Skunkyrate Gripping story with well-crafted characters

TeenzTen An action-packed slog

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Foreverisacastironmess Out of the trilogy of Sinbad movies that feature the stop motion animated effects work of the late great Ray Harryhausen, this is my favourite. It does have its dull stretches and the human cast of characters aren't exactly as thrilling to watch in action as the monsters, but there's something indefinable about the very fabric and atmosphere of this picture that I find quite endearing to this day and makes me have a special little place for it, something about the beautiful brightly coloured Arabian Nights aesthetic, something about what an immersively perilous place to be the monster-filled island of Colossa feels like, something about the poetry of that green wingless horned dragon in motion... I've found that with this and the majority of the retro fantasy adventure movies that feature Harryhausen's trademark animation, they all have the same kind of nice nostalgic feel about them that takes you back a little to how you felt when you watched them as children and concerns were few and childhood adventure was high. Again a bit of a drag for me is that a lot of the actors are kind of stuffy and boring and at some points downright unintentionally comedic, such as everything with the mutinous crew of scurvy idiots who fall foul of the insane screams of ten thousand fiends!! Kerwin Matthews as Sinbad was alright but nothing about the man exactly yelled out fearless adventuring hero, I mean no matter what happens his hair stays in place and frankly he was a little short in stature and looked like he never buckled-a-swosh in his life! And I really didn't care for the kid who played the genie, he was so annoying and he had the lamest magic powers ever, and the subplot about he and the princess and his quest for freedom slowed the movie down too much! Torin Thatcher as Sakura the delightfully evil magician I found to be a scene-chewing hoot though, he's not much to look at but he certainly livens up the movie in every scene he's in and makes his presence known and I buy him as a villain who could command giant monsters and who would actually have a lair as awesome as that! When all is said and done though, the human element of this movie is largely dispensable and is not quite the reason that the film succeeds and is fondly remembered today, that's entirely due to Harryhausen's amazing effects work. His devotion to his craft is so evident, the movements of the creatures are jerky yet natural and smooth, it's not like he was just doing a job and animating merely serviceable puppets of clay, it's like he wanted them to have the feel of living creatures, when that wicked cyclops suffers the grievous injury of having its eye put out with a flaming spear, you can see the pain in the poor brute's face! The sword fight between Sinbad and the rather evil-looking skeleton is a real little marvel of animated motion and an actor skilfully reacting to something that wasn't actually in front of him, the clashing of the swords and the synchronicity of the movements makes it so easy to believe in and love every thrilling second of, and the playful bone-rattlin' music theme doesn't hurt things either! My favourite part of the movie is everything involving the beautifully animated dragon, it's like the crown jewel of the movie to me. There's such an archetypal fiery terror to the dragon's corridor in which it guards Sakura's lair and the clever mechanism with the chain and the boulder. It moves so fantastically, like a classical fairytale dragon come to life, and I feel so sad that such a majestic beast has to fall so painfully at the end so soon after triumphing over its cyclops foe.. Such a creature inspired fear and courage in the sailor's heart but inspiration in mine, I think it's a strong example of stop motion animation at its finest. You were truly one of a kind Mr Harryhausen, and the spirit of your work lives on, and on behalf of generations of the young and young at heart the world over - thank you. X

