Customer Reviews

Golden Voyage of Sinbad [VHS]

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Technically a follow-up to the Harryhausen-Schneer classic "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad", this Arabian fantasy only shares the title character in a new story. Although it has less stop-motion animation monsters than some of the other entries in the Harryhausen-Schneer fantasy film canon (which includes "Clash of the Titans", "Jason and the Argonauts", and "Mysterious Island"), "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad" is one of their absolute best, for three reasons.

1)The script. This is usually a weak element in the Harryhausen-Schneer movies, with the narrative haphazardly woven around monsters conceived before the script was written. But "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad" surprises: the script is charming and poetic, sounding exactly they way we would always like an Arabian Knights adventure to sound. Just a few lines of Koran-inspired maxims are enough to whisk you back to childhood innocence. The plot is simple but exciting, and villain Koura is a wonderful nasty. And the monsters make sense; they have a good reason to appear.

2)The performances. Usually in this series, actors make up part of the budget-saving: adequate at best, laughable at worst. But John Phillip Law makes a fine Sinbad: taciturn, stoic, exotic, and tough...he really matches our vision of what the legendary sailor should be. But it is Tom Baker (later to be the most famous Dr. Who) who steals the show as evil sorcerer Koura. He doesn't try to play the baddie for camp value, doesn't try to make him funny, but instead plays him as sinister and cold-blooded as possible. Great voice intonations as well. Oh, Caroline Munro is in the film, too. I don't really know about her acting, but it doens't really matter with those outfits she almost wears. You'll see what I mean...

3)The monsters. Each one is a clever Harryhausen masterwork. The final battle between and griffin and the centaur is fantastic, even if the griffin appears rather abruptly. But the scene with the six-armed statue of Kali is what you will remember: a symphony of flashing swords and stunning stop-motion genius. The actors deserve credit here for convincingly fighting with air.

Finally, all this is presented in pristine DVD widescreen. And there's a good documentary on all of Harryhausen's work, with extensive interviews with the master himself and rare footage of his test movies and failed film projects. Get this film. The kids will love it, but you'll love it even more.

While the story of Sinbad's pursuit of a hidden treasure amidst seemingly insurmountable danger, falling in love with a beautiful woman (thank Allah that polygamy was allowed, no? He seems to get married in each film!) and being pursued by evil, magickal forces has become "stock" in that they all are basically the same tale, this film is truly exemplary for the acting talent of Thom Baker (spelled Tom in this flick), memorable to most of us as the "best" of the Dr. Who characters. Baker brings an intelligent, almost tragic malevolence to the character of Prince Koura, master swordsman and sorcerer, whose pursuit of arcane and mundane power comes at a very tangible and foreknown cost (he ages whenever he casts a major spell of any sort). In short, you certainly sympathise with him and sometimes almost secretly hope he is successful, since he really has no choice BUT to once he sets out on the path. Again, like all Sinbad films, the scenery is astounding, the special effects (Ray Harryhausen) remarkable even in this day and age of computer graphics, and the story replete with kitsch (pardon the pun) references to Islam.

First let me say I own all of Harryhausen's movies. I love his work so if I seem a little critical on a couple it is only because I know how great he can be. This movie may not be Harryhausen's best stop motion animation, but it is still a fine film. The hair on the centaur seems to move a little odd and the motion in the Centaur and Griffon fight scene is not as natural looking as the skeleton fight scenes in "Jason and the Argonauts". Otherwise this movie is very well done and packed with creatures. I especially liked the job he did on the magicians familiars. It entertains and has good locations and a decent cast. Those fans of Tom Baker in Dr. Who will enjoy him as an evil magician. It is good Saturday afternoon fare for the entire family. I recommend it to anyone that enjoys movies like "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad", "Clash of the Titans", "Willow", and "Krull". I bought this on DVD in the Sinbad Collection set and I am very happy with how well the transfer to DVD was done.

The scenes with Kali, the 6 armed goddess, are enough to make this movie worth buying. A good story line, several other monsters, and Caroline Munro (the movie's other goddess - WOW!) also make this a keeper.

