JULY 2009
Orientalist Silents Film Series: The Adventures of Prince Achmed FILM SERIES THURSDAY, JULY 23, 7 P.M.
The Orientalist Silents Film Series concludes as the Harry Ransom Center screens Lotte Reiniger's film The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926), one of the earliest animated features ever produced, on Thursday, July 23, at 7 p.m.
Based on stories from The Arabian Nights, The Adventures of Prince Achmed tells the story of a wicked sorcerer who tricks Prince Achmed into riding a magical flying horse. The heroic prince subdues the magical horse, which he uses to fly off on many adventures. While traveling, he falls in love with the beautiful Princess Peri Banu and must defeat an army of demons to win her heart. The entire film is animated using the silhouette technique, which employs movable cardboard and metal cutouts posed in front of illuminated sheets of glass.
Seating is free, but limited.
VIEW TRAILER for this film on the Ransom Center's YouTube channel
The two silent films made about the life of Omar Khayyám are lost; in their place, these screenings offer a glimpse of Western attitudes toward an imagined Orient at the height of the Rubáiyát's fame.
This program is in conjunction with The Persian Sensation: The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám in the West, which is on display through August 2. The year 2009 marks the 150th anniversary of Edward FitzGerald's landmark translation of the poetry of the medieval Persian astronomer Omar Khayyám. These gemlike verses about mortality, fate, and doubt became an unprecedented popular phenomenon in England and America but have since fallen into obscurity. Featuring 200 items from the Ransom Center's extensive collections, the exhibition narrates The Rubáiyát's history through such items as Persian manuscripts, miniature editions, and illustrated parodies.
General Info
All events take place at the Ransom Center unless otherwise noted and are subject to change.
Please be aware that the Ransom Center's Charles Nelson Prothro Theater has limited seating. Doors open 30 minutes in advance. Many programs are webcast live.
All programs and exhibitions are free unless otherwise noted.
Please request ASL or ADA accommodation two weeks in advance by contacting 512-232-5170 or dsigler@mail.utexas.edu.
Event times are noted in Central Standard Time.
Ongoing Events
Free docent-led tours of the exhibitions on Tuesdays at noon and Saturdays at 2 p.m.
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Watch broadcast journalist Mike Wallace's interviews from the television program The Mike Wallace Interview. Wallace donated the show's footage on 16mm kinescope to the Ransom Center in the early 1960s. Most episodes have not been seen since they aired.
