Aladdin and His Wonder Lamp

Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (1906) is a Melies-inspired fantasy, one of the best of its period. It features a plethora of old-fashioned, in-camera effects as well as hand-tinted coloring. The story is told simply and with charm. Much of it seems to foreshadow both the 1924 and 1940 versions of The Thief of Bagdad in terms of creating a otherworldly and exotic realm, more imagination than the actual middle east.

There are no intertitles and likely expected its 1900s audiences to be familiar with the fairy tale, so if you are not familiar with the original Aladdin story (which, unlike the Disney version, features Aladdin's mother and two genies), I would get thee to Wikipedia first.

Aladdin is only a poor boy until he finds a magical lamp where a demonic sort of genie lives inside. The genie gives him his heart's desire which sees Aladdin becoming wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. However with the genie willing to grain wishes to whoever holds the magic lamp, surely it is only a matter of time before something or someone comes to take away all he has.

The first thing you notice about this hundred year old silent film from Pathé is the bright vibrant colours across every frame. I had seen hand colouring used in other silent films of the period but never to this extent – at times it looks like there is very little not coloured on the screen. It really adds visually to the film and works especially well when Aladdin get richer as the colours used also get richer and fuller at the same time. The span of the story is also impressive, with multiple scenes and sets at a time when films were still on average very short and quite basic in terms of what they tried to do.

Well worth a look then as another example of the important role that French studio Pathé had in early cinema.

This version of the Arabian Knights story "Aladdin's Wonderful Lamp" is very impressive for its time. It is up to the standards of what Georges Méliès was making at the time and is even more impressive than the same company's "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" which also survives hand-colored and is also an Arabian Knights story. Here, Pathé uses panning shots, trick effects (which are extremely well done and unlike the films of Méliès, they are used to tell an actual story) elaborate sets and costumes, lots of actors, and hand-coloring. With all this put together we've got a pretty sophisticated drama/fantasy that still looks great today.

The title cards add to the complexity. Title cards were seldom used by 1906, so using them here is another step forward in filmmaking. As they are in french modern viewers won't understand them, but despite this the story is still easy to follow. Both Arabian Knights fantasies are extremely important for their time and today they are still watchable.

this work from pathe is very nice to see with full of special effects familiar with works from george melies,the hand colored film looks very colorful and the magic from the lamp is really well done for its time and a good arabian nights atmosphere as well.

Having produced a colour version of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves the previous year, Pathe created an even more opulent production in 1906 with this version of Aladdin and the Lamp. The brightly coloured film is almost as saturated as a 40s technicolor musical, and it adds to the fairy tale element of the plot. The film is also filled with impressive special effects almost on a par with those created by Melies. Some of the fantastical creations also stand out - especially the genie from the lamp who either stands nearly seven feet tall or is cleverly positioned in such a way that the camera's perspective makes him appear so. It might look a little primitive today but this was cutting edge stuff back in 1906.