I enjoy Golden Voyage as much as 7th Voyage.

This movie is the second of three Sinbad movies featuring the special effects of Ray Harryhausen. The first movie was 1958's "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad." The third movie is "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger," from 1977. Of the three movies, this one is probably the best. Even with the current state of digital special effects the stop-motion miniatures of Dynarama are incredible. It is amazing to see the kind of magic that special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen was able to wrest from his miniatures. As with all Harryhausen miniatures, I was unable to see the wires he used anywhere. According to one of the extra features, each wire was painstakingly painted to match the background, which means that wires had to be painted for each shot. Wow.

In this movie Sinbad (John Phillip Law) encounters a homunculus carrying a golden tablet. Soon Sinbad is seeing all sorts of interesting visions, including a beautiful slave girl and a strange looking man who turns out to be an evil wizard. Incidentally, the homunculus and the golden tablet are the property of the evil wizard, and he wants them back, so he creates a storm that drives Sinbad and his men ashore. Once ashore, Sinbad encounters Koura (Tom Baker, who would be the fourth Dr. Who the same year this film was released), an evil magician. Sinbad escapes to a nearby city where he meets with a disfigured Vizier. Soon Sinbad figures out that the golden tablet is part of a map leading to all sorts of riches, which causes Sinbad, the Vizier, and Sinbad's men to go seeking the goodies, ostensibly to keep evil Koura from getting them.

Before Sinbad and company head out, Sinbad encounters a beautiful slave girl that, surprise, looks just like his vision. Through a fortuitous circumstance the slave girl is able to join Sinbad and his men on their quest.

The whole gang, with Koura traveling separately, travel to the mythical island of Lemuria where they encounter a group of natives protecting a shrine. Sinbad is ready to do battle with Koura, but Koura brings to life a statue of six-armed Kali, which also turns out to be the best Harryhausen effect in this movie.

After the encounter with Kali, the natives see that Margiana (Caroline Munro, who has been in a number of movies, including both Dr. Phibes movies and Bond film "The Spy Who Loved Me"), the former slave girl, has a symbol on her hand that is also the symbol of another of their gods, a one-eyed centaur. The natives stake Margiana out for the centaur, which carries her into its lair.

Sinbad and his companions escape the natives and follow the centaur. By coincidence, Koura and the centaur are in proximity, as is the fables Fountain of Destiny. Koura has the three golden tablets (obtained earlier in the movie by various nefarious means), which will provide youth, a cloak of darkness and a crown of untold wealth. By the time Sinbad catches up, Koura is already young. Soon Koura acquires the cloak of darkness and becomes mostly invisible.

In the exciting conclusion, involving more Harryhausen special effects, a gryphon fights the centaur as part of the eternal battle of good vs. evil that includes evil wizard Koura and Sinbad.

This movie is superior to "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad." The acting is better, the story is better and the special effects are more numerous and better. I think both movies are valuable for those looking for quality fantasy, movies with Ray Harryhausen special effects, or Sinbad movies. Or you could just get these movies because they are fun to watch.

As a side note, Robert Shaw is uncredited in the role of the floating Oracle of All Knowledge. Shaw was a star of renown, and would soon be Captain Quint in the movie "Jaws," released the year following the release of this film.

Golden Voyage of Sinbad places second in a trio of master FX pioneer Ray Harryhausen movies starring Sinbad - the dashing Arabian folk hero whose exploits involved sailing the seas in search of adventure. Throughout this well produced fantasy, whose low budget can't be felt anywhere, Harryhausen's creatures fly, dance and gallop to life with a smooth fantastical grace which showcases some of his very best work. However, the highlight of the film has to be Kali, the six-armed sword wielding statue Goddess.

