Customer Reviews

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

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I am an artist/writer and there was a time when I would not have been able to imagine my being such a thing. My unexpected encounter with the art of Ray Harryhausen played a considerable part in my moving in that direction and it is really remarkable what a great effect it had on my entire life.
I was a 7, almost 8, year old poor boy whose heroes were Mickey Mantle and Elvis Presley, when I first saw this amazing film at a small local theater for 25 cents! (I am not joking. I was part of a white minority living in a mostly Hispanic and Black low income neighborhood where Frosty Malts were 15 cents, a Big Hunk was a nickel, movie posters were hypnotizing, and the local theater smelled like old tennis shoes. I mention this only to give a glimpse of the setting in which the miracle occurred.)
This first viewing of the film impacted me so deeply, so forcefully, that to this day some 46 years later, my strong memory of its phenomenal colors, forms, and sounds even includes intense particular memories of the dark, shabby, musty little theater interior itself on that very day. Sometimes memories are so powerful they become symbolic for us. This is one of those.
I was very far from being an egghead type of kid, but I had considerable powers of concentration, focus, and retaining when something really interested me and from the moment I saw the poster behind the glass advertizing the 'coming attraction' called THE 7th VOYAGE OF SINBAD, I was ready to give it my all. And when that seemingly fated afternoon came, I did so. I took in everything, I listened very carefully to the dialogue, I watched every little movement on that big screen that was so amazing in a neighborhood where many people did not even have a television. Within the first ten minutes of the film I was deeply in love with it and by the time it was over I was madly in love with it. I could think only of seeing it again... and again... It had succeeded in drawing me into its timeless circle of fantasy. With a single viewing I had memorized the entire story line and when I saw the film again ( I begged my mother for the quarter) it was like entering a realm where, though everything was wondrous and new, it was really where I had always lived. And still do. Though in certain ways I understand it better now than I did then, it remains a place where truth is inseparable from wonder and mystery.
For my actual review of the film, I am going to focus only on its first ten minutes (from the opening darkling shot of Sinbad at the helm to the crew's escape from the enraged Cyclops back to the ship). I will explain why it so captured me as a boy and why I think it is the most powerful opening ten minutes to ever come out of TinselTown .
First of all, it must be understood that all the things that keep a popular film such as this from being categorized as 'high art' of course meant nothing to me then and honestly mean nothing to me now because Harryhausen's genius transcends them all.
FIRST, Sinbad's intense calm at the helm and his ability to see land through the seemingly impenetrable, surrounding blue-black darkness that served as a symbol of the crew's lost condition told me immediately that he was a hero.
THEN the anxiety of the hungry crew that they might actually find something terrible on the land assured me that they would indeed find something terrible and that Sinbad was ready to face it.
So the question was: When it appeared, how exciting and how good would it be, this terrible thing?
Well, when the Cyclops emerged from the cave I entered a new world and had a new hero named Ray Harryhausen.
In generations to come, art-lovers will laugh that anyone actually ever thought that CGI animation was even in the same league with the art of Harryhausen.

This is definitely one of Harryhausen's best movies. However, the DVD has one major problem. The film is shown at the wrong aspect ratio! The DVD displays the film in widescreen at 1:85 ratio and it should be full screen at 1:33. The top and bottom of the picture are cropped off! So there ar some shots where the cyclops head is almost cut off at the top of the frame. The "full screen" version on the other side of the disc is merely a "push in" on the wide screen version, therefore cutting off both the sides of the picture as well as the top and bottom. Columbia/Sony really screwed up here. They did the same thing on the "Jason and the Argonauts" DVD. What a shame. It's a great movie and deserves a proper presentation.

I first saw this movie on TV as a little boy in the early 60s. I watched with wide-eyed wonder as the Cyclops, the gigantic two-headed Roc, and the fire-breathing Dragon, creatures that even my young mind knew existed only in the imagination, came to vivid life on the screen.

The monsters' scenes remained a childhood memory more vivid than anything else I had seen on TV or in the movies. Then, a good 20 years later, we got our first vcr, a beta. At the neighborhood video rental store, I chanced upon this title. I thought, what the hell, I'll rent this just for kicks, it should be fun. But as I watched it again, I found myself reliving my childhood wonder and awe. Not exactly a just-for-kicks viewing experience.

