Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed (1926)

A handsome prince rides a flying horse to faraway lands and embarks on magical adventures, which include befriending a witch, meeting Aladdin, battling demons and falling in love with a princess.

Director:

Lotte Reiniger

Storyline

Based on stories from "The Arabian Nights." A wicked sorcerer tricks Prince Achmed into riding a magical flying horse. The heroic prince is able to subdue the magical horse, which he uses to fly off to many adventures. While travelling, he falls in love with the beautiful Princess Peri Banu, and must defeat an army of demons to win her heart. The entire film is animated using the silhouette technique, which employs movable cardboard and metal cutouts posed in front of illuminated sheets of glass.

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Plot Keywords:

prince | horse | princess | sorcerer | aladdin | 

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Fantasy | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

Germany

Release Date:

20 June 1929 (Japan)

Also Known As:

The Adventures of Prince Achmed

Company Credits

Production Co:

Comenius-Film GmbH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min 65 min 66 min (2001 alternate) 81 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White (tinted and toned)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lotte Reiniger cut figures out of black cardboard with a pair of scissors, and joined movable parts with thread in order to animate them. In the years 1923-1926, about 250,000 frame-by-frame stills were made and 96,000 were used in the film. Her husband, Carl Koch, was responsible for the photography in all her films until his death in 1963.

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Connections

Referenced in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)

User Reviews

Great animated film! And the first full-length animated film, too!

I caught this film on TCM a few nights back. Wasn't sure what to expect, but I was totally floored. It's a silhouette animated film, as opposed to cel animation like Snow White, but it shows incredible craftsmanship and detail. The music is awesome, too! Very stirring, very evocative of a classical score rather than a typical movie score.

The story is based on parts of The Arabian Nights, I presume (act 4 is devoted to Aladdin and the Magic Lamp). This film is far superior to the Disney Aladdin a few years back, no contest. The story is about a Prince who falls in love with a magical princess and has to go through a series of trials to win her. In his way are an evil sorcerer, a magical gate, and hordes of dark creatures. The film isn't too long (just over one hour), but it is thrilling from start to finish. I don't know if it's available on DVD, but it's absolutely worth catching (and definitely recording!) on TV. TCM is the best bet to find it.