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.

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.

After completing his voyages Sindbad the Sailor and his hearty crew have come home to find a palace coup d'etat has occurred and his home city is being run by a brutal dictator played by Pedro Armendariz. He's got designs on the beautiful young princess, Heidi Bruhl both lustful and political.

Captain Sindbad which appears to be a joint German-American production stars Guy Williams who if he had come along a decade earlier might well have inherited the mantle of Errol Flynn. He certainly was a dashing Zorro for Walt Disney television.

Williams's greatest challenge was keeping a straight face through a lot of very hokey dialog which he does admirably. Armendariz is invincible, we see proof of that when Williams runs a scimitar through him and he doesn't flinch. Finding out the secret of Armendariz's invincibility and rescuing his princess from a fate worse than death is the sum and substance of the film.

I remember seeing this in the theater when it first came out and liked it. I still like it somewhat, but I certainly was a lot younger in 1963.

The special effects are good, not DeMille or Harryhausen quality, but still good. I fear though that the hokeyness of the script will probably limit Captain Sindbad to the juvenile trade.

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...

Through many viewings I've enjoyed this Sin(d)bad film much more than any in the better-known Columbia/Harryhausen series, which I thought had great monsters but dull stories and heroes. This one has it all: gorgeous color photography, interesting plot and characters, and unusual monsters (including an invisible (!) dragon. The late Guy Williams is fine as Sinbad, and more mature and dignified than any in the Columbia films. And Pedro Armendariz, in one of his last roles before his untimely cancer-related death, is simply wonderful as the villain, El Karim. This film (produced by the same folks who gave us "Gorgo") is aimed at young audiences, but I've watched it with viewers of varying age, and never run across anyone who wasn't delighted with it.