सिंदबाद की स्वर्णिम यात्रा

Ignore pointless comparisons about how it pales in comparison to Lord of the Rings. This isn't Lord of the Rings, nor is it Citizen Kane. Why some fools insist that every movie must be measured by the yardstick of their own personal favorite I will never understand.

If you're so spoiled by state-of-the-art computer graphics where each creature has an entire team of people working on it, and can't appreciate the human creativity and craftsmanship of great stop-motion animation, don't waste your time on this movie, go watch the latest Pixar release.

Harryhausen's work is remarkable not because it's the most realistic animation ever, but because he was able to achieve remarkable things with sculpture and movement on a budget comparable to today's 30 second ad spots.

Tom Baker steals the movie. He's terrific as the evil sorcerer, villainous but with enough humanity to his character to make him at least somewhat sympathetic.

Ah, yes; Ray Harryhausen and Sinbad. This is my favorite of the Sinbad films. Yes John Phillip Law is not an a-list actor; but, for once, he's not bad. Tom Baker is outstanding as the evil wizard. Carolie Munro is the breast, er, best sight in the film.

Harryhausen really captures the atmosphere of the Arabian Nights. There is adventure, mystery, terror, love, comedy, and some pretty good sword fights. I'll put the six-armed Kali up against the skeleton from the Seventh Voyage of Sinbad any day. And Tom Baker's wizard is far more evil.

Look, forget about CGI and enter the world of Dynamation! You'll have a good time. Now, where's that scene where Caroline Munro.........

Made 14 years after The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad, this follow up is ,unsurprisingly, not as good, but that WAS a ground breaking classic. Perhaps sensing that they could not top the first film, the filmmakers give this movie a slightly different feel. If 7th Voyage was full of colour and size, Golden Voyage is somewhat darker and less spectacular. Most of the action occurs at night or in caves, while none of the creatures are especially large. This makes Golden Voyage slightly less of a delightful romp, but it's certainly not just a rehash. There is a strong sense of the uncanny to some scenes,such as the villain's resurrection of the tiny humunculus, or the coming to life of the ship's figurehead.

The pace is possibly a little two leisurely, but the action is still terrific, the showstopper being Sinbad and his men battling the 6 armed statue of the Indian goddess Kali, a masterpiece of effects and editing. Tom Baker is the most sinister of all Harryhausen's villains, and Miklos Rozsa's wonderfully rich and grand score never fails to provide excellent backing. It's very different from Bernard Herrmann's classic Harryhausen scores, but as effective.

Despite their flaws, there is a wonderful innocence to these Harryhausen films. A modern version would be filled to the brim with CGI, hyperactive editing, 'clever' laughs that show that no one is bothering to take any of this seriously ,etc....... Is that really an improvement?

How can you not love this film .. it's difficult to imagine that anyone could pan the astounding performance of John Phillip Law as Sinbad ..

His turn as the beloved Arabic pirate is more adventureous than the boring and cardboard studio fave, Kerwin Matthews and far better than the bland and horrific Patrick Wayne ..

The special FX of Ray Harryhausen are his best to date ..

The plot is solid and the talent pull this tale off without a hitch or glint of camp which is generally the norm in a cult film such as this..

This is Saturday afternoon television at its best ...

Onward and upward with John Phillip Law all the way ..

This film was a big hit in 1974 and many other Sinbad films have been made and there is no comparison to our new films today, it was a great success in the 70's and is enjoyable to view and enjoy the great acting of John Phillip Law (Sinbad) and his woman companion, Caroline Munro(Margiana) who battle all the evil spells and evil powers that Tom Baker,(Koura) tries to use against Sinbad. Every time Koura uses the Evil Powers, his face begins to look like an old man and he even gets weaker and weaker. There is clashing of swords and deep pits of hell Sinbad falls into and he still manages to fight the bitter struggles of Evil vs. Good. Caroline Munro gives a great supporting role and Tom Baker is completely in control of his role as a very EVIL Demon. Enjoy this Sinbad from the Past, it is worth watching.