The Adventures of Prince Achmed

It is only very rarely that you get the chance to review a genuine piece of film history, like this beguiling twist on The Arabian Nights.

The Adventures Of Prince Achmed follows the relatively simple tale of a prince who is tricked by a sorcerer to ride a flying horse to his death. Of course, he manages to save himself from his fate only to land on a magical island, where he encounters Princess Peri Banu, with whom he falls in love at first sight. Once she is persuaded by his charm they try to return to the prince's home, battling ogres, the evil sorcerer and all matter of magical challenges, helped only by a benevolent witch and Aladdin.

Okay, so this is strictly in the realm of those fairy stories and fantasy books you stopped reading when you were ten, but this is to miss the point of the film. What makes Prince Achmed so impressive is the way in which it was made, not to mention being an independent production and almost entirely the creative work of one woman – no mean feat in 1926. It was the first full-length animated film and, despite being 75 years old, the silhouette animation looks clean, fresh and technically adroit.

Lotte Reiniger brings a unique perspective to the look of traditional characters, as she uses intricate Eastern details to show off astoundingly delicate filigree cutting work and an amazing grasp of the way in which shapes work together and of optical illusions (many scenes are reminiscent of Escher). This plays brilliantly in the fantastical universe, as objects turn into demons and sorcerers shape shift in a way only possible in silhouette. Human gestures, in particular, are wonderfully underplayed, helping the film throughout, as well as rendering several scenes with an ethereal, erotic quality.

Although there are some subtitled dialogue cards between scenes, most of the 300,000 camera shots are accompanied only by a lavish re-recording of the specially written score. The music adds narrative to the piece, with each character having their own theme. The film itself, like the soundtrack, owes a lot to loving restoration. The print is taken from an old and somewhat damaged tinted print and is therefore not in the original state as intended by Reiniger, although many original backgrounds were constructed in colour and then filmed in black-and-white.

The final effect is an overwhelmingly beautiful movie in the tradition of "happy ever afters", with many frames so well-composed they stand alone as little works of art.

Carefully restored, with a re-recorded score, the film is (mostly) in excellent condition. The sharpness of the silhouette work remains intact, even though tinting has somewhat affected the depth of the backgrounds. Arguably, a handful of scenes have been improved by the addition of colour.

There is little in the way of extras on the DVD, but what is there is of high quality. The English subtitles (the dialogue cards and titling are in the original German) are happily functional, as is the alternative option of an English voiceover; though for my money I'd stick with the written word.

The main chunk of the extras is a documentary on Reiniger almost as long as the main feature. Whilst well above featurette standard, this tends to ask more questions than it answers. Indeed, the director/writer/presenter/narrator loves to throw out random theories, without backing them up with evidence, or mentioning them again. The same problem dogs some of the interviews – I am still perplexed why one expert claimed Reiniger pioneered the "video segment".

This is a film made by someone clearly in awe of their subject, which makes objectivity a major issue – even the tone of voice used to describe unfinished projects screams of a filmmaker's obsession. It is, however, a good introduction to Reiniger and certainly inspires further reading on her work and illustrious friends and fellow artists.

A fantastic film and reasonable bunch of extras for a movie of this age – further information on the renovation process and how old prints of Reiniger work were located might be nice – make this disc an enjoyable and worthy investment for the serious cinephile.