I know I’ve spoken about this in previous reviews of films that included Ray Harryhausen effects, but I was lucky to meet the man a few years back, shake his hand, and see some of the original model used in many of his films. It was a great personal experience to sit with a legend in a room that did not have many people in it, Maybe about twenty five to thirty people and hear him speak about his work and let everyone look at in detail many of his models, including the Cyclops in this film, as well as the Medusa from Clash of the Titans. It was an experience that I’ll never forget. I haven’t really meet many well known people in the business, but I’m glad I got to meet a legend such as Ray Harryhausen and to this day it’s such a pleasure to watch some of his films. Such is the case with THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD which is now celebrating it’s fiftieth anniversary, and Sony pictures is releasing an all new fiftieth anniversary edition DVD.
THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD follows Sinbad (Kerwin Mathews) on his adventure to the island of Colossa. His mission there is to find certain items to help break the spell put on Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant) where the evil Sokurah the Magician (Torin Thatcher) her shrunk her to about the size of a pencil. However, this was all done while the princess was sleeping, and Sokurah tried to make it seem as if he was trying to help out the kingdom, but instead he was trying to bring it down. So along with Sinbad and a group of men they set off to the island where they fight many mystical monsters such as the Cyclops, the dragon, and two headed giant bird and even a skeleton, all while trying to collect certain elements to make a potion that will bring the princess back to her normal size. with the help of a genie in the lamp Sinbad and Princess Parisa must try to stop the evil Sokurah from taking their lives and keeping them trapped on this island.
Looking back on a film like THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD we can learn a lot about how movies were made in the past with the use of special effects. Sure they look fake to us, but back then the use of stop motion animation and matting film cells over one another to create the effect of realism was the only way you can make a fantasy film capture it’s look. With today’s technology we’re almost spoiled with the realistic look we get in some movies that use computer generated effects, although some of them don’t always look real. With a film like this, that was produced in 1958; the new digital transfer actually helps enhance the look of the film and it’s effects. Sure they still look like effects from back in the day, but they look more realistic than ever before. This is a film where the effects at the time were considered to be a huge advance in stop motion animation along with real life action going on. Sure there were films before it that help make Ray Harryhausen a legendary name, like MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Earth vs. The Flying Saucers to name a few. These are the films that have made Ray Harryhausen one of the best visual effects artists the world has ever known.
Watching this film I can’t help but notice that the actors in this movie gave it their all. I’m sure at the time many people in the film industry might have looked at this film as being some kind of low level film, much like horror films get treated today. But the acting is top notch, so much so that I don’t think acting in the majority of horror films today can even come close. Actors worked had back then to get it right, and I think the cast of this film, in my opinion; did a great job.
The production value for the film was also pretty decent for the time in which the film was made. Back in 1958 the budget for this film was only 650,000. That’s not a lot of money for a film that needed a lot of visual effects and elaborate sets. This film had plenty of neat sets that took place on an island, a cliff side, on a boat in the sea, in a big kingdom and of course in a cave. Looking at how great all the sets and costume design was for this film. It looks like it would of cost more to make, but in fact it was not. So despite the time in which the film was made, it still had a fairly low budget, and for the type of production value for the time. It looks pretty good.
Overall, THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD is a film in which showcases the visual talents of Ray Harryhausen and the people behind the fantasy films of the past. The years in which this film was made was a big time when Horror and Fantasy films were the fun films to see in theaters. William Castle was bringing horror to another level, while Ray Harryhausen was laying the foundation for the future of visual and special effect in movies. This is a DVD well worth checking out, as not only does it have many features, such as commentary with Ray Harryhausen and plenty of documentaries and features on the man, but it also has plenty of featurette about the making of the film and so on. For fans of this film it’s well worth picking up on DVD, and for fantasy fans, as with all of Ray Harryhausen’s films it’s a must, because without him, you wouldn’t have the great effects you see in films like LORD OF THE RINGS and HARRY POTTER films.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
