The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)

Beautiful, moving film.

A Masterpiece!

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

I still remember this amazing inspirational monster film so vividly from my childhood memories watching this classic fantasy film at the Outremont theatre in Montreal, Canada (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outremont_Theatre) and the other Ray Harryhausen classics such as The Golden Voyage of Sinbad which are my two ultimate favorites. I was about 13 at the time or younger. Passing by the theatre often was my favorite past time, waiting for the movie posters to be posted in the glass case outside the theatre to announce the next classic monster flick. How I miss those innocent days of awe and wonder. It would be nice to have a great director/producer like Peter Jackson remake these classic fantasy films with the same special touch as Harryhausen gave them. I find they retool the originals like Clash of the Titans with too much script change and not enough magic substance.Robert C.

Shot in the then-dazzling film-process called "Dynarama" - I remember, as a wide-eyed kid of 10, being absolutely struck with total awe while watching this cheesy Fantasy/Adventure picture from yesteryear.With its introduction of several delightfully monstrous, stop-motion creations by effects-man, Ray Harryhausen (including a ferocious, one-horned Cyclops - Wow!) - This pre-CGI film was a child's most spectacularly exciting nightmare come true on screen.But, alas - (As one might expect) - Time (yes-unforgivable time) has not been at all kind to this 1958 Sinbad, the Sailor, production. No. It hasn't.Remembering my excitement as a fascinated child - I honestly did try to cut this 60-year-old relic some nostalgic slack - But, unfortunately - As a jaded viewer of today - I could only grade Sinbad's 7th Voyage with just an "average" 5-star rating.

Top notch entertainment, a vivid fantasy-adventure starring Kerwin Mathews as the heroic Sinbad, who's conned into returning to an exotic isle by a conniving, greedy, grasping magician named Sokurah (Torin Thatcher). Sinbad will have his hands full transporting his beloved, Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant), who's been shrunk to miniature size. Among the magnificent Ray Harryhausen-created monsters he and his friends must vanquish are a Cyclops, a great two-headed bird, and a dragon.This is fun for families, if perhaps somewhat intense at one point, as a Cyclops prepares a sailor for being eaten. The colour photography by Wilkie Cooper is breathtaking, as are the costumes, the production design, and the location shooting. Bernard Herrmanns' rousing score is one of his best. And, of course, the Harryhausen effects are extremely enjoyable - the highlight, as many people will tell you, is the climactic sword fight with a skeleton.Mathews is a handsome and innately likable hero; the lovely Grant is likewise endearing. Youthful Richard Eyer is an appealing child Genie, while Thatcher is a delightfully hammy villain.Director Nathan Juran serves up spectacle with style, crafting some grand escapist fare that still works quite well 57 years later.Eight out of 10.

When a princess is shrunken by an evil wizard, Sinbad (Kerwin Mathews) must undertake a quest to an island of monsters to cure her and prevent a war.Ray Harryhausen strays a little bit from the monsters and aliens we love him for. But only just a little bit, as we have plenty of other mythical monsters here. Horror? Not really, no. But any fan of his work is going to have to see this.I cannot say I am a big follower of Sinbad, so I do not know the stories of his voyages or whatever. But this one seems to borrow very heavily from the 1001 Arabian Nights. The genie and the princess seem very much like something we expect from "Aladdin" or with Ali Baba.