The Golden Voyage of Sinbad

I saw this movie with my 8 year old daughter on a big-screen TV in 2006 for the first time since seeing it in its original format in a theater as a kid when it was released. I couldn't remember why the movie made such an impression on me as a boy but now it's obvious. There's everything present for good escapist entertainment: imaginative, exotic settings, lot's of classic Ray Harryhausen creatures, acting that's not too serious but not so self-aware that the cast behaves like it's a joke, a fun script and Caroline Munro - in all of her G-rated plunging cleavage wonder, even if most of her dialogue is spent repeating the same line: "Sinbad look!" (probably because poor Sinbad was too distracted by her presence to pay attention to the approaching monster). Munro was probably the deciding factor in making the film a stand out when I was pre-adolescent male! Oh yeah, and my daughter loved it! Don't bother waiting for the next $400 million overproduced Hollywood fantasy epic. Just go rent or buy this and enjoy!

'Golden Voyage' is much better than the later 'Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger' and equal to the earlier 'Seventh Voyage of Sinbad'.

The Harryhausen creatures are impressive. Stop motion animation does give solidity to the image, more so than the usual CGI effect. There are some fine ones here including a one eyed centaur, a homunculus, a griffin, a six armed statue, a ship's wooden figurehead. The story is standard but the effects, the locations and the plot weave together well. There is also a dry humour in the dialogue which is entertaining. Scenes like the sword fight with the six armed statute (with six swords!) or the final confrontation at the fountain of wisdom (or something like that) are exciting. The great Miklos Rosza's music adds considerably to the atmosphere.

John Philip Law is OK as Sinbad and does attempt an Arabian accent unlike the usual English one, but the role isn't Shakespearean and he does well enough. Caroline Munro looks splendid in her costume, low cut almost everywhere. The rest of the cast support well.

Tom Baker is excellent as the villain Koura. He makes him sympathetic; what drives him is common to all people. He just uses different means to gain his ends. He dominates the scenes he is in and it is a pity that more big screen roles never came his way. He was the best 'Doctor Who' in the BBC series, in my opinion of course.

A good fantasy romp to appeal to the adventurer in all of us. Did I mention Caroline Munro's costume? Oh, I did.

Ah, yes; Ray Harryhausen and Sinbad. This is my favorite of the Sinbad films. Yes John Phillip Law is not an a-list actor; but, for once, he's not bad. Tom Baker is outstanding as the evil wizard. Carolie Munro is the breast, er, best sight in the film.

Harryhausen really captures the atmosphere of the Arabian Nights. There is adventure, mystery, terror, love, comedy, and some pretty good sword fights. I'll put the six-armed Kali up against the skeleton from the Seventh Voyage of Sinbad any day. And Tom Baker's wizard is far more evil.

Look, forget about CGI and enter the world of Dynamation! You'll have a good time. Now, where's that scene where Caroline Munro.........

After Sinbad (Jon Phillip Law) happens upon a strange gold "bauble" while at sea, his ship ends up at a town where a similar gold piece is kept by a Vizier (Douglas Wilmer), whose city is threatened by the evil prince Koura (Tom Baker). Sinbad, his crew, the Vizier, and two other people from the town begin an adventure to solve the mystery of the "baubles".

This is a fine fantasy/adventure film, and definitely one worth watching by any fans of the genre, as well as Ray Harryhausen fans. Mostly excellent, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad also has a couple of flaws that brought my score down to an 8 out of 10.

The main problem is that the film tends to meander at times. There are also a few minor problems with direction or editing, such as the less-than-convincing sword fight in the cave near the end of the film. Also, the mostly episodic nature of the script lessens the overall impact. It often feels like a string of short stories arbitrarily strung together, although in the end, the overarching goal ties the film together well enough.

But what "short stories" those are! The script, production/set design and costumes easily propel you into a captivating fantasy world, and Harryhausen's creatures, as always, are a delight to watch. No, they're not exactly realistic--no more realistic looking than cgi, in my opinion--but I'm not looking for realism when I watch a film like this. I'm looking for brilliant artistry, especially if it has a horror edge, and Harryhausen's stop-motion animated creatures fit the bill.

Most of the scenarios in the film are cleverly conceived. They're constantly leading to intriguing puzzles that have to be solved by our heroes, somewhat similar to a fantasy role-playing computer game, which films like this surely influenced. This maintains a gradually heightening suspense throughout the length of the film, as each puzzle tends to be more difficult than the previous one, and most are accompanied by fascinating beasties of some kind.

Although this genre is not usually noted for its fantastic performances, everyone in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad does a great job. Even as a Doctor Who fan who grew up watching the Tom Baker era of that show, it took me awhile to figure out who Baker was here. He is a joy to watch as a slightly campy villain. An even bigger joy to watch was Caroline Munro, who is breathtakingly beautiful. And Law, as Sinbad, is completely convincing and cool.

As long as you don't expect a masterpiece, you should have a lot of fun watching this film.

This film was a big hit in 1974 and many other Sinbad films have been made and there is no comparison to our new films today, it was a great success in the 70's and is enjoyable to view and enjoy the great acting of John Phillip Law (Sinbad) and his woman companion, Caroline Munro(Margiana) who battle all the evil spells and evil powers that Tom Baker,(Koura) tries to use against Sinbad. Every time Koura uses the Evil Powers, his face begins to look like an old man and he even gets weaker and weaker. There is clashing of swords and deep pits of hell Sinbad falls into and he still manages to fight the bitter struggles of Evil vs. Good. Caroline Munro gives a great supporting role and Tom Baker is completely in control of his role as a very EVIL Demon. Enjoy this Sinbad from the Past, it is worth watching.