mark.waltz There's more to an exotic Arabian adventure than the flashing of skin and the flexing of muscles, and with Kerwin Matthews as a very Caucasian Sinbad, the results are silly fun that has achieved a cult status through the special effects and genius of Ray Harryhausen. Whether it be the one-eyed cyclops, the leashed dragon that all of a sudden gets loose or the two headed giant new born baby chick, this is filled with exotic creatures that only a special mind could create. There's also a skeleton army, an evil magician who turns on his so-called friends and a little boy Genii who longs to be free. A beautiful princess (Kathryn Grant) shrinks to the size of a barbie doll, and to bring her back to size, Sinbad and his crew (which includes the traitor magician) head back to the island of the cyclops whose body seems to be made of clay and impenetrable from anything sharp that would cause bleeding. While "Jason and the Argonauts" is a far more fantastic spectacle, this is still highly enjoyable from start to finish, colorful and exciting. Torin Thatcher is a great villain, with Richard Eyer very cute as the cursed genii who can only be rescued by having the lamp thrown into a lake of fire. The sets are exotic and always exciting, and the costumes lavish and colorful. A battle with the cyclops has many of the men enclosed in a bamboo cage in preparation for the cyclops to barbecue over a fiery pit, and the baby chicks aren't there for the petting. After life inside an egg, these two headed birds are hungry, and anything that smells like food is ripe for the pecking.Still early in the era of these kind of sword and sandal adventures, they hadn't gotten cheesy to the point of pure silliness, and as obviously un-Arabic as they are, Matthews, Grant and the rest of the ensemble (with perhaps the exception of Thatcher) do what they can to make their characters avoid being silly caricatures. Matthews manages to be strong and heroic without being cocky, and Grant is a force of nature in her own right. Thatcher isn't one dimensional, although by the end, you'll be anxious for him to get his well deserved come-uppance. Sure, some of the dialog is clichéd and the stop motion animation might seem dated compared to the type that's on screen now, but it's simple fun, and unlike the movies of this genre today, you won't have a headache when it's all over.

Uriah43 After conducting a successful peace treaty between the rival cities of Baghdad and Chandra, "Captain Sinbad" (Kirwin Mathews) sets sail with his new fiancé, "Princess Parisa" (Kathryn Grant) who he plans to marry when they return to Baghdad. As luck would have it, however, the ship is blown off course along the way and they narrowly escape a sure death by starvation when they happen to spot an unknown island in the distance and subsequently send a boat ashore for provisions. It's at this time that they notice a man being chased by a huge monster known as a Cyclops and consequently decide to give battle to it long enough for the man to escape with them on their ship. Unfortunately, during their escape from the Cyclops the man named "Sokurah" (Torin Thatcher) accidentally drops a valuable lamp which is then taken by the Cyclops back to his place of abode. It's at this time that Sokurah informs them that he is a magician and pleads with Sinbad to take him back to the island so that he can retrieve the lamp. But Sinbad has a schedule to keep and decides to set sail back to Baghdad as planned. What they don't realize is the power Sokurah has at his disposal and his determination to get this lamp back at all costs. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this movie was produced in the late 50's and was especially intended for a younger audience. Having said that, it's because of these two factors that the film suffers accordingly. For example, although I personally didn't mind the rather dated special effects, I didn't quite care for the character playing the "Genie" (Richard Eyer) who was just too juvenile for the part. Again though, this movie was specifically made for a younger market and, although it could probably satisfy children today, it doesn't quite have the same appeal as it did 60 years ago. Because of that I have rated this picture accordingly. Average.

SnoopyStyle Sinbad (Kerwin Mathews) is transporting Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant) to Baghdad for their wedding. They stop off at the mysterious Colossa Island to get provisions. They rescue the magician Sokurah escape a Cyclops. Sokurah uses the magic lamp Genie to raise a barrier against the Cyclops. The Cyclops throws a boulder and knocks the lamp from Sokurah. Sinbad refuses to go back and retrieve the lamp from the Cyclops. The Caliph of Baghdad celebrates the marriage which seals a peace between kingdoms. Sakurah again requests a ship to return to Colossa but the Caliph refuses. Sokurah angers everyone when he prophesies war between the two nations and the Caliph banishes him. Later that night, Sokurah shrinks the princess. Sokurah convinces the desperate Sinbad that he foresaw this transformation and they must return to Colossa with the princess to get the necessary ingredients for a magic potion. Sinbad has no crew so he recruits criminals from the prison.This is a B-movie in most aspects. The acting is bad. The dialog is horribly stiff. The action is mostly old swashbuckling affair. The story is simplistic. The only thing worthwhile in this movie is the work of Ray Harryhausen. His stop-motion animation is the best special effects of the era. They are simply works of art. Without them, this is no more than 3/10. This is a showcase of Ray Harryhausen's groundbreaking skills.