Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977)

Great Film overall

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

I recently review The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, now having grown up with both films I wanted to review this one as well. I mostly wanted to discuss this one, because honestly, I like it a bit better. At the time, it was the same summer that Star Wars was released. Although this film does not stand on the same level as A New Hope, it is an enjoyable film in its own right. This time around Sinbad has journey to the kingdom of Charak to ask his good friend Kassim for his sister Farah's hand in marriage. The captain, however, finds that Kassim has been placed under a terrible curse. Now Sinbad must journey to find an ancient Alchemist and an ancient land to find a cure. Three performances stand out in this film. The first is Taryn Power as Dione. Her deep voice and demeanor brings an air of tomboyish toughness to the role, while also giving the impression of a very sensitive and intelligent person. She offsets the overwhelming stereotypical "damsel- in-distress" Jane Seymour as Farah perfectly. The second is (similar to The Golden Voyage of Sinbad), another Doctor Who alum, Patrick Troughton. He plays the Alchemist Melanthius. In similar style to Tom Baker's performance in Golden Voyage, Troughton brings an over-the-top style to Melanthius, which makes him undeniably fun to watch. His commanding voice and presence make for the perfect scene stealing character. However, he must complete for the scene occasionally with the villain of the piece. Margaret Whiting portrays the films antagonist Zenobia. Who in all honestly gives a performance as enjoyably over-the-top as her characters name. Her accent is deliciously villainous. Her costumes put give her an air of class, although Whiting always has a way of showing you the monster underneath. Her performance is shockingly emotional for a film like this. Her character seems to genuinely care for her son, and her raw emotion towards him at the end of the film is very convincing. The production and set design for this film is very pleasing to the eye, even more so than the previous film. Much more of this film takes place outdoors, rather than in caves and on the ship. This gives the film a much more adventurous feel. The dialogue in the film doesn't feel as tacked on this time around, although there are still quite a few cheesy moments to be found. Although some might say this makes it more enjoyable. The romantic subplot between Sinbad and Farah is forgotten about as quick as it is introduced. Only to be reintroduced at the tail end, not to complain too much about that. However it seems like it was unnecessary aside from getting Sinbad involved in the adventure. As with the other films in the series, the highlight of the experience is the animation and creature designs from Ray Harrhausen. These animations make for several enjoyable action sequences. Harryhausen was also able to animate a constant companion for Zenobia, the golden hulk, Minaton. Minaton is almost perfectly integrated with Zenobia and her son Raffi on their ship. Unless you knew beforehand, one would not be able to see that Minaton was most likely only the size of an average action figure. The baboon was so perfectly animated with the cast that one would almost believe it was real. Overall the special effects in this film we're amazing for the time and still hold up even today. Overall this film is a highly enjoyable classic from Ray Harryhausen. There are several fun performances to be seen. The production value is gorgeous to look at. The special effects are incredible even today. I give this film eight out of ten for the following reasons. First, Several of the performances are fun enough to carry the film alone. Second, The production design and sets are even larger than the last film. Third, The special effects from Ray Harryhausen are as fun as ever and even more creative with each film. The film loses points only for the same kind of episodic writing as the last film. As well as the occasional silly dialogue.

Featuring a gorgeous young Jane Seymour "Eye Of The Tiger" was my favourite Sinbad movie growing up, so when I saw it was on TV I sat down to watch it with my 9 year old son. Plot In A Paragraph: At the request of the beautiful Princes Farah (a gorgeous Jane Seymour) Sinbad (Patrick Wayne) and his gang set sail to try and help lift a curse put on her brother, the soon to be King, Prince Kassim. Whilst I revelled in the nostalgia from my youth, my son would say "that looks so fake" whilst I would tell him about how old the movie was, and the effects were great back in 1970's and the wonder of Ray Harryhausen, he would say 'Star Wars' and 'Superman The Movie' were out in the 70's too, and being the tech savvy 9 year old he is, he pointed out this was made in the same year as "Star Wars"Whilst the story is on par (if not better and Jane Seymour is as attractive as Caroline Munro (although she does not show as much cleavage) Patrick Wayne is not as effective as John Philip Law in the "Golden voyage of Sinbad" and seemed to spend most of the first part of the movie like a love sick puppy making doe eyes at Seymour!! (Not that I blame him) Not as good or as enjoyable as I remember, I now rate "The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad" above this one.