Harryhausen's final creation is a true wonder to behold. With a mysterious, inscrutable visage that would make Mona Lisa proud framed by an impressive headdress which adds to the height and impact, this Kali looks authentic to it's cultural roots, while slickly imparting the dramatic heft and fantastical aura necessary to forge an unforgettable cinematic presence. Harryhausen's attention to detail is legendary and everything from the decorative designs on the headdress to the creepy skull belt to her six bracelets boasts detailing. Finally, Kali controlled by the movie's villain starts to dance. As a startled primitive tribe looks on, their enormous effigy starts to move - slowly at first - spookily creaking all the while. What follows is some of the most surreal and wildly hypnotic movements ever seen on film, set to traditional Hindu music which is both lively, mysterious and infectious in encouraging dance. Harryhausen hired one of the most popular Indian music composers at that time to create the dance music and it adds much to the scene. The dance moves are classical and their subtlety in achieving just the right feel is tremendously realized.

Kali's bobbing head movements alone are worth the time to view the scene - which only clocks in at about 2 minutes 10 seconds. Harryhausen's incomparable touch which bestows upon the puppet truly lifelike movements along with that non-committal facial expression achieve a singularly brilliant illusion of life. We know it's only optical illusion, but then the entire concept behind film is one big optical illusion, however the Kali dance sequence due in large part to Harryhausen's brilliant facial sculpt, design and exacting dance execution excites one on a level few others approach.

Inevitably, the creatures of Harryhausen, as in any action fantasy film, must fight. And this is noteworthy to emphasize; Harryhausen always called his creations exactly that - creatures - not monsters or demons or things - they're creatures who may be from another world, or sent by the Gods or in this case courtesy of a magician's mystical potion. Harryhausen left the moralizing up to the audience, while he focused on their actions. Here of course Kali fights Sinbad and his sailors. Alhough it's one mystical creature against a group, Sinbad's men may indeed be outnumbered, for Kali has six limbs and wields a deadly sword skillfully with each one.

Kali isn't the last of the fantastic creatures for Sinbad and crew to deal with, she's just arguably the coolest. This film showcases fantastic stop motion magic while providing a fun romp for the whole family. The DVD contains great extras including a wonderful documentary on Harryhausen narrated by Leonard Nimoy of Star Trek fame.

Today digital FX realized through computers can achieve much more complexity than Ray Harryhausen could alone in his small work shop. However there's something to be said about the artistry of producing something yourself, by hand and with a unique vision and in terms of that, the stop motion work here is some of the most artistic you'll ever see.

Just a quick note to anyone who sees this: as usual, these are not the true widescreen presentations. If you watch the full screen presentation and pick any scene with good border definitons, and then find the same scene in the widescreen version, you'll notice the edges have been edited over with black to create a widescreen appearance. In other words, instead of viewing MORE visual borders of these movies, the widescreen print is actually presenting much LESS than what was filmed. Stick with the fullscreen viewings so you don't miss anything.

I just watched this with my kids, and they were spellbound. There is no other word for it. The official description gives you an idea of the plot, but nothing can express the magic of a young mind that aborbs this entertainment that is as good as greek mythology (there are many similarities). I witnessed two young minds, awestruck and open, watching this and asking questions - some of which I couldn't answer, and so we must go elsewhere to find them together. What better recommendation is there than that?

Warmly recommended.

Ask any male who went through adolescence in the '50's and 60's for the one word that was synonomous with special effects and they will all answer, Harryhausen.

'The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad' was the second in a series of three Sinbad movies highlighted by the clay models of Ray Harryhausen. It was also the best. Yes, it's true that by todays standards the stop-action techniques used back then to provide the illusion of movement by Ray's fantastic creations was slow and cumbersome compared to what we can accomplish today with computer-generated images. However for us old-timers who didn't know any better it was absolutely magical.

'The Golden Voyage of Sinbad' was a classic of the genre in '73 and can still be enjoyed by the younger, albeit more visually sophisticated generation if they are willing to overlook some of the inherent flaws from a time before computers forever changed the cinematic landscape.

While somethings constantly change, somethings remain forever constant. No special effects are necessary to enjoy the ravishing Marigiana (Caroline Munro), looking better than any woman has ever looked on film.

Parents,if you can't find anything for you and the kids to watch because of either being too violent or bad language,then why not this movie and the others that Ray Harryhausen did?? It has cool looking creatures and lots of action.It doesn't always have to be the newest releases,does it?? Show them movies you grew up on or your parents grew up on,so what are you waiting for??