The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974)

Such a frustrating disappointment

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Sinbad's Golden Voyage although a good flick, didn't seem to quite stack up with his first film, the "7th Voyage". The characters of Sinbad, Koura and Vizier all had solid performances but weren't as likable as a view. Margiana, played by Caroline Munro had a phenomenal screen presence but didn't have the acting chops to play Sinbad's female love interest. Koura and Sinbad's quest to hunt down the golden pieces that together bring eternal youth was a solid start. Also Koura clay-mated miniature gargoyles were an awesome touch to draw the viewer in. However, the middle of the film fell flat up until the end, which itself was rather disappointing. There were some good clay-mated creatures, especially Kari the six-armed swordess, but the others weren't as impressive. It's kind of cool knowing Robert Shaw played The Oracle at one scene but I wish he had an actual physical performance. Still worthy of a watch but was a let down on my first watch.

While sailing ancient Arabia, heroic John Phillip Law (as Sinbad) happens upon a golden amulet, which turns out to be one-third of a magical medallion. Part two is easily located, but villainous Tom Baker (as Koura) wants a piece of the action. Helping Mr. Law are curvaceous Caroline Munro (as Margiana), disfigured Douglas Wilmer (as Vizier), kidlike Kurt Christian (as Haroun) and the Ray Harryhausen special effects crew. This long-awaited follow-up to "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" (1958) lacks that film's spirit and spark. Here, the highlights are the Harryhausen creatures and the leading lady's tightly prominent bust.***** The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (12/20/73) Gordon Hessler ~ John Phillip Law, Tom Baker, Caroline Munro, Douglas Wilmer

Many Adventure films before RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK are great films but perhaps do not gel with our current conception of "adventure". This is one that does. It is an old-fashioned tale certainly, but it was deliberately retro in 1974 too. The action scenes are exciting and imaginative. Harryhausen's effects are vivid, tangible and fluid; a world apart in artistry to the effects in something like last year's joyless CLASH OF THE TITAN update. The characterisation and performances are above average for the genre too; John Phillip Law is a charismatic and photogenic Sinbad, and it's a great shame he didn't stay on for SINDAD AND THE EYE OF THE TIGER. Tom Baker is a marvellous villain, who under the circumstances is rather restrained. Kurt Christian does brilliantly with a role that could have easily been lazy comic relief, but ends up as more, holding his own in the drama and fight scenes. And Caroline Munroe was one of the best Bond girls and is simply stunning here.All in all, THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD is a great watch for anyone of any age who wants some good old fashioned adventure fun.

Boy, I'll tell you that when this was new, it was great. This was before Lucas and Spielberg made it impossible to have a straight ahead adventure film with no winks at the audience.This was when special effects were more believable because the monsters were so unlike humans.This was before Arabs became equated with uncontrollable anger, and instead could be seen as mysterious and wise. Indeed, so thorough is our acceptance of the Arabian perspective here that the inner, more primitive (and unrefined) magic is Hindu. A very cool touch.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.