Aladin ou la lampe merveilleuse (1906)
Directed by Albert Capellani

Film Review

In his early years at Pathé, Albert Capellani cut his directing teeth on a series of shorts, mostly in the conventional melodrama line, but occasionally he ventured into more ambitious territory.  Aladin ou la Lampe merveilleuse was one of his few excursions into the realm of pure fantasy, an inspired retelling of the popular Aladdin story on which he was admirably well-served by his cinematographer Segundo de Chomón, a great pioneer of film amination who contributed the film's astonishing special effects.  The film's most obvious influence is the Georges Méliès short Le Voyage dans la lune (1902), which was widely imitated by filmmakers on both sides of the Atlantic, to varying degrees of success.

Even though the similarities with Méliès's film are pretty blatant (owing to the fact that copyright in film was virtually non-existent at the time), Capellani's Arabian Nights fantasy has its own distinctive charm and distinguishes itself with its more sophisticated story and an unflagging sense of fun that appeals to children and adults at different levels. With its exotic painted blackdrops, bravura camera trickery and wild comic escapades, nothing could be further from the films that Albert Capellani is now best remembered for - his strikingly realist literary adaptations Les Misérables (1913) and Germinal (1913).

The special effect that Méliès is most famous for, his so-called substitution trick, is put to good use by Capellani and de Chomón and provides their film with its moments of pure magic.  The spectacle of lithe satyr-like demons bursting into existence in tight-fitting spangly leotards is enough to make you fall out of your seat in surprise, but more impressive are the effects that you hardly notice - such as Aladdin and his mum suddenly acquiring a new wardrobe as they spin through 360 degrees, a full seventy years before Lynda Carter got the knack of it in her TV series Wonder Woman.  The party scene at the end of the film - the most obvious 'homage' to Méliès's lunar adventure - offers an early attempt at colorisation, with each frame meticulously painted by hand. 

Aladin ou la Lampe merveilleuse packs a huge amount of narrative content into its modest 12 minute runtime, with so many imaginative twists and turns that it requires quite a degree of concentration to keep up with it.  Can this be the earliest film depicting a dream within a dream?  It's no surprise that this was one of Capellani's most widely seen films.  What is surprising is how thoroughly entertaining it still is and how well the visual trickery holds up, despite the huge advances that have been made in special effects over the past century.  It's a fantasy extravaganza that compels you to watch it again and again - the first three times to fully make sense of the plot, another five times to take in all the gags and effects, then as many times as you want afterwards to enjoy it in its glorious madcap entirety - pure escapist fun, lovingly crafted by two of cinema's pioneering geniuses.

Film Synopsis

Whilst his mother is busy sewing, a young man named Aladdin is happily dreaming that he is a rich man courting the Sultan's beautiful daughter.  Alas, the dream ends too soon and, woken by his mother, Aladdin finds himself back in his dreary old life.  In the street, he is cheered by the spectacle of the princess on horseback.  She even smiles at him, but guards push him away when he tries to approach her.  Seeing the young man's distress, a strange man in a beard befriends him and takes him to a cave.  On the ground in front of the cave is a trapdoor which the stranger opens as if by magic.  Aladdin enters an underground lair with his friend and finds two vases that are spilling over with coins. When he approaches the vases they acquire demonic faces that scare him away.

Exploring further,  Aladdin finds a mysterious lantern, but before he can escape with this treasure the bearded man disappears, sealing the lair as he goes.  A sprite then appears from nowhere and Aladdin can go free, anxious to show his discovery to his mother. Rubbing the lamp, Aladdin conjures up a tall genie, who grants him whatever he wishes.  Naturally, the young man asks for food, some new clothes and more respectable household furnishings.  In his new finery, Aladdin can now call on the Sultan and ask for his daughter's hand in marriage.  Impressed by a demonstration of the lamp's powers, the Sultan surrenders his daughter willingly.

Just when Aladdin could not be happier, who should appear but the strange bearded man, who promptly seizes the princess and absconds with her.  Aladdin wakes up to find himself back in his miserable hovel - it has all been a dream!  The sad young man goes out into the street and gives his last coin to an old woman, who suddenly turns into a beautiful fairy and presents him with a knife.  With this weapon, Aladdin is able to rescue the princess as the bearded man tries to abduct her, and in his gratitude the Sultan offers her to the brave young man as his bride.  Aladdin's triumph is celebrated with an extravagant wedding party.