Review of The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973) by Jack G — 17 May 2015

Prime example of a mixed bag. really couldn't stand many of the actors, and the first half hour (or the first half really) is flatly directed and poorly written stuff. Two things keep this afloat though: the Harryhausen effects (though they take time to really get going, it's really the six-armed buddha-statue, and the Minotaur and falcon-beast that steal that part of the show, though a bat-spy is kinda cool), and, actually more than Harryhausen, Tom Baker.

Just his eyes are the stars of the movie. At first I thought he'd come off kind of like a second-rate Anthony Quinn from Lawrence of Arabia- kind of an Arab minstrel show. That goes away very quickly, and he really digs in to the heart and soul of his character.

He is a dastardly villian this Prince Koura, going after these three golden trinkets that will give him the fountain of youth. And of course he conjurs monsters and every time he does it makes him old and weak.

But keep an eye on his intense, sky-blue eyes and how he moves his face and mannerisms, or just the fervor his Koura has when he is searching through the golden chests inside the part of the temple for the piece as Sinbad and his men (and woman) approach: you almost want him to get it, just by the nature of how bland Law is.

He might have been a fine Diabolik, but that was without a lot of his face showing. It has the similar problem as Jason and the Argonauts - matter of fact, the similar structure of a Man on a Voyage on a Ship (he even gets some crew, though a lot of the men are already assembled ad the start) - only with Jason, the effects were really masterpieces of effects work.

Here, frankly, Harryhausen has his moments, but he has not one but two creaky statue-monsters this time (the woman on the ship that break off and attacks the men is ok, but feels like a retread of Talos from Argonauts).

So even with him it's not all aces. Still, there's a part of me that has an admiration for this fluffy stuff meant to really keep kids in 1973 occupied on a Saturday afternoon. For that, it is a low matinee-worthy price.

And Baker especially, well, one can see why he was picked as the Fourth Doctor after this movie. He really is the reason to see the movie more than anyone else: a fully embodied, passionate, crazed and even sympathetic villain.