Review of Sinbad of the Seven Seas (1989) by Jay A — 24 Jul 2013

Lou Ferrigno stars as undoubtedly the most-muscular Sinbad ever filmed, in this Italian cinecitta production helmed by original Inglorious Bastards director Enzo Castellari. The story itself is actually quite good (credited at the onset to Poe, of all sources) wherein Sinbad must retrieve a collection of jewels - one at a time, from exotic and harrowing locales - in order to restore peace to a city held captive by an evil wizard.

It's in the budget where the flick falls short, as the effects-au-fromage just can't measure up. Like most Italian genre pics, the music (here, an inexplicable space-age organ) is weird and surreal - as is the dubbing, with Ferrigno's (mercifully) somehow quite good.

The wizard's on the other hand? Quite, quite bad. Better than you would think overall, however, with credit to Castellari and writer Cozzi (both industry veterans of many genres) getting the most out of a modest budget.