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The story of this film is very hard to follow, mainly because it has an
Italian soundtrack. I have posted my plot summary here as a study aid.
My review of the film can be found by clicking on this link.
Plot Summary
The Story of Nuradin and the Slave-Girl
Slave-girl Zumarud is being sold at the market (presumably at Baghdad). Her
outbursts offend some of the prospective buyers (including one who has a
blue-eyed Christian servant), but she latches her attentions on to a young man
called Nuradin. She slips him the money to pay for her, and tells him to go and
rent a house. After spending the night with him, the next morning Nuradin finds
Zumarud has been working on a tapestry. She asks him to go to the market and
sell it, but not to a blue-eyed man. He goes to the market, but finds the
blue-eyed man (and his master) to be very interested in the work. The blue-eyed
man follows Nuradin back to his house. In bed later Zumarud tells Nuradin the
story of Caliph al-Rashid's favourite poet (Abu Nuwas) and his amorous attentions to three young men; and
another in which al-Rashid and his concubine select a beautiful boy and girl and
sport with each other as to whose selection is the more beautiful. After the
conclusion of this, the blue-eyed man makes his presence known. Nuradin is
drugged, and, in revenge for her insults, Zumarud is kidnapped and transported
in a box to a man that she saw earlier at the market; who beats her for
insulting him. Bereft, Nuradin now desperately tries to find her by searching
the suks. He is assisted by a lady of the court who finds Zumarud in
al-Rashid's palace, and returns to claim her reward from Nuradin. Later Nuradin
tries to attract Zumarud's attention at the palace, but falls asleep at the
walls - and when Zumarud appears, she invites the wrong man into the palace.
This man, who has assumed the disguise of Nuradin, kidnaps her, taking her out
of the palace and telling her that he is one of forty thieves. He chains her by
the neck to a stake in the ground. Zumarud mesmerises her guard and removes his
clothes. On the back of a camel, now looking like a man, she arrives at another
city - a city which happens to be looking for a new king, and traditionally
takes the first m an who comes in from the desert.
Zumarud is told that she has to take a bride; but when the potential bride arrives in her chamber Zumarud enjoins her in no uncertain terms to accept her secret - that she is a woman. They devise a means to help Zumarud to find Nuradin - a big feast; and the bride plays the part of the king's wife. When the blue-eyed man (Barsum) turns up at the feast and makes the mistake of taking rice from someone else's plate, Zumarud recognises him immediately, and summons him. She condemns him to crucifixion for the kidnapping of a slave girl.
Outside the city Nuradin is still looking for his girl. He is 'kidnapped' by a couple of girls who proceed to have some fun with him. Another man arrives at the feast and proceeds to take some rice from the same plate as the Christian. He is the thief who earlier kidnapped Zumarud and chained her to a stake. His end is predicted by the men sitting opposite him, and sure enough, in the next shot he is shown on a cross next to the Christian. Meanwhile, a lady asks Nuradin if he could do some carrying for her. She purchases many goods at the market and Nuradin carries them. As they pass a house, she beckons to some friends or relatives to come out, and they have a storytelling feast. The story of Princess Dunya is told.
The Story of Princess Dunya
A girl falls asleep. She dreams of a pigeon being caught in a net and saved by
a dove, and later a dove being caught and not being saved by the unfaithful
pigeon, and the dove dying. Elsewhere, outside of the dream, a hunter comes
across the very handsome Aziz in the forest, weeping and bearing a scroll. The
hunter asks what is wrong with Aziz. Aziz tells his story.
The Story of Aziz
Aziz is on his way to get married to his cousin Aziza, when he sees a very
beautiful girl looking out of a first floor window. She shuts the window.
Transfixed, he remains at that spot until nightfall, when he proceeds on his
way. He arrives to find that the party is over and the wedding has been put off
for a year. His bride sadly interprets the signs of the young beauty. She
dutifully aids him in his love affair. At one point the beauty gives him a
scroll, which he passes on to her cousin; whose assistance leads to her own
death of a broken heart. Appalled upon hearing of the death of Aziz's bride,
his lover Budur orders him to go and make a marble tomb for her. He goes, but
comes across another female cousin. He marries this female cousin, and a year
later returns to Budur, affirming that now he is married he can only sleep with
her for one night. She has arranged an ambush of women, and removes his manhood
in an excruciatingly painful fashion. Abashed, Aziz returns to his mother; who
passes on to him a scroll that Aziza gave to her. On it she had written
"This is the work of Princess Dunya", and therefore absolved Aziz of
blame.
