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.

Plot

In ancient Arabia, a caliph marries a different beautiful girl every morning, and then he has her killed every night. One of these girls, named Scheherazade, decides to rebel against the authority of the bloody caliph. To prevent the caliph from executing her, she entertains him by telling a fantastic story every night. Among these stories is the legend of Sinbad the sailor, who made seven journeys to seven different lands, meeting magical creatures and finding priceless treasures. Once Scheherazade runs out of stories, she invokes the help of the Genie of the Lamp, the protagonist of one of her stories, who takes Scheherazade to the modern world.