Customer Reviews
My Favorite of The SInbad films 
2006-12-02
This film was perhaps my favorite Sinbad film and favorite stop animation film. Its fun, I liked JOhn Phillip Law as SInbad. ANd the creatures where my favorite. A great film, with great adventure and impressive effects.
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad 2006-11-10
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad is a great adventure movie for the whole family. The special effects by Ray Harrhousen are terrffic! Tom Baker (Doctor Who) is great as the evil magician.
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn.... 
2006-10-19
One of THE MOST boring pieces of garbage I have EVER seen. My wife couldn't stand it either. Even the kids were yawning and went off to do something else. All connected with this absolute schtoonker should be ashamed. The "plot" moves more slowly than a crippled snail, and the characters are completely unengaging. Even at close to half way through the film, I couldn't have cared less about any of them. I should also add that the movie starts in the middle...of something...I know not what, though, nor do I care. The props are idiotic---the "amulet" that looks like a piece of tin foil, the idiotic mask one character wears constantly, the ship figurehead that "comes alive..." Ho-hum and hee-hee, except that the film is not even funny! It's just plain BAD.
DO NOT WASTE YOUR VALUABLE TIME. I ended up fast-forwarding to see if there was ANYTHING worth watching in this dead dog, and BELIEVE ME, there is NOT!
(I see that only one other person gave this movie just 1 star. I would have given it 0 stars, if that were possible. It appears that nearly all the reviews are from Harryhausen fans. I guess if one is a Harryhausen "connoisseur," one might view the film differently. I can certainly say that I liked the Sinbad film where Sinbad and his men meet the cyclops. That movie moved along at a decent pace, at least, and had some real action to it. But this one? While the "Kali fight" so many reviewers mention may be engaging, the viewer should not have to agonize through a great many minutes of completely insipid plot and idiotic dialogue to finally get to see it. I am actually writing this review while my wife snores on the couch from watching this film. I suggest the "good" parts be cut out of this very flawed flick, to be made part of a Harryhausen retrospective, and the rest of the movie be chucked in the trash.)
Dance! Dance for me! 2006-08-05
Golden Voyage of Sinbad places second in a trio of master FX pioneer Ray Harryhausen movies starring Sinbad - the dashing Arabian folk hero whose exploits involved sailing the seas in search of adventure. Throughout this well produced fantasy, whose low budget can't be felt anywhere, Harryhausen's creatures fly, dance and gallop to life with a smooth fantastical grace which showcases some of his very best work. However, the highlight of the film has to be Kali, the six-armed sword wielding statue Goddess.
Harryhausen's final creation is a true wonder to behold. With a mysterious, inscrutable visage that would make Mona Lisa proud framed by an impressive headdress which adds to the height and impact, this Kali looks authentic to it's cultural roots, while slickly imparting the dramatic heft and fantastical aura necessary to forge an unforgettable cinematic presence. Harryhausen's attention to detail is legendary and everything from the decorative designs on the headdress to the creepy skull belt to her six bracelets boasts detailing. Finally, Kali controlled by the movie's villain starts to dance. As a startled primitive tribe looks on, their enormous effigy starts to move - slowly at first - spookily creaking all the while. What follows is some of the most surreal and wildly hypnotic movements ever seen on film, set to traditional Hindu music which is both lively, mysterious and infectious in encouraging dance. Harryhausen hired one of the most popular Indian music composers at that time to create the dance music and it adds much to the scene. The dance moves are classical and their subtlety in achieving just the right feel is tremendously realized.
Kali's bobbing head movements alone are worth the time to view the scene - which only clocks in at about 2 minutes 10 seconds. Harryhausen's incomparable touch which bestows upon the puppet truly lifelike movements along with that non-committal facial expression achieve a singularly brilliant illusion of life. We know it's only optical illusion, but then the entire concept behind film is one big optical illusion, however the Kali dance sequence due in large part to Harryhausen's brilliant facial sculpt, design and exacting dance execution excites one on a level few others approach.
