'Arabian Nights’ still exotic and erotic 50 years on

Cast: Ninetto Davoli, Franco Citti, Pranco Merli, Tessa Bouche, Ines Pellegrini, Margareth Clementi, Luigina Rocchi Director: Pier Paolo P...

Cast: Ninetto Davoli, Franco Citti, Pranco Merli, Tessa Bouche, Ines Pellegrini, Margareth Clementi, Luigina Rocchi

Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini

 

The third and final part of Pasolini’s Trilogy of Life series is rich with exotic tales of slaves and kings, potions, betrayals, demons, and, most of all, love and lovemaking in all its myriad forms. Mysterious and liberating, this is an exquisitely dreamlike and adult interpretation of the original folk tales. Here Pasolini revisits themes that plagued him throughout his career: sex, love, and death. Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, Pasolini’s masterwork was the adaptation of De Sade’s notorious, though somewhat obscure book written by De Sade in the Bastille during his imprisonment during the French Revolution, Arabian Nights is the adaptation of the much more loved book.  It is erotic, sensual, romantic, grotesque, and explicit.

Comparisons can be drawn between Fellini and Pasolini: Fellini tended to show the extravagant side of things, whilst Pasolini tended to show the more realistic, and oftentimes poetic, side of things. 

All of Pasolini’s works explored the human condition, and this is no different. Pasolini’s exploration of love and sex was unparalleled and will remain unparalleled, and Arabian Nights is a prime example of that.

Released fifty years ago, it’s shocking how films like these were allowed to be made at that time, but now, will be extensively censored.

Beautifully photographed along with a great score from the master Morricone, Arabian Nights is a spiritual experience in every sense of the word. Pasolini’s eye for composition is unmatched with every shot of this film resembling a painting.

Arabian Nights is a surreal, poetic exploration of love, sex, and death, unlike anything anyone has ever seen or will see. It resembles a dream, is multi-layered in its narrative, and may require multiple viewings for the viewer to follow the story properly, but someone willing to put in that effort is in for a treat.