The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)

Plot Outline: Sinbad the sailor has to set out to a dangerous island when the Princess he was supposed to marry who has been shrunk by a scheming magician and he has to find a special ingredient in order to make the cure. On the island he encounters a multitude of monsters including man-eating cyclops, huge fire-breathing dragons, two-headed Rocs and a skeleton which comes to life as well as magic and the evil magician himself, Sokura.

The Review: Some films are everlasting because of their great sense of fantasy and escapism. This is certainly one of them and you can guarantee that come Christmas, this will be on the TV somewhere. I think it's the magic of Ray Harryhausen's eternal special effects that keeps this film going strongly. Over 40 years later they still look great and blow away the new CGI creatures by a mile. The cyclops is very life-like and the animation is almost impeccable. It's a terrifying monster with personality - something CGI has a hard time conveying. The skeleton duel set the standards that Harryhausen would blast later on in Jason and the Argonauts. And the dragon looks mighty impressive - unfortunately it isn't on screen for long enough. As for the human side, there are generic heroes and villains. The acting isn't that good but Kerwin Matthews makes for the most believable Sinbad yet on the big screen and Torin Thatcher always makes a superb villain, suitably hamming up some of his scenes yet still posing a menace in others. There's also a cast of mainly rough-looking actors who look like scurvy sailors and ex-cons. Besides, you don't watch these type of films for Oscar nominations. You watch it for escapism and fantasy. That is what this film does. I have been in love with this since I first saw and it will remain my all time favourite film, simply because I don't get sick of watching it. I could probably rattle off the whole script now I've seen it that many times. But with super special effects and a pounding musical score by Bernard Herrman, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad is just too hard to criticise in any way. If there is a problem, it's that Harryhausen and co. didn't do another Sinbad film for ages. I'd loved to have seen Matthews take the helm once more and tackle some of the other Sinbad films.

Final Verdict: The 7th Voyage of Sinbad is my favourite film of all time and it's easy to see why. With it's eternal child-like innocence and sheer escapism, it's hard to dislike in any shape or form. Forget Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings. Nothing beats this fantasy film for sheer thrills and entertainment.

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