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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 1.85:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital Mono
  • French: Dolby Digital Mono
  • Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
  • German: Dolby Digital Mono
  • Italian: Dolby Digital Mono
  Subtitles
    English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Hebrew, Czech, Greek, Polish, Hungarian, Dutch, Arabic, Portuguese, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Hindi
  Extras
  • 3 Theatrical trailer
  • 3 Featurette - Mysterious Island, The Three Worlds of Gulliver, Earth Vs The Flying Saucers
  • Photo gallery
  • 3 Filmographies

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad

Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 101 mins . PG . PAL

  Feature
Contract

The third and final installment in this box set of Sinbad films sees John Phillip Law in the lead role playing against none other than Tom Baker of Doctor Who fame. It seems Baker’s character, Prince Koura, wants the three pieces of an ancient puzzle that will instill the possessor with eternal youth. By chance Sinbad is delivered one piece and upon meeting a local vizier (who is horribly disfigured by an explosion) gets another. Using the two bits together they discover a map leading them to piece three. Now they must unite to find the final piece before Prince Koura can get it and lay waste to the land or something. You know how these arch-baddies get. It’s all global domination until they get it, and then they don’t want it anymore. Maybe.

Well, we set sail in a similar fashion to the previously reviewed films in the set (go here and here to check them out) wearing our usual bare-chested/medallion look. Hey, it was made in the ‘70s and (probably) set in the 70BCs, so that look was in (during both decades). It’s the constantly oiled down torsos of men and women that will truly appeal. It looks like a Mr. and Mrs. Universe pageant at times. Scrummy!

Anyhow, that’s all part of the appeal in these fabulous old films. They’ve been made on incredibly small budgets, yet succeed in looking like the budget was just regular small. Naturally, there the compulsory mythical beasts fighting Sinbad and inevitably each other are featured and the animation of Ray Harryhausen is, again, superb. Cutting edge technology in its day, Dynamation!® again reveals itself to bring animation and live action into the same frame, convincing both six and seven year olds everywhere that it’s really happening.

So, climb aboard and set a course for fun!

  Video
Contract

Well, as with the others in the set, the Sony DVD Center has produced yet another fabulous transfer from old film stock. Naturally, it’s still as riddled with artefacts as all get out, but this adds a charming feel to this classic that actually aids the film’s appeal. The colours are flawed, but mostly okay with only limited times of washing out. Later in the film there are a couple of hokier green screen shots that leave more than a trace of reflection artefact, but that’s not so bad either. I mean, it’s not like we don’t know this stuff was shot in a studio somewhere.

There is also an instance of film stain on the top of the screen at 17:25 that looks like someone spilled iodine on it. A couple of other memorable artefacts lie at 35:10-12 in which the film is so scratched it’s like a black rain falling. The last is a big white pubic hair at 44:45. This was my favourite by far.

Some flesh tones tend to change a little from shot to shot of some characters, particularly Tom Baker who is a white guy painted tan to look more Arabic. Apart from these tiny complaints, the film should be treated the way you would treat it on a Saturday arvo on telly. It’s a cheap adventure film that delivers way more than it promises, so we get the good end of the bargain.

Oh, and the film ends with (you guessed it) a golden shower in the form of a fountain. There it is folks, my very first golden shower joke and you read it here first, at DVDnet.

  Audio
Contract

Nobody watches a Sinbad film for the super dynamic music and that’s lucky, because it doesn’t have it. It features some nice music sure, but the levels are a little out, with the music dominating a bit at times. The worst part of this is the dialogue is a little low and that’s where all the information about the plot is kept. Oh well. The music does get used as a comedy sound effect once or twice, which is suitable for this sort of film.

Unfortunately delivered in Dolby Digital mono, some sounds run roughshod over others. When the demi-god Kali comes to life, the sound of metal on metal has been produced by crushing aluminium cans into the microphone. It’s an awful noise, but mercifully short. And on the subject, there are just a couple of stock sound effects, but I’m letting them go with a warning this time.

  Extras
Contract

As with the others in this series, there is a massive pile of extras. What’s nice about them is they all have Trailers: One for the featured film, one for another in the set and another for Jason and the Argonauts. Whilst I didn’t think we needed a trailer of the same film repeated thrice, at least they filled the discs for us. That’s thoughtful, but a couple of different ones mighta been nicer.

Anyhow, there are plenty of other extras to enjoy if repeats aren’t yer thing. For example, there are the eight Original Lobby Cards plus the Original Poster to have a squizz at. Not to mention the Filmographies of director Gordon Hessler and John Phillip Law (Sinbad). Ray Harryhausen’s is also on here, but we’ve seen that before as well. Sigh.

Here come the last three items, all of which are original to this disc. Firstly, Mysterious Island is a nine minute Featurette about the film of the same name. This includes some cool artwork and storyboards of the film and a Ray Harryhausen interview which is truly informative.

Secondly, The Three Worlds of Gulliver is another Featurette that includes more special effects talk from Ray as he discusses set shots and more artwork and storyboards. Unfortunately, this runs shortest at just five and a half minutes.

Thirdly, (drumroll please) I present Earth Vs The Flying Saucers! You wouldn’t think nine minutes of someone describing their Ed Wood-like techniques could be interesting, but it’s really a unique window into this now outdated and buried era of filmmaking. Joe Dante interviews Ray (yet again) and anyone who has seen Tim Burton's Ed Wood will appreciate Ray’s discussion of his use of stock footage in his films. How we do miss Ed.

  Overall  
Contract

Yet another fantastic and cheap film from the minds of Harryhausen and Schneer for your Saturday afternoon delectation. Golden Voyage is arguably the best of the series of three, though my vote for Eye of the Tiger just nudges this one out to a close second at my house. With some truly brilliant filmmaking, classic animation and memorably hammy performances from Baker and Law this is Sinbad gold through and through.

Individually, the features and extras deliver substantially, though as part of the set the repeats are a tad rude. Still, fans won’t care about the repeats and I have to say it’s better to have a repeat than an empty quarter of a disc.

Inspiration for many, many films we see today are the films of Ray Harryhausen and as far as this one goes, it rates up there among his great films. And so, I shall finish with the words I’ve closed all these reviews with:

Don’t expect science, just enjoy the fantasy.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=2727
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      And I quote...
    "Classic animation never goes out of style and this is as cool as it gets. At seven stars."
    - Jules Faber
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Nintaus DVD-N9901
    • TV:
          Sony 51cm
    • Receiver:
          Diamond
    • Speakers:
          Diamond
    • Surrounds:
          No Name
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard Optical
    • Video Cables:
          Standard Component RCA
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