Nasrudin (partially found cancelled animated film and early prototype for "The Thief and The Cobbler"; early 1970s): Difference between revisions

From The Lost Media Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
No edit summary
 
(22 intermediate revisions by 11 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jIrNI11eHw|320x240|right|The only footage from ''Nasrudin''}}
{{InfoboxLost
Before ''The Thief and the Cobbler'', Richard Williams was working on a film called '''''Nasrudin'''''.
|title=<center>Nasrudin</center>
|image=Nasrudinstill.png
|imagecaption=Still from surviving footage of the film.
|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span>
}}
'''''Nasrudin''''' is an early prototype for the film that would later become ''The Thief and the Cobbler'', created by Richard Williams. The film would have been based on two books, ''The Exploits of the Incomparable Mulla Nasrudin'' and ''The Pleasantries of the Incredible Mulla Nasrudin'', which were written by Idries Shah and illustrated by Williams.<ref>http://www.vmresource.com/thief/edsummer.html</ref><ref>https://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.animation/msg/e7fd132fc8aa689f</ref>


The movie would have been based off of a series of books written by Idries Shah (Williams was the illustrator of the books). The books themselves collected the tales of Mulla Nasrudin.
==History==
Williams had to fund the animated movie by working on television and feature film projects.
Nasrudin was a philosophical yet "wise fool" of Near Eastern folklore from the 13th century. In 1964, Richard Williams Productions had started the project with the Shah family championing production.<ref>Schreck, Kevin (Director) (2012). Persistence of Vision (film documentary (and DVD bonus features)). USA/UK.</ref> The known cast of "The Amazing Nasruddin!" included Kenneth Williams, Stanley Baxter, and Vincent Price. During the animation process, the studio was making deals with movie distributors such as British Lion Film Corporations and Paramount.


By 1972, 3 hours of footage was completed, but Williams had a falling out with the family and Williams abandoned the project. The Shah family took the rights to Williams's illustrations.
Idries Shah demanded 50% of the profits, and her daughter Amina Shah, who had translated the Mulla Nasrudin stories, claimed their ownership.<ref>Grant, John (2006). Animated Movies Facts, Figures & Fun. pp. 47–49. ISBN 1-904332-52-8.</ref> Williams also claimed that producer Omar Shah was messing with the studio's finances for personal gain, thus creating a financial crisis.  


The 3 hours of footage that were completed haven't been released. All that exists is just a short clip of the film from a documentary called ''One Pair of Eyes''.
In 1972, 3 hours of footage was done for the film according to the composer Howard Blake. However, it is said that the film and the footage was not structured enough for a three-act feature film. Williams later had a falling out with the Shah family due to problematic relationships between the family and the studio, and Paramount withdrew the deal they had been negotiating. The Shah family later gained the rights for Williams' drawings however they allowed him to keep the characters he designed, including a thief character of whom Williams loved the most. The thief, as well as much of the supporting characters, would later be included in ''The Thief and the Cobbler''.
 
==Status==
The full movie has never been released to the public. Storyboards, unused drawings, and parts of the scripts have been released by those who have worked with Williams, however the only clip available from the movie comes from a documentary titled ''One Pair of Eyes''.
 
==Gallery==
===Images===
<gallery mode="packed" heights="250">
File:NasrudinCat.png|A storyboard for the film.
File:NasrudinStills.jpeg|Stills from the film
File:Mulla-nasrudin-richard-williams-36.png|An illustration from the novel ''The Exploits of the Incomparable Mulla Nasrudin''
File:ThiefGrandVModel.jpg|A character model sheet for an older design of Anwar The Grand Vizier
</gallery>
===Videos===
{{Video|perrow  =1
  |service1    =youtube
  |id1          =9jIrNI11eHw
  |description1 =The only surviving footage of ''Nasrudin''
}}
 
==References==
{{reflist}}
 
==External Link==
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thief_and_the_Cobbler#Production_history Production history for ''The Thief and The Cobbler'']


[[Category:Lost animation]]
[[Category:Lost animation]]
[[Category:Lost films]]
[[Category:Lost films]]
[[Category:Partially found media]]

Latest revision as of 03:05, 3 September 2023

Nasrudinstill.png

Still from surviving footage of the film.

Status: Partially Found

Nasrudin is an early prototype for the film that would later become The Thief and the Cobbler, created by Richard Williams. The film would have been based on two books, The Exploits of the Incomparable Mulla Nasrudin and The Pleasantries of the Incredible Mulla Nasrudin, which were written by Idries Shah and illustrated by Williams.[1][2]

History

Nasrudin was a philosophical yet "wise fool" of Near Eastern folklore from the 13th century. In 1964, Richard Williams Productions had started the project with the Shah family championing production.[3] The known cast of "The Amazing Nasruddin!" included Kenneth Williams, Stanley Baxter, and Vincent Price. During the animation process, the studio was making deals with movie distributors such as British Lion Film Corporations and Paramount.

Idries Shah demanded 50% of the profits, and her daughter Amina Shah, who had translated the Mulla Nasrudin stories, claimed their ownership.[4] Williams also claimed that producer Omar Shah was messing with the studio's finances for personal gain, thus creating a financial crisis.

In 1972, 3 hours of footage was done for the film according to the composer Howard Blake. However, it is said that the film and the footage was not structured enough for a three-act feature film. Williams later had a falling out with the Shah family due to problematic relationships between the family and the studio, and Paramount withdrew the deal they had been negotiating. The Shah family later gained the rights for Williams' drawings however they allowed him to keep the characters he designed, including a thief character of whom Williams loved the most. The thief, as well as much of the supporting characters, would later be included in The Thief and the Cobbler.

Status

The full movie has never been released to the public. Storyboards, unused drawings, and parts of the scripts have been released by those who have worked with Williams, however the only clip available from the movie comes from a documentary titled One Pair of Eyes.

Gallery

Images

  • A storyboard for the film.

    A storyboard for the film.

  • Stills from the film

    Stills from the film

  • An illustration from the novel The Exploits of the Incomparable Mulla Nasrudin

    An illustration from the novel The Exploits of the Incomparable Mulla Nasrudin

  • A character model sheet for an older design of Anwar The Grand Vizier

    A character model sheet for an older design of Anwar The Grand Vizier

Videos

The only surviving footage of Nasrudin

References

  1. ↑ http://www.vmresource.com/thief/edsummer.html
  2. ↑ https://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.animation/msg/e7fd132fc8aa689f
  3. ↑ Schreck, Kevin (Director) (2012). Persistence of Vision (film documentary (and DVD bonus features)). USA/UK.
  4. ↑ Grant, John (2006). Animated Movies Facts, Figures & Fun. pp. 47–49. ISBN 1-904332-52-8.

External Link

Retrieved from "https://lostmediawiki.com/w/index.php?title=Nasrudin_(partially_found_cancelled_animated_film_and_early_prototype_for_%22The_Thief_and_The_Cobbler%22;_early_1970s)&oldid=235966"