Customer Reviews

Captain Sindbad [VHS]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This film was always a favourite of mine when it used to be shown on a regular basis as Saturday afternoon entertainment on local television. Filled as it is with great stunts, magic tricks (awesome it seemed for a boy growing up in the late 1960's!), great colour, romance, daring adventure, and some excellent swordplay, it was the ultimate adventure movie. Today although viewed with a more critical eye I still think it is an entertaining romp and there is much to admire in the overall production.

Made in 1963 when alot of film companies where moving to Europe for the lower production costs, "Captain Sindbad" was actually filmed in Bavaria, Germany and starred one of my favourite actors of the 1960's the great and underrated Guy Williams. Possessing all the right elements to play the legendary character based on the stories of Sinbad the sailor, such as good looks, athletic prowess, excellent sword fighting skills, Williams was perfect for the role and he gives his all to the performance raising the film above your average matinee fare. Guy Williams had just come out of performing in Disney's classic "Zorro" series where he perfected his sword play skills and was soon after this role destined to move into his most famous outing as Professor John Robinson on the classic 1960's Sci Fi series "Lost In Space". Always an excellent performer Williams was blessed with a strong masculine voice , great diction and a commanding presence on screen or TV.

"Captain Sinbad" tells your typical story of of daring do set in the far off mystical land of Baristan where Sinbad after some exciting seas adventures returns to find his beloved Princess Jana (the beautiful Heidi Bruhl) being forced to marry the evil El Kerim (a dastardly Pedro Armendariz)after he has deposed the Princess's father the reigning king. El Kerim has also forced the King's magician Galgo (Abraham Sofaer in a very comical performance) to do his bidding for him which includes trying to dispose of Sindbad and forcing the King to agree to give the Princess to him in marriage. After escaping capture and a certain death in the arena fighting a scary invisible monster Sindad and his crew of brave sailors work out a way to remove El Kerim from terrorizing the country. They learn that Galgo has been forced by magical means to place El Kerim's heart in a far off tower so that his mortal body is invulnerable and cannot be killed.. The real adventure of the film chronicles their journey to the tower to destroy the stored heart of El Kerim. Along the way they encounter many terrors and hardships including dangerous man eating swamps, fiery landscapes, multi headed monsters, and savage crocodiles. The story is finally concluded and ends happily when Sindbad confronts and kills El Kerim and then weds his beloved Princess Jana. The final duel between Sindbad and El Kerim performed in the lofty upper chamber of the tower is excellently staged and is among the best that Guy Williams ever performed.

Out of such nonsense as this nevertheless comes a great story and an entertaining hour and a half of viewing. Certainly by today's standards the special effects look on the primitive side but there are many compensations to the film in its beautiful costumes, grand sets, beautiful colour, and very attractive leads. Guy Williams absolutely makes the film and his energetic style of handling this role makes it very watchable. For an enjoyable trip back to a more innocent time and for an adventure filled with lots of excitement and romance grab your magic carpet and travel into the pages of the Arabian Nights and enjoy "Captain Sindbad".

Guy Williams is in this movie. That gives it three stars to begin with. The fact that he plays the lead character with style gives it a fourth star. The costumes, historical value of the film and the fact that it is just a great deal of fun to watch gives it the fifth star. Guy Williams and an escape from reality for a while - what more do you want? If you like to have a bit of fun - buy this movie. If you are overly critical and think every movie should be a classic work of art, then pass this one by.

The King Brothers (producers) were wise to hire action director Byron Haskin to steer this picture into a wonderful adventure young and old can enjoy. Not to be overlooked is the superb symphonic score composed in the Rimsky-Korsakov vein by MICHEL MICHELET, a talented and neglected film composer from the old school (Steiner, Newman, Rozsa etc).

I remember seeing this movie on the big screen, a colorfull adventure with
sinbad batting monsters and magic...it was quite a treat. The VHS version was
pretty good but was not widescreen and you only get so much with VHS.
Now that it has been put on DVD, one will notice the clarity of the colors, the
widescreen and the crisp audio track.
I really enjoyed the DVD version, and i did notice some areas near the end where there was noise in the audio....verified the vhs version and the noise is there also.
a Keeper.

I actually first saw this movie on the big screen in the days of single screen movie houses. I liked it. Later it was shown on TV in two parts in a curious show OFF THE SEE THE WIZARD which featured family movies. I still liked it.
There is nothing wrong with this movie because it has a definite Sinbad tale to tell with Guy Williams playing strong in the lead. There are some fine ideas involving a magical side drinking magician who is under a tyrants curse, and later helps Sinbad accomplish his quest to save the life of a condemned princess.
This movie is actually in a class all its own, and does not try to overshadow the great effects of cinema. What it has is true high spirited heart, fine costumes, and outrageous monsters to give the imagination all it needs.
I am so glad it's finally available on dvd format, because I am ordering it today.

