1001 Nights (1990 film)

Les 1001 Nuits
French film poster for Les 1001 Nuits
Directed by	Philippe de Broca
Written by	Philippe de Broca Jérôme Tonnerre
Starring	Catherine Zeta-Jones Thierry Lhermitte Gérard Jugnot Stéphane Freiss
Cinematography	Jean Tournier
Edited by	Henri Lanoë
Music by	Gabriel Yared
Distributed by	UGC - General Union Film
Release date	1990 (1990) [1]
Running time	100 minutes
Countries	France Italy
Box office	254,739 tickets (France)[2]

Les 1001 Nuits is a French-Italian fantasy film loosely based on the ancient Arabic legend One Thousand and One Nights. It is directed by Philippe de Broca and stars Catherine Zeta-Jones as Sheherazade, who has married a king (Thierry Lhermitte), who desires to have many virgin wives, but only one at a time. As soon as the King has consummated his relationship with a new wife, he has her put to death at sunrise. Sheherazade delays this unfortunate ending by putting off the connubial event for a thousand and one nights, telling irresistible stories that are unfinished when the sun rises. In this version, Sheherazade finds a magical lamp that holds the genie Jimmy Genius (Gerard Jugnot) who is from the 20th century. Jimmy helps Sheherazade by providing her with 20th-century technology including a parachute that is used to drop a nude Sheherazade into a man's lap.^[1]

Actress Catherine Zeta Jones received her first film role in Les 1001 Nuits. The film was shot in 1989 and released in 1990 to little acclaim.