Now, another 20 years later, I'm the proud owner of a DVD copy of The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. The film, digitally transferred with remarkable sharpness and clarity, remains as spectacular as it was way back in 1958. The cast is still impressive, the costumes realistic, and the sets and locations awesome. But of course, the real stars are the monsters, brought to three-dimensional life by the undisputed master of stop-motion animation, Ray Harryhausen.

Science fiction writer Ray Bradbury once said that as young men, he and Harryhausen made a pact that they would grow old but never grow up. What Harryhausen probably didn't realize was that he would influence a lot of people -- myself included -- into following that same path.

The winning combo of Charles Schneer and Ray Harryhausen produced this fantastical version(and most satisfying of them all)starring the Persian mythic hero Sinbad.
Kerwin Matthews stars in the lead,who,as the film opens,is carrying home on his ship the princess of Chandra,Parisa(Kathyrn Grant);to which he is pledged in matrimony.While they make a brief stop on the island of Collosa for provisions,they come to the aid of an evil magician Sokourah(Torin Thatcher),who is being chased by a Cyclops.In the process of fleeing the magician looses his magic lamp to it.
His wishes foiled to return to the island, Sinbad sails home to Baghdad with the disgruntled magaician.The night before the wedding of Sinbad and the princess,the magician deliberately shrinks the princess down to a tiny size in order to force them to take him back to Collosa for the remedy to her condition.
With no choice Sinbad is forced to return to Collosa.Along the way Sinbad and the few loyal to him squelch a mutiny,thanks in big part to wailing demons on an island they pass south of Collosus.Once they reach the island,Sokourah deliberately splits them into two parties.Sinbad's group get's caught and caged by the Cyclops and Sokourah does nothing to help.With the princess's help they get free and lure the Cyclops to its' death.When they get back on track(now together and with Sinbad holding the newly re-acquired lamp)they find an egg and kill its'occupant,a baby Roc-a big two headed bird.The shell is a key ingredient needed to transform the princess back but Sakourah insists on getting to his castle to successfully complete the spell.The group is then confronted by the mother Roc who is none too pleased about her offspring,and she manages to even the score with them.
Arriving at the entrance to the castle,Sinbad and what is left of his crew see its' guardian;a giant,fire breathing manacled dragon.Once inside Sakourah is forced to undo what he has done and the princess finally gets turned back to normal size.The magician is rebuffed by Sinbad when he asks for the lamp back,as Sinbad tells him it is his only when they reach the ship.Angered Sakourah brings a Skeleton to life which Sinbad defeats.They flee through the caves and along the way throw the lamp into the fiery lava which releases the genie(Richard Eyer)from his bondage.
The dragon is now released also and just as Sinbad and the princess become its' lunch,another Cyclops enters the cave and dukes it out Mr.green scales.It is dragon one-Cyclops zero as the dragon with Sakourah in pursuit,follow the fleeing pair to the outside of the cave.The crew outside fire a giant arrow into the dragon killing it,which lands on top of the magician.Sinbad,Parisa and the genie live happily ever after.
Shot largely in Spain this well done fantasy film has many elements of suspense and action that keep you interested all the way through.Most of the Schneer/Harryhausen films were deliberatly shot outside the U.S. to save money and it does show,especially in the acting and overdubbing.But it is Harryhausen's superb special effects in stop motion animation combined with the live action sequences that make this and all their collaborative works work as well as they do.The brief fight scene with the skeleton in this film would be reprised ten times over with the horde of skeletons in "Jason and the Argonauts".
The print used here is a newly remastered Hi-def print and it looks great,along with the improved sound.The contrast is right on and the colours are crisp,clear and vibrant.
Special features include audio comments with Harryhausen and others,several featurettes about the movie,Dynamation and Harryhausen himself,an interview with Harryhausen by John Landis,a photo gallery and a rare release of the promo record for this film called"Sinbad may have been bad,but he's been good to me"(it's better than it sounds!).
All in all a fine and fitting 50th anniversary release of this wonderful fantasy film,remastered and looking better than ever before.In it's original 1:66:1 a/r,it is a must for every fantasy film/Harryhausen buff and for kids of all ages!

