Ancient Mysteries: Legends of the Arabian Nights on AllMovie

For centuries upon centuries, The Arabian Nights - a byzantine collection of Middle Eastern stories with a Matryoshka-like structure and fleeting eroticism, uncredited to any one specific author - have captivated readers. The framing story of the work involves the plight of Queen Scheherazade. Faced with the threat of execution at the hands of her husband, King Shahryar, the female regent opts to delay her death by telling long-winded and complex tales to her spouse. The individual tales involve such seminal characters as Sinbad, Aladdin, and Ali Baba, who have (since the work's original appearance) gone down in history as literary icons. Now, the A&E special Ancient Mysteries: The Arabian Nights offers a protracted documentary exploration of the enigmatic origins, content, meaning, and legacy of this vital contribution to this hallmark of international literature.