Senya Ichiya Monogatari
| A Thousand and One Nights | |
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| Directed by | Eiichi Yamamoto |
| Produced by |
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| Written by |
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| Music by | Isao Tomita |
| Cinematography | Akira Tsuchiya |
| Distributed by | Nippon Herald Movies |
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Release date
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June 14, 1969 |
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Running time
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128 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
A Thousand and One Nights (Japanese: 千夜一夜物語 Hepburn: Senya Ichiya Monogatari) is a 1969 adult anime feature film directed by Eiichi Yamamoto, conceived by Osamu Tezuka. The film is part of Mushi Production's Animerama, a series of films aimed at an adult audience.
The film was a hit in Japan and was given limited screenings in America, but the film did very poorly, as an X-rated cartoon did not seem to appeal to an audience. The dubbed version of the film is now very rare, and has never been released on home video, and may be considered lost. The English-dubbed version was cut to 100 minutes. The film predates the more successful release of Fritz the Cat, the first American X-rated animated film, by 3 years.
Aldin, a traveling water seller, falls in love with Mirium, a slave on auction in Baghdad, but Havahslakum, the son of the chief of police, buys her. Before he can take her home, a sand storm interrupts the auction. Aldin uses the opportunity to steal away the slave woman, rescuing her from slavery. They hide from pursuing guards in a seemingly empty mansion. They have sex there, and are secretly watched by the master of the mansion, Suleiman, who locks them in and commands them to continue. Havahslakum and his guards invade the mansion and find them. He takes Mirium. Budley, the right-hand man of the chief of police, murders Suleiman. Aldin is sent to prison by mistake for the murder of Suleiman, and is tortured. One year later, a heartbroken Miriam dies in childbirth.
After a time, Aldin is set free and meets Budley in the desert. Aldin threatens to kill him, but shows him mercy and lets him leave. Aldin finds the cave of Kamarkim and the forty thieves. Aldin follows a thief inside, and as the thieves are asleep, he begins stealing their treasure. Mardia, a young female thief, awakens and threatens to kill Aldin, who convinces her to see the world with him. The two fly away on a magic wooden horse. While they are over the ocean, living hair pulls them down. They swim to a nearby island, inhabited only by women. Their queen-goddess invites the two to stay, but Mardia does not trust them and leaves on the magic horse while Aldin stays and has sex with the women. The queen forbids Aldin from following her to her house in the woods at night, but he still does it, and witnesses her transforming into a large, white serpent. All the women change likewise and chase Aldin off the island.
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