The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974)

Not even bad in a good way

Let's be realistic.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Famed adventurer / sea captain Sinbad (John Phillip Law) comes into the possession of a mysterious bauble while sailing. Soon after, he arrives at the kingdom of Marabia, where he meets the Vizier (Douglas Wilmer), and Prince Koura (Tom Baker), the evil and cunning man who will become his nemesis. In the company of the Vizier, an indolent shopkeepers' son (Kurt Christian), an incredibly gorgeous slave gal (Caroline Munro), and assorted others, he sets sail for the island of Lemuria, where he will have his final showdown with Koura and where the mystery of the bauble(s) will be solved.The under rated director Gordon Hessler is in fine form here, guiding a spirited fantasy / adventure with robust action, excellent location shooting, rousing music (by Miklos Rozsa), lovely photography, and a top cast. Naturally, the film comes to life whenever Ray Harryhausens' effects creations are on screen - whether they be a griffin, a one eyed centaur, or a sword wielding and six armed statue. They never become the whole show, as well they shouldn't, but serve to function as wonderful set pieces that enhance the experience. The screenplay by Brian Clemens (based on a story by him and Harryhausen) is filled with literate & colourful dialogue, as well as a sense of humour. "Trust in Allah, but tie up your camel." becomes a recurring line.Law is an amiable, vivid hero. Wilmer, and Martin Shaw as Sinbads' compatriot Rachid, are excellent. Christian is a hoot as a character whom we don't doubt WILL rise up to the challenge once the stakes are raised. Spaghetti Western actor Aldo Sambrell also appears. Baker is a wonderful villain, camping it up a bit but never becoming TOO outrageous. You can't wait to see him get his. One might wish that the eternally stunning Munro had more to do, but her presence in anything is ALWAYS welcome.Fairly lengthy for this sort of thing, at an hour and 45 minutes, but it is able to hold your interest and provide a great diversion, for any old school fan of this genre.Eight out of 10.

This story is based on The Thousand and One Arabian Nights and on the imaginations of Brian Clemens and special effects artist Ray Harryhausen. The Arabian Nights were a Medieval collection of stories in the Middle East that borrowed from all kinds of sources -- Persian, Greek, Indian -- and they all established a certain undeniable atmosphere.You have to hand it to the Medieval Middle Easterners. The stories are full of magic, adventure, mystery, and beauty. Jasmine is mentioned often. It is sometimes used as a girl's name. It was the name of Rita Hayworth's daughter by Aga Kahn, and there is, or was, Yasmin Bleeth. I don't know who else has grown jasmine but there is no other scent like it. But the Arabian Nights evokes all kinds of perfumes, as well as melons, turbans, bloused pantaloons tucked into boots, sandals, pomegranates, and monsters. It's an entire iconic universe.Then there is the Wisdom Of The East as reflected in the dialog of this fantasy. "He who walks on fire will burn his feet." And "A live dog is better than a dead lion." And "Always trust in Allah, but tie up your camel." The writers omitted one passage from Richard Burton's translation that's puzzled me for years: "Her navel was so capacious that it could easily contain an ounce of ointment." Anyway, Sinbad comes into possession of part of a small golden charm which, when fitted together with two others, will give him "absolute power". He sets off in pursuit of the other two pieces, not recognizing the danger of absolute corruption. He's pursued by an evil prince who can make statues come to life and do his bidding, and he runs into a couple of Harryhausen's creations. The most effective monstrosity, I thought, was the figurehead on Sinbad's ship. The wood suddenly acquires life and tears itself away from its wooden prison to fight Sinbad and the crew. It moves slowly, wears a puzzled expression, and creaks and groans with every motion, rather like Dolph Lundgren trying to act.Mention should be made of this young woman Sinbad picks up along the way, the delicious and hypermastic Caroline Munro. She doesn't have much to do. She's given only a dozen lines at the beginning and the end. She spends most of her on-screen time cowering against walls, wearing an expression of distress. Sometimes her expression changes to one of disgust, as if someone had just offered her a jellyfish to hold. Her chief job seems to be following Sinbad and her bosom around from place to place.Harryhausen's effects always have an appealing fey quality, but here they seem a little crude. A bat-like creature spies on the hero and his body resembles that of the Ymir in "Twenty Million Miles to Earth." When an organic creature is killed, it often quivers realistically, which gives me the creeps. One of the inorganic creations is a direct copy of the famous Hindu dancing Shiva or Nataraja statue, here called "Kali" because everyone knows the evil Kali from "Gunga Din." Most of the creatures have a garish color. The little bat, for instance, is a sort of magenta. I wonder if Harryhausen's best days weren't behind him by this time.It's not an insulting movie, and these days that's saying a lot, but it seems mainly for kids or for moments in your life when you're looking for entertainment that's less than challenging.Does Sinbad get the crown that brings absolute power? Does he give it away because he enjoys his freedom and doesn't want the responsibility that kingship would bring? Does he get the girl? Is she bursting out of her bodice with love for Sinbad? Are we kidding?