Inevitably, the creatures of Harryhausen, as in any action fantasy film, must fight. And this is noteworthy to emphasize; Harryhausen always called his creations exactly that - creatures - not monsters or demons or things - they're creatures who may be from another world, or sent by the Gods or in this case courtesy of a magician's mystical potion. Harryhausen left the moralizing up to the audience, while he focused on their actions. Here of course Kali fights Sinbad and his sailors. Alhough it's one mystical creature against a group, Sinbad's men may indeed be outnumbered, for Kali has six limbs and wields a deadly sword skillfully with each one.
Kali isn't the last of the fantastic creatures for Sinbad and crew to deal with, she's just arguably the coolest. This film showcases fantastic stop motion magic while providing a fun romp for the whole family. The DVD contains great extras including a wonderful documentary on Harryhausen narrated by Leonard Nimoy of Star Trek fame.
Today digital FX realized through computers can achieve much more complexity than Ray Harryhausen could alone in his small work shop. However there's something to be said about the artistry of producing something yourself, by hand and with a unique vision and in terms of that, the stop motion work here is some of the most artistic you'll ever see.
Vintage Harryhausen 2006-08-04
I vividly remember seeing The Golden Voyage of Sinbad as a child one Christmas and it both terrified and thrilled me. Years later, it still sticks in my mind. The film kicks off with Sinbad (John Philip Law) setting sail for an uncharted island with a beautiful slave girl (Caroline Munro) and his motley crew. Along the way, he meets up with a mysterious vizier and does battle with the evil sorcerer Koura (Tom Baker who would later go on to play Doctor Who) who is on a quest to find the fabled Fountain of Destiny.
As with any Harryhausen vehicle, though, the monsters steal the show. Exciting as the final battle between a centaur and griffin is, the one you'll always remember is the six-armed sword-wielding goddess Kali. That scene alone is worth the price. The film has dated amazingly well and is a fitting testament to Harryhausen's genius. All in all, a classic and terrific fun for all the family.
5 stars for the centaur, the griffen and the godess kali. 2 stars for the story. 
2008-05-25
This Sinbad has some great stop-motion animation however the best of it doesn't occur until the last fifteen minutes of the film so in that respect this is a very slow builder, but worth it for the end.
Sinbad and his ship's crew find a special key. Koura an evil magician wants it back. Vizier turns up with the rest of the key and together they go on a quest to solve the riddle of what it opens.
Of course the main reason to watch it is for the stop-motion. In the golden voyage you get centaurs, griffen, the godess kali, a ship's statue and harpies. The centaur and griffen battle is the big one but the godess kali fight sequence is also very impressive for its time. Watch this for the animation. The story doesn't really cut it though.
False widescreen as usual 2007-09-21
Just a quick note to anyone who sees this: as usual, these are not the true widescreen presentations. If you watch the full screen presentation and pick any scene with good border definitons, and then find the same scene in the widescreen version, you'll notice the edges have been edited over with black to create a widescreen appearance. In other words, instead of viewing MORE visual borders of these movies, the widescreen print is actually presenting much LESS than what was filmed. Stick with the fullscreen viewings so you don't miss anything.
Great adventure...cool movie.. 2007-04-30
Parents,if you can't find anything for you and the kids to watch because of either being too violent or bad language,then why not this movie and the others that Ray Harryhausen did?? It has cool looking creatures and lots of action.It doesn't always have to be the newest releases,does it?? Show them movies you grew up on or your parents grew up on,so what are you waiting for??
GREAT HARRYHAUSEN MASTERPIECE! 2007-03-25
This was the first Harryhausen movie that I saw first run at the movies! I was very familiar with RH's older film work shown on TV in the early 60's and was lucky enough to see the 7th Voyage of Sinbad at the movies in a re-release in the late 60's. When the Golden Voyage theatrical trailer played on TV I knew I would be there! This is one of his best films with some awesome creatures! Kali and the Centaur's fight with the Griffin are stand outs,but they are all super cool! A classic fantasy adventure that should be introduced to younger kids who missed out when Ray was King.
A great movie for the entire family! 2007-01-04
I was pleasantly surprised that this is a great family movie! The acting is above average, especially John Phillip Law's performance. He is outstanding as the humble hero. Just remember the special effects are not George Lucas quality, but for the era in which this film was made, they are very good. Don't miss this charming movie!!