Aziz and the Huntsman
On hearing this story the huntsman is so moved that he resolves to go along
with Aziz to the city of Princess Dunya, killing a pigeon so that the
bloodstained clothes would make his father think he is dead. They go to the
city and find Dunya's father first, who orders them to bathe. Then they go to
Dunya's garden. Here they meet Dunya's gardener, who explains to them that
Dunya hates men because she equates them with the unfaithful pigeon she has
dreamt of. The men hear this, and hire two painters to work on some ceiling
paintings in a neighbouring house. Whilst the men are at work they ask one to
tell them the story of how he came to be there.
The Painter's Story
He is a king's son. Injured in battle, he seeks aid in a neighbouring city. The
only useful thing he can do for the city is chop wood. He is doing this when he
comes across a hole in the ground, which turns out to be the entrance to an
underground chamber. In it he finds a beautiful girl who has been imprisoned by
a demon. Shortly after making love to the girl, the demon appears. The prince
manages to make his escape, but the demon uses deceit to come after him; and
transports him once again to the underground chamber. Here he becomes convinced
that they love each other; so out of jealousy he chops the girl up into bits
with his sword, and transports the prince to a far away country, transforming
him into a monkey on arrival. The monkey is found by some locals who take it
home on their boat. On the boat they find that it is capable of superb
calligraphy. Upon arrival in the city, the calligraphy is read and found to be
high quality poetry. The monkey is fêted and brought before the king.
The king's daughter recognises straightaway that the monkey is a man, and
transforms him back to his natural condition; sacrificing her own life in order
to do so. She runs away consumed by flames. The painter, feeling that he had
offended God, throws off his princely clothes and dons the garb of a dervish.
Yunan's Story
An elderly dervish now appears before a young fisherman and tells him that at
noon the fisherman will find him dead. He instructs him to wash his body and
give his turban and tunic to anyone who asks for them. Yunan, the second
painter, now appears. He hears a voice in his head telling him to ask his
father, the king, if he can make a voyage on the sea. His father ridicules him,
but he is determined. All is calm, but suddenly an island rises out of the sea
and the ship that Yunan has boarded wrecks against it. He manages to find his
way to a hilltop, on top of which is a turret containing a brass horseman. The
voice in his head tells him to use his arrow to fire at the brass horseman and
topple it into the sea, which he does. The island then disappears back into the
sea. Yunan swims to another island where he sees a party of people surrounding
an opening to an underground chamber. Intrigued, he climbs down into this
chamber where he discovers a young boy (wh o has been left there for
safe-keeping by his father). The boy reveals that his death today at the hand
of Yunan had been predicted. Yunan assures him that this is rubbish - however,
later, when controlled by the voice in his head again, Yunan takes a knife and
stabs the boy in the back whilst he is asleep. Yunan's father now appears in a
ship passing by the island, overjoyed to see his son again. Back on land, Yunan
appears before the young fisherman, asking for the dervish's turban and tunic
which should be ready for him.
The Conclusion of the Story of Princess Dunya
With the huntsman lying eagerly in wait in the long grass, Princess Dunya and
the gardener now appear in her garden. The gardener points out the very
beautiful ceiling paintings in a neighbouring house. They go in there, where
they find that the paintings are of Dunya's dream; with the trapped dove and
pigeon flying away - but that the cowardly pigeon is caught by a bird of prey.
The gardener points out that one dream does not tell the whole story -
"the truth lies in many dreams". On hearing this, Dunya runs off;
finding the huntsman as she goes.
The Conclusion of the Story of Nuradin and the Slave-Girl
Nuradin is now found frolicking about with some girls in a pool. When the
frivolity is over, he resumes his search for Zumarud. Whilst in the desert he
comes across a lion, which turns out to be a jinn who leads him to the palace.
The feast is still going on, and Nuradin sits in the very seat that was
occupied by the blue-eyed Christian and takes a handful of rice. Upon doing so
he is whisked off by courtiers and into the chamber of the king. The king
orders Nuradin to make love to him, which revolts him, until … the penny
drops.