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad is directed by Gordon Hessler and stars John Phillip Law (Sinbad), Tom Baker, Caroline Munro, Douglas Wilmer, Takis Emmanuel & Martin Shaw. It includes a score by composer Miklós Rózsa and features stop-motion effects from Ray Harryhausen (this one in Dynarama). It's the second of three Sinbad films that Harryhausen made for Columbia, the others being The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977). The plot sees legendary sailor Sinbad come into possession of a tablet dropped onto his ship by a mysterious flying creature. The tablet is one part of a map which greatly intrigues Sinbad so he wears it as an amulet. However, the tablet was bound for evil magician Koura (Baker) who now wants it back as it will lead to The Fountain Of Destiny. Can Sinbad, aided by the Grand Vizier Of Marabia (Wilmer), fend off Koura before he gets the rewards from the fountain to use for his evil ways?A smooth adventure piece that's low on plotting but high on magical mystery fervour. More known for directing horror films, Hessler does an admirable job in not letting the thin story bog the movie down. Sometimes with Harryhausen led movies the stop-motion creations end up being the sole reason for watching the film. And while, as always, they are the best thing in this movie, they give the film an Arabian Nights feel to the piece, managing to charm and engage enough to round it out as a full film viewing experience. Yes the cast are sub-standard B listers, with John Law and Munro featuring, one thinks, for looks (cool beard and turban look) and bosom (whoosh!) respectively. While Tom Baker's pantomime villain act could never become tiring; such is the fun he and the audience are having with it. But this be a good old yarn that's spun well in conjunction with Harryhausen's effects. Here we are treated to a vengeful ships Figurehead, a Centaur, a winged Griffin, a tiny Gargoyle and best of the bunch-the goddess Kali, a six armed statue that is brought to life by Koura. The latter giving a moment to rival that of Talos' awakening in Jason & The Argonauts. Look out for Robert Shaw who features uncredited as the "Oracle Of All Knowledge". Rózsa adds the aural joy with mystical Arabian flavours, and Ted Moore's cinematography brings the gorgeous colours and costumes to life.Good wholesome family entertainment. 7/10

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad starts on the open sea as Captain Sinbad (John Phillip Law) & his crew spot a strange flying creature known as Homunculus, after firing an arrow at it the Homunculus drops part of a golden amulet which Sinbad takes. That night Sinbad has visions & dreams that lead him to an island where the evil sorcerer & dark Prince Koura (Tom Baker) tries to reclaim the part amulet but Sinbad escapes to a nearby city ruled by Vizier (Douglas Wilmer) who has been horribly disfigured by a fireball from prince Koura, the section of amulet is part of a map which leads to the land of Lemuria where a magical fountain of youth can be found, Koura wants to find the fountain & gain immense evil powers while Vizier wants to reach the fountain to regain his human looks & rule his people as a proper King. Sinbad agrees to lead the expedition to find the fountain but Koura & his evil magic is never far behind as he attempts to overcome all sorts of dangers...This British American co-production was directed by Gordon Hessler & was the second of three Sinbad films produced by Charles H. Schneer & legendary special effects man Ray Harryhausen for Columbia Pictures, the first was the magnificent The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) & the third & final one after The Golden Voyage of Sinbad was the equally magnificent Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977) & while all three are great fantasy adventure films The Golden Voyage of Sinbad is probably my least favourite although not a bad film by any means. Full of adventure, monsters, swashbuckling sword fights, daring escapes in the nick of time, magic & a journey to mystical lands the Sinbad films are just great to watch, even now today in 2010. However The Golden Voyage of Sinbad does take a while to get going, it's rather slow at times & the lack of monsters surprised me a bit, for the first forty odd minutes we get a few scenes of a little creature flying around & that's it. Even when the film kicks into gear only the wonderful fight between Sinbad & the six armed statue of Kali has any real spectacle to it, sure the Cyclops Centaur creature & Griffin fight is alright but not up there with Harryhausen's best. The script is a bit wooden at times, the dialogue is basic, there's little characterisation & the plot seems to take care of itself. At 100 odd minutes The Golden Voyage of Sinbad feels quite long which it really shouldn't. This is still great entertainment & I did like it but the basic plot & slow pace meant my interest did start to waver at a few points.The stand-out parts of The Golden Voyage of Sinbad are the generally superb effects from Ray Harryhausen, from the detailed little Homunculus from medieval alchemy, the Cyclops Centaur & Griffrin from Greek mythology & Kali from Hinduism complete with a cool little dance she does. There's also a living figurehead of a ship in a another scene. All the effects are very good from the stop-motion animation to the matte work to the way the models interact with the actor's, this is certainly a very impressive film to look at. The whole Arabian culture is used as a backdrop & some of the costumes look a little garish now, would hardened sailors really wear bright pink, green & blue clothes? The locations look nice too I suppose & the sets are pretty good.With a supposed budget of about $1,000,000 it looks like the majority of the money went of effects & they are impressive, although a little clean & bright the production design is great too. Apparently shot in Spain but funded by British & American money. The cast is good with John Phillip Law as Sinbad, Caroline Munro as the love interest, Tom Baker as the villain & Martin Shaw as his sidekick.The Golden Voyage of Sinbad is a classic fantasy adventure that was maybe a little too slow for my tastes & the lack of any really memorable monster action (desoite how good the effects are) means it's my least favourite of the three Harryhausen produced Sinbad films but that in itself doesn't mean it's not a great little fantasy adventure in it's own right since it is.