Lotte Reiniger's 1926 The Adventures of Prince Achmed is cinema's oldest known animated feature. If that's not enough to give it a place in the history of cinema, it's also a technically-brilliant movie. Reiniger developed a silhouette technique of using paper cut-outs lit against glass. The effect is beautiful, especially in the way the black silhouettes contrast against the vivid background colours. I've only ever seen a movie with a similar effect: Karel Zeman's The Fabulous Baron Munchausen.
This is also a lovely, fast-paced story that draws a lot from The Arabian Nights and so is full of fantasy: princes, princesses, genies, spirits, flying cities, flying horses, witches, sorcerers, etc. The most notable influence is, of course, the figure of Aladdin and his magic lamp. The brave Prince Achmed fights an evil sorcerer to save the life of Princess Peri Banu, from the magical Wak-Wak Island. Along the way he meets allies and faces all kinds of challenges. In the end, of course, bravery and love prevail.
The story sounds very predictable to modern audiences, but its charm and elegance is timeless. In the end, the story is just a vehicle for Reiniger to explore the possibilities of this new animated technique she created, and I'd say she did a wonderful job. This is a movie for the ages, one of those pearls that cinema needs to rediscover quickly.
This is also a lovely, fast-paced story that draws a lot from The Arabian Nights and so is full of fantasy: princes, princesses, genies, spirits, flying cities, flying horses, witches, sorcerers, etc. The most notable influence is, of course, the figure of Aladdin and his magic lamp. The brave Prince Achmed fights an evil sorcerer to save the life of Princess Peri Banu, from the magical Wak-Wak Island. Along the way he meets allies and faces all kinds of challenges. In the end, of course, bravery and love prevail.
The story sounds very predictable to modern audiences, but its charm and elegance is timeless. In the end, the story is just a vehicle for Reiniger to explore the possibilities of this new animated technique she created, and I'd say she did a wonderful job. This is a movie for the ages, one of those pearls that cinema needs to rediscover quickly.