Finally, Captain Sindbad now exists in the fairer medium. It still contains special effects that are just short of special - but they're digitally enhanced, much clearer, and in Widescreen! This is one of those fun, innocent movies, that contains a wild romp to stamp out evil - if your kids haven't seen it, they should. The soundtrack evolves around Borodin's magnificent "Stranger in Paradise" - highly appropriate for this film. Casting is wonderful with Guy Williams of "Zorro" and "Lost in Space" fame taking on the evil El Karim, played by Pedro Armendariz, Sr. Beautiful Heidi Bruhl is cast as Sindbad's love interest and Abraham Sofaer is cast as the magician, Galgo.

TRIVIA: If you look really closely, you'll find an actor who somehow got lost in Europe during the early 60's and managed to make an appearance in almost every film made there during that period, including - "Jason and the Argonauts", "The 300 Spartans", and an uncredited role in "The Longest Day" - that actor is John Crawford.

TRIVIA: Byron Haskin, who directed this film, and actor Abraham Sofaer would work together the following year (1964) on an episode of The Outer Limits also staring Robert Culp and Arlene Martel - written by Harlan Ellison - "Demon with a Glass Hand" - probably one of the finest science fiction episodes ever made.

Guy Williams did a wonderful job in the movie. He is probably the most good-looking Sinbad yet! His acting is so good and he is very 'energetic ' and athletic throughout the whole film.

CAPTAIN SINDBAD IS GUY WILLIAMS AT HIS BEST!!! In between his roles as tv's ZORRO in the late 1950s and as Professor John Robinson on tv's LOST IN SPACE in the mid to late 1960s, Guy Williams took his family to Europe in 1961 when he went to make 3 movies, the third of which was 1963's CAPTAIN SINDBAD, made in Germany.

CAPTAIN SINDBAD'S story is simple:21 year old German singer and dancer Heidi Bruhl plays the beautiful Princess Jana, who is about to be forced to marry the evil El Karim, who has seized control of the kingdom of Baristan from her father. The villain El Karim is played by sensational Mexican character actor Pedro Amandariz, who went on to play someone with a very similar name--Kerim Bey--the same year with Sean Connery in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE.

CAPTAIN SINDBAD is supposed to be a b movie for kids, but there are some good adult scenes with Williams as Captain Sindbad, his German costar Heidi Bruhl as the Princess Jana, and Amandariz--especially an unusual dream sequence with Bruhl and Williams-- that make it an interesting romantic fantasy.

CAPTAIN SINDBAD'S music and choreography are terrific too, but the star of CAPTAIN SINDBAD is Guy Williams, better looking than Clark Gable, taller and more rugged than Tyrone Power, and unlike Sean Connery, American, and with a unique ability to use his v shaped torso, his beautiful hair, his height, his unbelievably handsome face, his mannerisms, and his distinct speech patterns to project himself as THE ULTIMATE LEADING MAN OF ACTION!!! When Guy Williams appears on screen for the first time in CAPTAIN SINDBAD, there's something about him that jumps out at the screen and says, "Everything's going to be all right!!!" He seems to convince Heidi Bruhl, too, because in CAPTAIN SINDBAD she looks and acts as if she is really in love with Guy Williams!!! (And an interesting real life subplot is that the very next year, Heidi Bruhl married an American actor Brett Halsey, who looked very much like Guy Williams, and once even was in a 1950s movie with him!)

Director Byron Haskin also does a terrific job of showcasing Williams' strengths and covering his one physical flaw, the same flaw that kept Guy Williams from becoming Hollywood's #1 leading man, and the same flaw that keeps CAPTAIN SINDBAD from being a great movie, since we just don't get to see enough of Guy Williams, but even so, CAPTAIN SINDBAD IS GUY WILLIAMS AT HIS BEST!!!

CHARI KRISHNAN
RESEARCHKING

Don't even compare this flick with any of the Ray Harryhausen special effect movies, because it wont work. And I didnt, when I first saw this, a long time ago. And I am very picky with Sci-fi movies.
Sci-fi movies do not garner a five star rating with magnificent special effects, if the storyline is uninvolving. Fortunitely for this movie, it gives Mr. Guy Williams, of Lost In Space TV series, to brush up on his handling of making the ridiculous, seem real. Even threatening.
You know you're in trouble with the believable special effects when the giant like buzzards hover over Sinbad's ship, to drop boulders, and you see mechanical crow feet. But the storyline believes in itself, and makes no excuses for the special effects team production. It moves briskly, with no apologies. Even the obvious scene where the magicians head is made to spin on his shoulders by the uncaring ruler's manipulative magic ring, is an obvious look at bad special effects. But who cares, again the story continues on in spite of itself, and moves on with the plot. That scene, by the way, made me laugh. . .I liked the guy who played Galgo. A "nipping on the side" magician confidant.
The final scenes where the exploring men seek the hidden heart above the tower, go through a very colorful, yet still phony swamp. Again, this works for the movie, but it stays on the same continuity. By the time you get to the several headed dragon, get over it! It's the icing on the cake of pure fakery, but the actors go along with it as if the seriousness does indeed exist. That's what makes this movie a magical journey for Captain Sindbad. (They need to really consider DVD availabilty).

This title is now available through Warner Brothers site.
Though date this film was a thrill ride for those of us at a certain age.Without a doubt Guy Williams' portrayal was taken very seriously.