The Seventh Voyage Of Sinbad (Wide Screen) > Reviews > This is definitely Sin-Good

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Good
Special Effects	Outstanding
How does it compare to similar films?	Outstanding

Advantages:	A great story on a great disk .
Disadvantages:	Err, No .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Fantasy, Adventure, Hero's, Villains and Monsters… What more could you ask for. What is it about these fantasy films, I loved them as a child and now I'm an adult (well almost) I love them still. The mythic storyline, the battle between good and evil, it's about as much adventure I could get as a child. Sitting in front of the TV wide-eyed and mesmerised, ahh those were the days of innocence.

Anyway back to the film. This was a major release in Hollywood, one of the first modern fantasy films, in superb Technicolor. The film starts with Sinbad lost at sea in a thick mist. He spies an island through the fog and when they set down to stock up on supplies, all of a sudden a man comes running towards then, chased by a giant Cyclops. After a hasty departure they find the man to be a sorcerer who was trying to steal a magic lamp from the Cyclops. He begs Sinbad to return to the island, but is disappointed with Sinbad's refusal. On their return to Baghdad the sorcerer casts a spell on the Princess Parisa, the soon-to-be wife of Sinbad, shrinking her to a tiny size. This has our hero sent on a treacherous mission to save her. This sorcerer's evil plan is to make Sinbad undergo a dangerous quest back to the Island of Colossa, and the layer of the menacing Cyclops. Much peril and treachery await Sinbad on this voyage, and will he conquer all to save the woman he loves.

The best thing about this film is the outstanding effects (well they were at that time) of Ray Harryhausen. In all the films he has done his effects and imagination outshine any story or script for any film. His creations of the Cyclops, the battle with the dragon and of course the battle between Sinbad and the Skeleton, which indicates a beginning to the unforgettable scene in Jason and the Argonauts. Harryhausen's Dynamation gave way to amazing stop-motion animation, and the ability to make fantasy come onto the big screen.

The extras on this DVD are mostly documentary's detailing the making of the film. In particular the work carried out by Ray Harryhausen. The main addition is "The Harryhausen Chronicles", a documentary of Harryhausen himself. Giving details of how he started and how he does the things he can do.

"This is Dynamation" is an introduction to the Stop-Motion animation process used in the film. This is presented by Ray Harryhausen who describes his work in a very modest way. It gives you a fascinating insight into the process, it also shows some of the work he has done in other films.

There are also trailers for some of the films Harryhausen has worked on. Even though the extras revolve around Harryhausen they are wonderful to watch and last nearly as long as the film itself.

All together this is a must for any DVD collection. For about £18 this can be bought from any retailer and is worth all the money spent on it. A fantasy film that cannot be faulted anywhere. OK so the effects are not as good as modern films, and some of the acting is a bit shoddy, but this was made in 1958 and has aged extremely well. I fully recommend this for all the family to enjoy.