The 7th Voyage of Sinbad-still a winner and not looking over 50 years old!
Added 10/12/2009
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!
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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7th Voyage of Sinbad
Added 9/14/2009
This is a superb video, even though it may appear a bit grainy in places due the the enhancement of a special effects process in its color infancy, but the entire film has a crispness, more balanced colors and far richer sound quality than the first DVD release. I got the same thrill I had as a child watching it in the movie theater. The additional features are excellent too: the commentary (which normally bore me) was superior with Ray Harryhausen himself along for the ride, there was a feature on the magnificent Bernard Herrmann music score, and many behind-the-scenes peeks. It's probably the best video I've seen this year, and it's a film from 1958! Well worth the purchase price and 'beyond beyond'.
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They should have remastered this classic!
Added 7/8/2009
If you have the DVD version do not buy the Blu-Ray version-they are identical in quality as far as picture goes. What a waste!
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Another satisfied customer
Added 6/2/2009
Amazon is everything they claim they are, their no-nonsense approach to the industry is a lesson that other would-be business' could learn from. I was very happy and will use them again. Bravo.
0 out of 6 people found this helpful.
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Not impressive for Blu-ray!
Added 3/31/2009
I love the work of Ray Harryhausen and over the years I've owned various formats of this favorite movie classic, but I have to be honest and say when playing the regular DVD version and then the new Blu-ray I didn't see a big difference in it's sharpness and definition and both my T.V. and Blu-ray player are brand new. I don't know what the company did, or better said didn't do but it didn't work too well.
6 out of 8 people found this helpful.
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Harryhausen at his finest
Added 10/4/2009
I got this as a gift for my partner but as a Harryhausen fan I'm enjoying it too. There were two RH collections and I went with this one because I'm more of a Sinbad fan. Grab a cold drink, some popcorn and sit back on day for a marathon. It's a great way to enjoy a rainy day.
My only complaint is it didn't have a tribute or some type of acknowledgement of Ray Harryhausen and all his work.
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Fun movies: Can enjoy watching them over and over again!
Added 9/11/2009
I first watched the Sinbad movies as a young child. All these years later I still love every one of them. They are fun, family friendly, entertaining, nostalgic, and just plain cool. I should have purchased this a long time ago. The claymation is so neat. I'll never get tired of that concept. In my opinion, these movies are so much better than movies of today. Watch these once and you will see what I mean. Have fun. :)
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Classic Harryhausen
Added 12/13/2008
Some very good reviews have already been written to describe the plot, actors and Harryhausens contribution to this (and most of his similar creations). What I will add is that if you were 7 to 17 years old when you first saw these movies they probably stirred your imagination as well as your sense of adventure. Watching them again now at age 45 was a real hoot. On the cover, I think Kerwin Mathews looks pretty wimpy with that pose and expression but in the film he is actually as convining as any of the actors who played the Sinbad roll. Kathryn Grant is quite a doll in her roll as the princess. The extra features on this disk are really cool if you are a fan of Harryhausen's work or the methods used to create the special effects. The included trailers for other movies may remind you of movies you forgot or introduce you to others you'll likely also want to see.
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