Kapitän Sindbad

The reviews/comments listed here are hilarious, especially the one from Karadhe Kahn. Really hilarious. I laughed in genuine appreciation. I just posted a review for THE MAGIC SWORD and could not resist coming here either. I saw CAPTAIN SINDBAD in first release and was completely enchanted as an 8 year old. Some things were unforgettable: the big thumping fist in a glove, the princess becoming a bird, and the 'jelly' heart in a box, pulsating away. We all screamed in 1963 at the lovely Metro Cinema Bondi Junction Australia. I saw it again in the 70s as an adult and was flabbergasted at how easily I could see the strings on everything and how bargain counter all the costumes were. Until tonight I didn't realize the spelling was different to SINBAD either. Jeez 42 years later I still find out weird things about this very enjoyable film. Watch it with kids and have a great time. Yes it is sort of crummy, but the color and the scary fantasy works well and the circus sideshow like faces are great. especially in a turban. Yes, it is the Zorro actor Guy Williams later to be LOST IN SPACE.

CAPTAIN SINDBAD is one of those movies that a generation grew up watching, either on the big or small screen. Preferably the big screen, as this is an epic joy to behold in all of its colorful glory!

This was an especially memorable event for yours truly, at 9-10 years old.

Why? Monsters! Magic! Adventure!

This young lad sat mesmerized as Sindbad (Guy Williams) led his men on a quest to defeat the wicked wizard, El Karim (Pedro Armendariz), by first running his gauntlet of killer creatures. These include a multi-headed dragon, and an enormous, disembodied hand!

Our heroes must fight their way through these formidable freaks, in order to get to El Karim's only weakness. Ah, but said "Achilles Heel" is kept at the very top of a sheer tower of darkness!

If you've ever played Dungeons and Dragons as a bored teen -or adult, then, this movie should give you many ideas for that next campaign! I incorporated (aka: stole) several myself, those long years ago.

Still quite enjoyable today, this movie will take you back to the time before CGI made things look too easy. If your movies must be digitally perfect, then skip this gem by all means...

For what it is worth, the Arabic is best transliterated as As-Sindibaad Al-Bahri, therefore Sindibad or Sindbad not Sinbad, so the name of the main character in this film is MORE accurate then the other "Sinbad" movies not less. The classic translation of the Arabian Nights remains that of Sir Richard F. Burton, who uses Sindibad. The primary problem with Captain Sindbad is that the special effects are awful even for the time that it was made. The acting is, overall, good. Guy Williams is a better actor then most of the other Sinbads and is a much better swordsman. (He actually could fence, not up to Basil Rathbone, who was superb, but much better then the average.) The plot is much better then usual and certainly as good as that of The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. It would be interesting to see this film with new effects sequences inserted over the originals.

People who complain about the special effects in this 1963 adventure flick just don't understand how different the state of film fx was 45 years ago. I suspect that they're all too young to know much of anything. Back in the day, it wasn't the quality of your CG artists that counted. It was "how do I find simple photographic tricks that tickle the imagination, still tell the story and are fun"? This movie is full of well done yet low budget effects that beat all hell out of all the crappy, cookie cutter CG stuff out there today. Tell me you didn't smile when the magician's arm grew out about two miles long. Go on, tell me. And if you're answer is "I didn't" then why are you even watching this movie? Go somewhere and crow about how great the effects in that snorefest remake of King Kong was and leave the fun to the rest of us. I mean, really--so it's not Harryhausen. Get over it. It's still great fun.

I'm referring to Guy Williams, not the movie. The movie itself, though not up to Harryhausen's SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD, is nonetheless a lot of fun and far more entertaining that either GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD or the awful SINBAD AND THE EYE OF THE TIGER. Williams is excellent in the title role, physically perfect and far more dashing than any other actor I can think of in the part. And those who carp about the cheap special effects are (as usual) totally missing the point. Aside from the absurdity of using CGI as your yardstick (does anyone actually think the effects in AVATAR or LORD OF THE RINGS look real? Come on...) the manifestly theatrical menaces in CAPTAIN SINDBAD are part of the fun. The villain's pulsing disembodied heart, like a big satin pillow, is a clear tip-off: none of this is MEANT to be real! It's like an elaborate Christmas pantomime. And that giant mechanical hand is terrific. A cross between this movie and SEVENTH VOYAGE would have been the perfect Sinbad movie. Or Sindbad. Take your pick.