It would be easy to rip apart this film. After all, compared to the special effects of today this all looks very quaint and primitive. However, even with the obviously fake creatures made by Ray Harryhausen and the many fake looking props, there is a certain escapist charm about this film. So, if you can turn off that pesky brain and just relax and enjoy, you'll like "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger".the film has an interesting cast. Two children of very famous actors are in some of the leading roles--Patrick Wayne (son of John) plays Sinbad and Taryn Power (daughter of Tyrone) plays a lesser character, Dione. In addition, the queen of mini-series (Jane Seymour as the Princess) and an ex-Dr. Who (Patrick Troughton--as the smarty-pants scientist) round out the cast of good guys. On the side of evil is the snarly scene-chewing Margaret Whiting as Zenobia. She has apparently turned the Crown Prince into a baboon so that her own son can take the throne. However, there is a minuscule chance that Sinbad can somehow find a way to turn him back--but first he needs to find the legendary smarty-pants, the alchemist Melanthius (Troghton). Once Sinbad and his group of friends find the smarty dude (more on that later), they make there way towards the Arctic regions to find the power of the ancients and transform the baboon into his gold old self--especially since his sister refuses to marry Sinbad unless her brother is restored.The film is full of lots of action, grand vistas and silly Harryhausen stop-motion thingies. In many ways it's a throwback to older films (as most of his best work was from the 50s and 60s) and the style of film is much like an old Universal or RKO adventure film. Fun and silly---even if the handsome Wayne has all the charisma in this film as a piece of toast.why all the white folks? left Melanthius alone with dangerous witch

Prince Kassim, the young heir to the throne of Baghdad, is magically transformed into a baboon by his evil stepmother, the witch Zenobia, who wants the throne for her own son, Kassim's half-brother Rafi. Sinbad, accompanied by Kassim's beautiful sister Princess Farah, as well as the Prince himself in his monkey form, sets sail in search of a cure. This being a Ray Harryhausen film, much of the plot involves the heroes struggling against various monsters, all animated by the stop-motion process which Harryhausen pioneered. This must be the only film in which the hero gets to fight a gigantic killer walrus. The title "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger" may refer to the fact that, having seen off the walrus, Sinbad then has to battle a sabre-toothed tiger, although I am not sure how the "eye" part fits in.This was the third and last of Harryhausen's films about the legendary hero Sinbad the Sailor, the others being "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad" and "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad". It was not, however, Harryhausen's final film; that was to be "Clash of the Titans" from four years later. In the fifties and early sixties his techniques of film-making (which he named "Dynamation" or "Dynarama"), combining stop-motion animation with live action, seemed something new and exciting, opening up new possibilities for fantasy films. By the late seventies they were starting to look old-fashioned; there is little in "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger" (which came out in the same year as "Star Wars") to distinguish it from "The Seventh Voyage" which had come out nearly twenty years earlier.Today, of course, films made using the "Dynamation" process have a very retro feel to them, but I have long had a soft spot for Harryhausen's work ever since I was taken, as a child, to see a double bill of "The Seventh Voyage" and "Jason and the Argonauts" as part of a friend's birthday treat. I would not rate "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger" quite as highly as either of those films. The acting is variable; neither Patrick Wayne as the hero nor Taryn Power has the talent or the charisma of their famous fathers, but Margaret Whiting as Zenobia makes a splendidly over-the-top villainess, former Doctor Who Patrick Troughton is good as the wise old philosopher Melanthius and Jane Seymour as Farah looks as lovely as ever. With its fairy-tale Arabian Nights atmosphere, this film can perhaps best be described as the cinematic equivalent of a pantomime, and like most pantomimes serves as very enjoyable family entertainment. 6/10