bkoganbing I saw this film first when I was 11 years old and seeing it 59 years later hasn't diminished me enthusiasm. This is some of Ray Harryhausen's best work and first with classical characters as opposed to futuristic science fiction.Playing Sinbad is Kerwin Matthews who seemed to like doing these films, he was so often cast in them. He's getting ready to marry Princess Kathryn Crosby and that's something for even a sea captain to marry into the royal family.But when they're blown off course and come to an island where magician Torin Thatcher headquarters and shares it with a cyclops, a giant flying roc bird and a fire breathing dragon Thatcher keeps to protect his lair it's trouble. Thatcher has possession also of a magic lamp with a boy genie Richard Eyer who like Pinnochio wants to be a real live boy. Watching The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad really takes me back to when I was 11 years old. You can still thrill at my age to what Harryhausen does with those monsters. An 11 year old of any age can still thrill to the dragon and cyclops duking it out while our hero escapes with his lady love.Thatcher's a villain that will give you nightmares. He's pure evil, the kind you applaud when he gets his.After almost 60 years The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad is still a great family film with whole cloth heroes and the darkest of villains.

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.

elvircorhodzic THE 7th VOYAGE OF SINDBAD is a fantasy adventure film, which is remembered for impressive special effects (stop motion animation) and a pretty good soundtrack. Stories from the ancient Arab collection are always interesting.A famous sailor plans to marry a beautiful princess. An evil magician has spoiled his plans. The magician reduces sailor fiancée to the size of her thumb. The sailor has been forced to go to an island full of mythical monsters, to find a secret, which would nullify the evil spell.Special effects by Mr. Harryhausen represent a kind of revolution in the creation and presentation of huge animated monsters. The fight scenes are really impressive. It is difficult to create a "pleasant" illusion with giant Cyclops, a cobra-woman, a legendary bird of prey, a fire-breathing dragon and possessed skeletons. Scenery corresponded very well with the visual illusion.Kerwin Mathews as Sinbad is famous sailor and adventurer. He is brave and fearless character. A little heroic charm would not hurt him. Kathryn Grant as Princess Parisa is a pretty candy for our eyes. However, the characterization is much better in the second part of the film (when she is shrunk). Torin Thatcher as Sokurah is the evil magician who has stolen the show in some scenes.Nothing spectacular, but some segments are very interesting.

Michael A. Martinez I could easily devote an entire review to Bernard Herrmann's musical score or Ray Harryhausen's stop motion, as without either, this film would not be even remotely as effective. Harryhausen's stop-motion is nothing short of miraculous, given the technology available at the time and the fact that he did everything entirely on his own. There's a lot of films that I've watched purely to marvel at the stop-motion effects such as ROBOT JOX, PUPPETMASTER, etc. which still barely deliver enough to satisfy. 7TH VOYAGE still left me hungry to see more giant monster action at the end, but overall is quite satisfying in delivering the goods.What makes the goods so good in this case? Well it has to do with Harryhausen's attention to detail and his infusion of personality upon all his creations. While we have a living skeleton, a dragon, a snake- woman, and a few giant birds, the most interesting by far is the cyclops who is both a terrifying presence while strangely still human enough to convey a level of innocence and sympathy. It's a pathos on par with the original Willis O'Brien creation of KING KONG. His entrance in the film is built up so well that, as a very young and impressionable child, it had me terrified yet basically in love with all things Harryhausen from the first frame he appears in.The highlight for me these days is the flawless sequence in which Sinbad manages to blind the cyclops with a torch and lure him toward a cliff ledge. I love how accurately the animation conveys his anger, sadness, frustration, and attempts to improvise via feeling his way around with his arms in the air out in front of him. Also notice how furious and confused the cyclops behaves when he gets attacked by a rabble of drunken sailors, especially when he inspects, connects the dots over, and throws down the spear that was stuck in his back. I could go on and on.No, the film is not quite perfect of course. There's some roughness to the production values, some campy acting, mismatched locations, anachronisms, and a lot of stock-footage. Also as an adult I can't help but notice the massive plot hole where the magician kills a sailor in order to steal the magic lamp, but somehow in the tussle completely forgets to pocket what he's been obsessively chasing after for the entire movie! However, as far as a practically timeless film conveying a sense of pure fantasy and, spectacle, and wonder that children and adults alike will love and appreciate, you'll be hard pressed to find better.Schneer and Harryhausen followed this up 15 years later with THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD with a whole new cast and darker tone. It's arguably a much better and complex film, but this is the Sinbad movie with the bigger and more memorable monsters.