One of the most entertaining films of the 1950s is this entry of Sinbad's voyage to the mysterious island of Colossa to retrieve a magic lamp coveted by an evil sorcerer. The story has elements of Greek mythology, with its reference to the Isle of Sirens, and the very real danger of the cyclops that inhabit the forbidden island and from whom Sinbad and his crew must wrest the magic lamp. Kerwin Mathews is believable as Sinbad, the handsome and sincere hero who is maneuvered into undertaking the perilous journey by the wily Sokurah, the magician who will stop at nothing to possess the magic lamp. The film has many exciting scenes but perhaps the highlight is the thrilling swordfight between Sinbad and the skeleton in Sokurah's cave as the mad magician has summoned the skeleton to destroy Sinbad in order to seize the lamp. The movie has brilliant Technicolor lensing, a pulsating music score by Bernard Herrmann and terrific special effects by Ray Harryhausen.

If you love classic films and you love special effects, then you are undoubtedly passionate about the films of legendary Ray Harryhausen, and this is one of his best. In this movie, Harryhausen uses his stop-motion technique in color for the first time (and the print here is terrific) to tell the tale of Sinbad (Kerwin Mathews) as he sails the seas, forms an uneasy alliance with an evil magician (Torin Thatcher) and battles a Cyclops, a two-headed Roc and a dragon. Other memorable effects include the genie Berani and the interior of his magic lamp, the Princess Parisa being shrunk and the servant woman who is turned into a dancing half-woman, half-snake. The action starts right away and continues throughout the film, and Bernard Herrmann's music is, as always, absolutely perfect.

DVD extras are excellent, and include: a picture of the original poster; trailers from other Harryhausen features; two interview featurettes, each 12 minutes long; a 3-minute featurette about the Dynamation process; and a one-hour feature about Ray Harryhausen. This is a great package -- and for you enthusiastic polyglots out there, the film can be heard in English, Spanish or Portuguese, while subtitles are available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean or Thai!

Having small children who are becoming interested in "scary movies", I've found that the Harryhausen ouevre is a great way for them to find thrills and chills without gore, and a wonderful way for me to reconnect with my childhood joys as well. The whole family has a great time watching these terrific films. I'm really glad they're being re-released in such high quality and with such interesting dvd extras.

Superb!

Remember in "Monsters, Inc." where the hottest nightclub in town was called Harryhausen's? It was homage to the man who created a generation of special effects movies, this one included.

Stop-action animation has a dated look now, but but it goes with the costuming and sets of the time. The sword-fighting skeleton, the cylcops, dragon, Roc, and minor figures are all incredible achievements. It takes a very special kind of eye to see natural motion and break that into cel-length pieces, but Harryhausen had that knack. Harryhaussen was also central in developing the camera and photo-composition techniques needed, and probably still used today.

Arabian Knights purists are probably asking themselves where the dragon and cyclops came from. Don't worry about it - this is entertainment, not scholarship. If you can settle yourself into its antiquated style, it's still good fun.

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad is a great film. It is one of the greatest monster fantasy films ever made. I remember watching this film when I was a boy and it turned me on to monster and sci-fi films. I love the cyclops in the film, the skeletons, the two headed bird and the fire breathing dragon. Ray Harryhausen was definitely a technical and cinematic genius.

It must have been the biggest thrill to see this film on the screen
in 1958. Great direction,great cast,great score and best of all the
magic of Dynamation! I have yet to see any "cgi" effects film today
that will hold up or be as responsible entertainment wise than this
simple hat trick.(okay,maybe Jurassic Park) Kerwin Mattews stars in
the title role battling Cyclopes, giant Two headed Rocs and Dragons
on the island of Colossa as he desperately tries to restore Perrisa
(Kathy Crosby)his future wife back to her human size.Thorin Thacher
hands down is the most sinfully, evil wizards to slither across the
screen as Rich Eyer is wonderful as "baronnie" the genie of the lamp.

It's just one of those films that works on every level because
it was created as a well made watch and not a rushed product.Ray
Harryhausen's effects work is surpassed only by that of Bernard
Herrman's score. I didn't notice any flaws on the disc as stated
by other viewers but that's probably just me and my "glad to be
watching it on a flat screen mentality."

I don't have this movie any more, but when I did, I'd watch this movie all've the time. The story's about Sinbad trying to save his love one from a mad sorcerer that is hiding on Colosso Island. The island includes Monoclopses, each one larger than the next. A two headed Roc with wings the length of a jumbo jet. And a 50 ft. long flame spitting dragon seeming to be evil but really just protecting his den. The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad is a treasure for all Si-Fi and action fans(especially action fans).