The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974)

People are voting emotionally.

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

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

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

Sinbad (John Phillip Law) is in search of the third part to a golden map. However, the evil magician, Koura (Tom Baker), is out to steal this for himself--using his black magic to try to defeat the powers of niceness. Interestingly, however, every time Koura uses his demonic powers, they extract life from him--making him look progressively older and more haggard. In fact, this character is the most interesting one in this film and I found myself rooting for him since Sinbad and his friends were a bit dull by comparison.Along the way, you see statues seemingly come to life, Koura's little gargoyle-like spy and other stop-motion characters done by Ray Harryhaussen. By today's standards they are a bit lame but CGI was decades later and this was the best we had back the old days when dinosaurs ruled the Earth (in other words, when I was a kid). While not exactly realistic, it was pretty cool entertainment--though I assume younger audiences might roll their eyes at such characters.So is it worth seeing? Well, its fun and Caroline Munro isn't bad on the eyes. But what I enjoyed the most was seeing Baker--who not only did a good job as the baddie, Koura, but would soon go on to gain fame as the next Doctor on "Dr. Who". This was pretty interesting--and the film worth seeing. It's fun escapism.By the way, the statue supposedly of Kali looks little like her (Kali has a horrific face and a necklace of skulls) but more like Shiva or Vishnu. However, one of the priests in this same place wore a mask that looked very much like Kali--scary, tusked and with the skulls surrounding its face. I am sure Hindus in the audience would have quickly spotted this inconsistency and the film makers should have gotten this right. But, as other Harryhausen mythological films NEVER get it right, I guess it's just par for the course.

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.

By all means this is not my favourite Sinbad movie, that is the family favourite that is The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, but I still really like this movie. The ending isn't quite as strong as the majority of the film, in fact the last twenty five minutes or so meander slightly, but it is certainly isn't terrible either. The Golden Voyage of Sinbad is still a delight to watch, especially visually. The story is exciting enough, the screenplay has some nice elements to it, the direction is fine and the score by the legendary Miklos Rosza compliments the film beautifully. The acting isn't that bad really. John Phillip Law is likable enough in the lead, and Caroline Munro is incredibly beautiful. Tom Baker is a joy to behold as a somewhat campy villain(even so it works!), while Douglas Wilmer is good as the Vizier. The cinematography is skillful, and the scenery is splendid. What steals the film though are the fantastic special effects by Ray Harryhousen. They all look wonderful and meticulous after all this time. My favourites are the walking figurehead, the hideous centaur and the multi-armed statue. Overall, delightful film, well worth watching for the special effects alone. 9/10 Bethany Cox