Arabian Nights Trilogy (2015) Heading to Blu-ray
HomeArabian Nights Trilogy (2015) Heading to Blu-ray
Posted February 20, 2016 03:45 PM by Webmaster
Kino Lorber will release on Blu-ray acclaimed Portuguese director Miguel Gomes' (Tabu) Arabian Nights. The three-volume, six-hour film will be spread across three discs, and will be available for purchase on May 3.
Synopsis: In Portugal - one European country in crisis - a film director proposes to build fictional stories from the miserable reality he is immersed in. However, failing to find meaning in his work, he cowardly runs away and leaves the beautiful Scheherazade to stand in his shoes. She will require enthusiasm and courage so as not to bore the King with sad stories of this country. As nights go past, restlessness leads to desolation and in turn to enchantment. Therefore Scheherazade organizes the stories she tells the King in three volumes. She begins like this: "It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that in a sad country among all countries...".
Arabian Nights: Volume 1 - The Restless One
In which Scheherazade tells of the restlessness that befell the country: "It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that in a sad country among all countries, where people dream of mermaids and whales, and unemployment is spreading. In certain places, forests burn into the night despite the falling rain; men and women long to set out to sea in the middle of winter. Sometimes there are animals that talk although it is highly improbable that they are listened to. In this country, where things are not what they appear to be, men of power promenade on camels and hide permanent and shameful erections; they await the moment when taxes are collected so they can pay a certain wizard whom..." And seeing the morning break, Scheherazade fell silent.
Arabian Nights: Volume 2 - The Desolate One
In which Scheherazade tells of how desolation invaded men: "It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that a distressed judge will cry instead of giving out her sentence on a night when all three moons are aligned. A runaway murderer will wander through the land for over forty days and will teletransport himself to escape the Police while dreaming of prostitutes and partridges. A wounded cow will reminisce about a thousand-year-old olive tree while saying what she must say, which will sound none less than sad! The residents of a tower block in the suburbs will save parrots and piss inside lifts while surrounded by dead people and ghosts; including in fact a dog that..." And seeing the morning break, Scheherazade fell silent. – "Damned tales! If things continue this way my daughter will surely end up with her throat slit!" – the Grand-Vizier, Scheherazade's father, thinks in his palace in Bagdad.
Arabian Nights: Volume 3 - The Enchanted
In which Scheherazade doubts that she will still be able to tell stories to please the King, given that what she has to tell weighs three thousand tons. She therefore escapes from the palace and travels the kingdom in search of pleasure and enchantment. Her father, the Grand-Vizier, arranges to meet her at the Ferris wheel and Scheherazade resumes her narration: "O auspicious King, in old shanty towns of Lisbon there was a community of bewitched men who, with all dedication and passion, devoted themselves to teaching birds to sing..." And seeing the morning break, Scheherazade fell silent.
Special Features:
Synopsis: In Portugal - one European country in crisis - a film director proposes to build fictional stories from the miserable reality he is immersed in. However, failing to find meaning in his work, he cowardly runs away and leaves the beautiful Scheherazade to stand in his shoes. She will require enthusiasm and courage so as not to bore the King with sad stories of this country. As nights go past, restlessness leads to desolation and in turn to enchantment. Therefore Scheherazade organizes the stories she tells the King in three volumes. She begins like this: "It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that in a sad country among all countries...".
Arabian Nights: Volume 1 - The Restless One
In which Scheherazade tells of the restlessness that befell the country: "It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that in a sad country among all countries, where people dream of mermaids and whales, and unemployment is spreading. In certain places, forests burn into the night despite the falling rain; men and women long to set out to sea in the middle of winter. Sometimes there are animals that talk although it is highly improbable that they are listened to. In this country, where things are not what they appear to be, men of power promenade on camels and hide permanent and shameful erections; they await the moment when taxes are collected so they can pay a certain wizard whom..." And seeing the morning break, Scheherazade fell silent.
Arabian Nights: Volume 2 - The Desolate One
In which Scheherazade tells of how desolation invaded men: "It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that a distressed judge will cry instead of giving out her sentence on a night when all three moons are aligned. A runaway murderer will wander through the land for over forty days and will teletransport himself to escape the Police while dreaming of prostitutes and partridges. A wounded cow will reminisce about a thousand-year-old olive tree while saying what she must say, which will sound none less than sad! The residents of a tower block in the suburbs will save parrots and piss inside lifts while surrounded by dead people and ghosts; including in fact a dog that..." And seeing the morning break, Scheherazade fell silent. – "Damned tales! If things continue this way my daughter will surely end up with her throat slit!" – the Grand-Vizier, Scheherazade's father, thinks in his palace in Bagdad.
Arabian Nights: Volume 3 - The Enchanted
In which Scheherazade doubts that she will still be able to tell stories to please the King, given that what she has to tell weighs three thousand tons. She therefore escapes from the palace and travels the kingdom in search of pleasure and enchantment. Her father, the Grand-Vizier, arranges to meet her at the Ferris wheel and Scheherazade resumes her narration: "O auspicious King, in old shanty towns of Lisbon there was a community of bewitched men who, with all dedication and passion, devoted themselves to teaching birds to sing..." And seeing the morning break, Scheherazade fell silent.
Special Features:
- Redemption (2013), a short film by Miguel Gomes
- New York Film Festival: A Conversation with Miguel Gomes
- Booklet with Production Diary and Essay by Dennis Lim