While my criticisms regarding these films' use of orientalism remains the same, in terms of the story and characters this is leagues better than '7th Voyage'. I will take Haroun over Barani any day.
I found Koura's characterisation and his relationship with Achmed to be pretty interesting also; it's rare for the villain to share any love with their lackeys in these sorts of films, and Achmed's growing concern for Koura as he slowly destroys himself had a lot of potential for an emotional pay-off. Nothing comes of it unfortunately, and Koura's entire crew are wholly forgotten by the time of the climax.
The main reason I watched this was of course for Harryhausen's special effects work. I simply cannot get enough of these stop-motion creatures and they look great here. The lighting in some scenes is fantastic as well; I wish movies still looked like this.
While my criticisms regarding these films' use of orientalism remains the same, in terms of the story and characters this is leagues better than '7th Voyage'. I will take Haroun over Barani any day.
I found Koura's characterisation and his relationship with Achmed to be pretty interesting also; it's rare for the villain to share any love with their lackeys in these sorts of films, and Achmed's growing concern for Koura as he slowly destroys himself had a lot of potential for an emotional pay-off. Nothing comes of it unfortunately, and Koura's entire crew are wholly forgotten by the time of the climax.
The main reason I watched this was of course for Harryhausen's special effects work. I simply cannot get enough of these stop-motion creatures and they look great here. The lighting in some scenes is fantastic as well; I wish movies still looked like this.
