Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad Blu-ray Movie Review

Maybe closer to bronze, but still enjoyable.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 15, 2013

While 2013 might be remembered by a lot of film fans for the losses of stars like Peter O'Toole or Paul Walker or James Gandolfini, for those with an interest in the “below the line” (to use show business parlance) craftsmen, perhaps the saddest death of the year was Ray Harryhausen. Harryhausen at least lived to the ripe old age of 92, but his passing seemed to be a none too subtle reminder that the days of practical special effects may largely be a thing of the past. Stop motion animation still has its adherents of course, as my hometown of Portland has proven with the former Claymation Studios which morphed into Laika and produced such recent outings as Coraline and ParaNorman, and with such well known filmmakers as Tim Burton (Frankenweenie) and Nick Park (Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection) continuing to ply their craft in this medium. But with the increasing dependence on CGI for virtually all visual effects these days, stop motion is seen as something almost intentionally ironic and “retro”, a throwback rather than an evolving art form. Harryhausen will no doubt remain the single best known artisan in this medium, one who gave hordes of baby boomers some of their most memorable cinematic thrills in films like The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and Jason and the Argonauts. His two 1970s era Sinbad films aren’t usually listed at the top of his impressive oeuvre, but they’re both hugely enjoyable on a basic level and they each offer substantial delights in the now arcane methodology of “Dynamation”.

It was 15 years between 1958’s The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and 1973’s The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, and of course the world in general—as well as the film industry—had gone through several sea changes in the interim. A film like The Golden Voyage of Sinbad might seem like an anachronism in an era of a burgeoning independent blossoming and such politically pointed pieces like M*A*S*H , not to mention the Watergate scandal that would bring a president to his knees just a few months after the film’s release in December of 1973. And yet against all odds, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad succeeds at least in fits and starts at recapturing a lot of the magic of adventure films from a bygone age, while occasionally seeming a bit creaky or dated in the process.

Sinbad (John Phillip Law) and his crew are plying the high seas when a giant bird appears overhead. One of Sinbad’s men fires an arrow at the beast, at which point it drops a strange golden object which Sinbad immediately picks up, which causes him to have a vision of a rather curvaceous young woman. Despite warnings from his crew that the object must be bad luck, Sinbad actually wears it as an amulet and retires to his room where he has another vision, more like a nightmare really, where he’s beset by hallucinations of a nefarious guy in a black robe and, again, the young woman. A horrible storm ensues, which at least has the silver lining of awakening Sinbad from his night tremors. When daylight breaks, Sinbad and the crew discover they have been blown seriously off course, and are in the waters offshore of a land called Marabia.

Sinbad jumps in the sea and swims ashore, where within seconds he’s accosted by the man in the black robe, the film’s chief villain Prince Koura (Tom Baker, Nicholas and Alexandra), who insists that Sinbad has stolen his golden object and demands its return. Sinbad of course will have none of it and engages the man and his henchman in a quick battle, which at least allows Sinbad to purloin one of their horses and make it into a nearby city where he has the illusion of safety in numbers. Sinbad discovers the city folks aren’t too keen on the black-robed character and soon enough Sinbad is ushered in to meet the city Grand Vizier (Douglas Wilmer), who is clad in a golden mask due to a previous injurious run in with Koura, and who finally divulges to Sinbad that the object is not in fact an amulet, but is instead part of a map which depicts a way to the lost Fountain of Destiny in Lemuria.

Scenarist Brian Clemens (who co-wrote the story with Harryhausen himself) follows a traditional quest template, with Sinbad taking off with the Vizier to find the fountain, along with the girl from Sinbad’s visions, a slave named Margiana (Caroline Munro). Koura is of course hot on their trail and it’s a race to see who can discover the secrets of the map first and claim the untold riches that await the victor in Lemuria.

Of course the patently predictable plot is only an excuse for Harryhausen’s set pieces, and in this regard there is both good news and bad. Harryhausen was nearing the end of his career (he in fact made only two films after this one), and perhaps had run out of a wealth of new ideas to exploit. Some of the effects, as admirable as they are, are frankly derivative of his earlier films, as when a giant masthead on a ship comes to life. But there are highlights here as well, including the knockout scene where Koura brings a statue of Kali to life and also, in more or less the same sequence, a knock down, drag out fight between a centaur and a griffin. Harryhausen’s effects are unusually fluid in this film, without much of that “herky jerky” stop motion jitteriness that sometimes is part and parcel of this animation medium.

There’s no denying that The Golden Voyage of Sinbad is patently old fashioned and, yes, even a bit silly, but it has a certain aura of magic—albeit perhaps tired magic—that makes some of its fantasy elements fun, if not especially innovative. While director Gordon Hessler does frankly pretty pedestrian work here, he’s aided by a nice supporting turn by Baker and a rather sumptuous production design (some of the rest of the cast, notably Munro, may be picturesque, but are hardly Oscar caliber performers). Adding immeasurably to the film’s allure is the evocative score of the legendary Miklos Rozsa, who helps to recapture some of the flair he added to the Korda production of The Thief of Bagdad.

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. This is another stellar looking high definition transfer from the almost always reliable Columbia – Sony. Colors are gorgeously saturated and vivid looking, with a glut of rich royal purples, blues and reds to keep the eye entertained. Fine detail is remarkable (look at the weave of Koura's turban and veil in screenshot 10). The film is obviously awash in optical effects, which necessarily bring with them added softness and grain. That said, grain is very heavy and kind of mottled looking at times, even in shots that aren't opticals, including some of what was probably the second unit footage aboard the boat (see screenshot 6). There's also some slight but noticeable flicker in the very first scene, which soon disappears and never recurs. Overall, though, this is a beautifully organic looking presentation which more than adequately preserves the lustrous cinematography of Ted Moore (famous for his work on several James Bond features).

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad features a nicely repurposed DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that does a good work of encompassing the listener in several set pieces like the big, thunder and lightning filled storm that blows Sinbad and his crew to Marabia. Still, the best feature of the widened soundtrack is probably the wonderful music of Miklos Rozsa, which sounds spectacular. Dialogue is never lost in the mix (though some of the faux "eastern" accents are a bit thick), and fidelity remains strong and true throughout this offering. Purists may decry the lack of the original sound mix here, but what's here isn't overly artificial sounding and should please most discriminating audiophiles.

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Mysterious Island Featurette (480i; 11:13) is cobbled together from Harryhausen's introduction and follow-up comments released with the DVD. This has some great background information as well as some nice storyboards and other production data.


• 3 Worlds of Gulliver Featurette (480i; 7:12) presented Harryhausen again discussing things like travelling mattes.


• Earth vs. Flying Saucers Featurette (480i; 11:52) features Joe Dante interviewing Ray.


• Original Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:47)


• Isolated Music Score presented Miklos Rozsa's wonderful music in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1.

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Younger (more cynical) types may not find The Golden Voyage of Sinbad as immediately captivating as some of Ray Harryhausen's earlier work (including his earlier Sinbad effort), but those who still delight in their inner child will probably find enough vestigial wonder here to enjoy this lesser but still entertaining film. Columbia has offered up another great looking transfer, and while supplements aren't especially numerous, this release comes Recommended.