Italy / France,
1974, 131 min
(Alternative: 126 min)
Directed by:
Pier Paolo PasoliniScreenplay:
Pier Paolo PasoliniCinematography:
Giuseppe RuzzoliniComposer:
Ennio MorriconeCast:
Ninetto Davoli, Franco Citti, Franco Merli, Ines Pellegrini, Luigina Rocchi, Abadit Ghidei, Francesco Paolo Governale, Luigi Antonio Guerra, Franca SciuttoPlots(1)
Pier Paolo Pasolini traveled to Africa, Nepal, and the Middle East to realize this ambitious cinematic treatment of a selection of stories from the legendary The Thousand and One Nights. This is not the fairy-tale world of Scheherazade or Aladdin, though. Instead, the director focuses on the book’s more erotic tales, framed by the story of a young man’s quest to reconnect with his beloved slave girl. Full of lustrous sets and costumes and stunning location photography, Arabian Nights is a fierce and joyous exploration of human sexuality. (Criterion)
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