Live-Action Fairy Tales: Arabian Nights/1001 Nights

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Albert Einstein: "If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."

Fairy tales, literary nonsense, tall tales...whatever you want to call them. I'm a sucker for a wonderfully told, beautifully presented one. Especially when they come in live-action form. There's something...magical when it's done right. Some of these are taken right from the pages of a book, some are new takes on old tales. If you get surprised by a title, stop and think about it for a second. It'll make sense. :)

Do you know of an adaptation from this wonderful collection of stories not listed? Let me know in the comment section!
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Arabian Nights/One Thousand and One Nights

This is a tricky one. Firstly, this is and always has been a collection of fairy tales from the Middle East and South Asia. These stories were collected over many centuries, so there are many different versions that share the same name.

The thing they all have in common is what is called a frame story. This is the story of Sheherazade and her murderous King. She becomes his newest wife and, knowing that none of his previous wives have survived the morning after their wedding night, she tells him only the beginning of a story each night. Each morning, he doesn't kill her because he wants to hear the ending. Each story she tells him is one of the fairy or folk tales in this anthology.

Arabian Nights (Sheherazade)

The movies under this category are either only about Sheherazade and her King, or they are trying to tell some of the stories within (Aladdin, Ali Baba, etc) while still using her as the storytelling device.

One Arabian Night (1920)

This silent German adaptation is, by many accounts, one of the best pictures to come out that year.

Arabian Nights (1942)

An adventure film that is most noted for leaving out all supernatural elements. It stars Sabu, who is most famous for playing a live-action Mowgli in The Jungle Book as well as Abu in The Thief of Bagdad (below). It's also super-loosely adapted. As in, they borrowed some names.

Kismet (1944)

A full-on-musical spectacle which takes place during the Arabian Nights stories in the same setting. It's memorable because it stars Marlene Dietrich.

Kismet (1955)

I love me some Howard Keel. The voice on that man. Though this musical was considered a box-office bomb, fans of the movie still sing its praises....(ah...ah...see what I did there?)

1001 Nights (1990)

This French-Italian film loosely adapts the fable while featuring a young Catherine Zeta-Jones in the lead role of Sheherazade.

"Thousand Nights" (1993)

An Indian TV series based on the stories told within 1001 Nights while framed by the main Sheherazade story.

"Arabian Nights" (2000)

This is the best miniseries ev-AR. Okay, maybe not ever, but with the cast involved it's just fun to watch. You can't go wrong with Rufus Sewell as Ali Baba and John Leguizamo playing the genie.

"1001 Nights" (2006)

A Turkish soap-opera that loosely adapts and modernizes the Sheherazade/1001 Nights tale.

Arabian Nights (2015)

This is technically a trilogy of films set all over the world in all kinds of languages. It's a commentary on life in Portugal while also being a modern adaptation...somehow.

Arabian Nights (Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp)

These movies don't mention Sheherazade at all. Instead, these are about a shifty crook who pretends to be an uncle, a genie in a ring, another genie in a lamp, a girl and of course, Aladdin.

The Thief of Bagdad (1924)

Douglas Fairbanks starred in what is still considered to be one of the best classic fantasy movies ever made.

The Thief of Bagdad (1940)

This British film also starred Sabu and is notable for being told in flashbacks as well as making the Prince and the Thief two separate characters (in some adaptations they are only one character).

A Thousand and One Nights (1945)

A fantasy-comedy film (genie and all!) that is pretty much just the story of Aladdin instead of what the title leads you to believe.

Aladdin (1986)

An Italian comedy film that updated the Aladdin story to modern-day (80's) Florida.

A Kid in Aladdin's Palace (1997)

So, if you were a kid back in the 90's, you probably remember a made-for-TV movie called A Kid in King Arthur's Court. Probably...maybe. Apparently it did so well that they made a sequel.

Aladin (2009)

The Bollywood Aladdin tale. Aw, yeah.

Astonishing Lamp (2013)

An Indian Bengali film that is a fantasy take on Aladdin set in modern times.

The New Adventures of Aladdin (2015)

A French comedy wherein the main characters are modern-day thieves that end up telling the story of Aladdin. The same actors represent the characters in the story they're telling.

Aladdin (2019)

Disney's re-adaptation of their cartoon take on the Arabian fairy tale.

Arabian Nights (Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves)

Ali Baba is a great story. It's about a humble, poor man (Ali Baba) who stumbles onto a thieves' cache of treasure hidden in a secret cave. The cave is magical and can only be opened and closed with a secret password. He takes a bag for himself, but his greedy brother, Cassim, finds out and gets killed by the thieves when he forgets the password to get out. The rest of the story is pretty much a cat-and-mouse game between Ali Baba, the forty thieves and a very clever slave girl.

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1944)

Starring Maria Montez (who also starred in Arabian Nights-1944), this is a very loose adaptation.

Son of Ali Baba (1952)

Since Ali Baba is a tale from 1001 Nights and I love Tony Curtis, this is here!

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1954)

A French adaptation notable for starring the comedian Fernandel.

Alibaba and the Forty Thieves (1955)

This is an Indian film that is famed for being the first full-length color film made in Tamil cinema.

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1971)

A Turkish take on the tale of thieves, generosity and greed.

Arabian Nights (Sinbad the Sailor)

There are originally seven stories (or voyages) that revolve around Sinbad. They have their own kind of frame story in which a rich, older Sinbad the Sailor meets a poor man also named Sinbad and regales him with his adventures. While researching this list, I realized that just because it has 'Sinbad' in the title, doesn't mean it's our Sinbad. Sometimes folks will just slap his name in there in hopes that it'll sell better. Okay, you've been warned.

Sinbad the Sailor (1947)

This American fantasy film stars Douglas Fairbanks Jr (whose father starred in The Thief of Bagdad ^above) and Maureen O'Hara.

Son of Sinbad (1955)

This American 50s film is notable for having 127 women in its cast.

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)

This was the first in a series of three movies conceptualized and produced by Ray Harryhausen. It is most famous for being his first color film and of course, for his stop-motion monsters.

Captain Sindbad (1963)

This film stars Guy Williams (whom you might recognize as the 50s TV-show hero, Zorro) and was filmed in Germany.

Prince Sinbad of the Mountains (1971)

This Turkish film doesn't seem to have been seen by many, but those who have rated it high.

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)

The second Ray Harryhausen Sinbad outing won the first Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film.

Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977)

The third and final Ray Harryhausen Sinbad movie got some really bad reviews, but it can take credit for being Peter Mayhew's (Chewbacca) first movie!

Sinbad of the Seven Seas (1989)

I know you recognize that hulking guy. Eh, eh...see what I did there? Lou Ferrigno stars as Sinbad in this cult-favorite Italian fantasy film.

"The Adventures of Sinbad" (1996)

This Canadian TV show is reminiscent of Hercules or Xena.

"Sinbad" (2012)

Don't compare this show to Game of Thrones..apparently if you look at it as a fantasy show aimed at teens, it's great! Think Shadowhunters or Merlin. Unfortunately, it only got one season.