Customer Reviews

Aladdin's Magic Lamp

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I remember "Volshebnaya lampa Aladdina" (Magic lamp of Aladdin) from my childhood. I first saw it in 1975 when I was 6 in a movie-theater (kino-teatr, in Russian) with my father. I liked it so much that I came to see it several times again with my friends. Now that I have a kid of my own I was really exited to get this DVD for him.

The movie is very well made for kids and is very good for the whole family to watch. In my opinion it is much better than "Aladdin" made in Hollywood. The movie is much fun to see but don't expect flashy MTV-style clips. This Russian version of Aladdin stays much closer to the spirit of the original middle-eastern fairy tale. From watching this movie as an adult I can add that the main charecter (Aladdin) is sometimes a bit too "sweet". Side charecters acting is quite enjoyable.

This DVD release is very good technically. Despite its age the movie appears in great colors. The restoration is well done. It also appears in wide-screen (ananamorfic) transfer. I was plesantly surprised to see this movie in 5.1 surround sound. There are three soundtracks to choose from (original Russian, English and French). The quality of English dubbing seems reasonable but I would not be an expert to comment on it. Anyway, you can choose subtitles in 8 or more languages.

I have a fondness for Russian-made fairy tale movies from the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's. I just watched this movie yesterday and it definitely lived up to my expectations. The colors are rich, Jasmine looks like a perfect doll, Aladdin is handsome, and their costumes are breathtaking. I love that it follows the storyline of the original Aladdin story from the Middle East. The special effects are from that time period, but still vivid. A lot of time and effort was spent in creating a magical backdrop for the storyline. Aladdin wears gold shoes that point towards the sky. It really is a fiest for the eyes.

I have seen the translated English version on VHS when I was a kid years ago and I remember liking it as I was just a kid. I saw this on DVD and thought I would see it again thinking it would be the same version. It's the same movie with the same actors the only thing that's different is that it has been updated and has a new English translation with different voice actors than the VHS version. So if you're looking for the old VHS version on DVD than this is not it because it doesn't exist. Plus, the new voice actors seem too exagerrated and ruin some of the charactors kind of making them seem fake.

This movie was a disappointment. I bought the movie based on the online review of other viewers. This was a mistake. The quality of the DVD movie was very poor. The content was mediocore. Even my 8 year old daughter was not impressed. It definitely was not worth the money I paid for.

M.Rahman

I didn't like it. My cousin and I watched it and it was a dissapointment. Dont rent it, dont buy it, dont waste your time.