The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958)

Before the days of Computer Generated Imagery, special effects guru Ray Harryhausen made stop motion fantasy films with dinosaurs and other monsters that were moved little by little between shots in order to give the impression of locomotion. Kids were fascinated by the somewhat cheesy but undeniably charming movies with lumbering creatures that moved like King Kong - Harryhausen’s original influence.

Critics of these fantasy movies usually charge that the stories are only good enough to transition between the creature segments and that the actors are not of the highest caliber. In some cases such claims undoubtedly have merit but in The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad both the story and the acting are pretty hard to fault. Add to that a bevy of Harryhausen creations and a rousing Bernard Herrmann score and you have a real winner.

Kerwin Matthews stars, and he's by far the best Sinbad of the three Harryhausen used in his features. Matthews is a much more swashbuckling type and has the most convincing moves when fencing or fighting against the animated creatures. Harryhausen acknowledged Matthews was the best at acting against nothing of any actor he worked with.

The story concerns a beautiful princess (Kathryn Grant) who is shrunken to 6 inches tall. Sinbad must go on his seventh voyage to bring back the egg shell of a Roc - a gigantic bird of prey - for the magic potion to restore her and prevent war between two kingdoms. Sinbad had to recruit his crew from the Caliph’s prison, since the island was known far and wide to be dangerous. This introduces another element of danger into the already thrilling storyline. As villain, there is a wonderful performance by Torin Thatcher as the evil magician Sohkura and an equally endearing performance by Richard Eyer as the genie Barani.

Sinbad confronts a wide variety of opponents, including a Cyclops, baby and adult giant Rocs, a genie, an armed skeleton, a fire breathing dragon, - and don't forget the snake woman created by evil magician Torin Thatcher to illustrate his power. There is also the element of shrinking the princess and the genie appearing and disappearing in response to calls from the holder of a magic lamp.

I think the reason that these Harryhausen movies are so well accepted and hold their appeal are because they spur the imagination, whereas movies like Harry Potter or Star Wars replace it. A kid watching the stuff made today is typically jaded and cynical before he leaves his teens, all because he is taught not to use his imagination but to be a passive consumer of prepackaged ideas.

The Columbia DVD is presented in 1.85:1 theatrical format, in well-preserved color and the film runs a quick 88 minutes. One of the best fantasy films of all time.

More Ray Harryhausen fun:

Jason and the Argonauts

One Million Years BC

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV