mannequin imbued with life by the villain's sorcerer!). Also exposing the movie's Italian/French heritage is the fact that the supporting cast is peppered with many an established and upcoming presence from both these countries: Fausto Tozzi as a particularly flamboyant Grand Vizier, Terence Hill (still bearing his pre-stardom name of Mario Girotti) as the romantic second lead, Vittorio De Sica as the ubiquitous genie-in-a-lamp, and a typically flustered Aldo Fabrizi as the Sultan; Michele Mercier, then, is Hill's regal intended and Fabrizi's daughter (naturally also coveted by the dastardly Tozzi) and Raymond Bussieres appears as the Sultan's adviser. As expected, the fantasy sequences – capped by a desert climax in which O'Connor duels with Tozzi (albeit managing to overcome him only through De Sica's helping hand, just as, at one point his dimensions are enlarged in order for him to turn the tables on some pursuers, with one of them even landing the post thereafter of the hero's servant/sidekick!) – prove the film's ultimate mainstay. That said, there are also comedic flashes of eroticism (O'Connor twice discovers his girlfriend hanging naked after being captured by the villain) and a couple more of outright sadism (people falling through a secret panel in the floor of Tozzi's palace are ripped apart by his vicious dogs) which are decidedly incongruous for what is essentially a kiddie film!

adventures, Arabian Nights, game with a fairy tale, Vittoro de Sica as charming genie and childish joy . nothing new, nothing special. but a nice work. for the spirit of a time. for nostalgic memories. for a young Terence Hill as prince. for the love story. for bad guys. all at perfect place. like a summer afternoon in park. games, laughter, ironies, pleasure as only rule. a comedy like an old picture. the dust of time, the figures of few people, the air of a beautiful past, the image of childhood. so, it is not a bad or good film. it is. like a sign of a form of art. or passing years. like a circle of dust and voices. like need of a form, not very complicated, to escape from present. imagination of director is part of your vision about lost heroes and strange adventures. so, it is not a great error to see it.

I first saw this in the early 90s. Revisited it recently. This film hasn't aged well. It has some good comedy, decent effects, hell lottuva babes n a funny faced Sultan (Aldo Fabrizi). It even has Terence Hill in a tiny role n the intimidating wrestler Milton Reid (Dr. No and The Spy Who Loved Me).

I had the remarkable experience of seeing this in a theatre. A local dollar movie got a copy of it about the time Disney's Aladdin came out and sh0wed it for matinees one weekend. Strangely, they didn't also get the LENS they needed for the widescreen presentation so it was all crunched horizontally and everybody was half as wide or twice as tall as normal. Add that to the fact that the movie itself is kind of dopey and absurd, with lots of good actors wasting their efforts, and the INSANE use of Vittorio De Sica playing the genie as a guy standing around in a choir robe, in footage shot elsewhere probably in about half an hour, and just matted into a cloud in the corner of the screen, and I'd classify this as one of the most frightening Mario Bava movie I've ever seen.