The Adventures of Prince Achmed

1931
7.8| 1h6m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 26 February 1931 Released
Producted By: Comenius-Film GmbH
Country: Germany
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
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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 film is animated using the silhouette technique.

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Cast

Director

Lotte Reiniger

Production Companies

Comenius-Film GmbH

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The Adventures of Prince Achmed Audience Reviews

CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!
Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good
Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict
Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
hayashimegumi Watching The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) is exactly like watching cutouts coming to life. It resembles a magical play and it certainly is not your ordinary animated feature. Aside from being the one of the first made and oldest surviving in the world, it is also one of the very few movies that are exceedingly detailed and exquisite from start to end. Highly inventive and creative in storytelling, each frame are painstakingly crafted and put together by hand resulting beautiful scenes in the animated feature. Even if the casts are merely silhouettes of the cutouts, we are able to feel the character's emotions as the magnificent music sets the mood and the body movements of the cutouts are straightforward, making the animation vivid.What I loved most about this animated feature is that it is truly artistic. Lotte Reiniger is a German but she is able to produce beautiful Arabian and Chinese cutout sets. If she is not a genius, I don't know what she would be! Some stuffs may not be historically accurate or make sense but well it's 1926 so it's actually pretty decent especially they do not have as much resources as we have today to refer or learn from! Hence, it is really amazing to able to watch what a woman's creativity and cutouts can do!So, can I call Lotte Reiniger the Mother of Animation? Actually why not? Lotte Reiniger rightfully is the Mother of Animation!! She invented her own technique and pioneered the earliest form of stop motion animation into a feature film. She is one of the first female film directors and certainly is the first female animated feature film director! Also, even though over 88 years has passed, her The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) is still so enchanting and mesmerizing; it will not fail to capture the hearts of all animation fans! (Though I must mention and clarify that it would be given that the animation fan do not anti-fairy tales and don't mind the cultural depictions or societal elements)Seriously, I never thought the animation or the output would be that great, how could she possibly achieve this kind of animation that is so exquisitely animated, in 1926?! I watched this in disbelief and certainly am lost for words for a while because it is the third oldest animated feature and it is also so much more interesting, pleasant, beautiful, insert all the praise words here, in comparison to some of the decades much newer films!Therefore, The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) is truly a wonder of animation and if you are blessed to watch this, I am sure you will appreciate the art of animation more. I do not know how else I could express my respect and admiration other than highly recommending this to you. It is truly one indisputable great movie. (I'll be mad if you say it's not great!)
gavin6942 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.While this is not quite German expressionism, it has that same sensibility of contrast between darkness and light. The use of dark silhouettes to be the characters (no features beyond their outlines) gives a very distinct look that is rarely seen anywhere else.This is apparently the earliest known animated feature film still in existence. What I find curious is that it was not drawn or painted, but rather features cut out pieces of cardboard. In this way, it anticipated and possibly inspired something completely different decades later -- "South Park", which uses construction paper (or at least did originally).
Eumenides_0 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.
igloocookie As humble as some of it may appear, Lotte Reiniger's "Adventures of Prince Achmed" is a vibrant visual treat despite what many may label as simple shadow puppets. The cut-outs are brilliantly intricate and very well manipulated. I find it amazing that characters with no eyes or interior ornateness can contain so much character. Reinger certainly knows how to manipulate her little performers for maximum effectiveness. The story is fast and fun. Let's face it "Prince Achmed's" got it all: princes, princesses, travel, castles, evil wizards, flying horses, witches, genies, magic, monsters, demons, shape-shifting showdowns (that were totally reused in Disney's "The Sword in the Stone), and so much more. I absolutely loved this movie. This definitely a must-see for anyone into film history, animation, or just marvelous adventure and fantasy. I highly recommend this little flick.it is sure not to disappoint.