Ray Harryhausen

THE 7th VOYAGE OF SINBAD
By far the most "classic" of the three, this spectacular piece of cinematic adventure may very well be Ray Harryhausen's masterpiece. Legendary sailor Sinbad (Kerwin Matthews, in his signature role) is on the verge of marriage to Princess.....uh, I forget (a beautiful Kathryn Grant), and uniting their two countries. But not before the evil magician Sokurah (Torin Thatcher, in an extremely amusing performance) can shrink the princess to a doll's size in order to get Sinbad to return him to the Island of Colossa. There, Sinbad battles a giant Roc, a fire-spewing dragon, and (my personal favorite), the Cyclops...all brilliantly achieved by the greatest FX pioneer of all time, Ray Harryhausen. Oh, and there is the classic duel with the skeleton. "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" is most likely, THE fantasy-adventure classic of all time, though some people say the same for the original "The Thief of Baghdad". A rousing, witty score by Bernard Herman, too!

THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD

My favorite of all three films, even if it doesn't really deserve the title "classic" as much as "7th Voyage" did. John Phillip Law replaced Kerwin Matthews in the title role, and proves to be less impressive, but only by a little. And, hey, he actually has an accent! This time 'round, Sinbad discovers a strange map disguised as a golden treasure of sorts, and with it sets off to the magical isle of Lemuria, where legend has it that if you place the map/trasure in the Fountain of Destiny, you will be granted all-powerful, all-knowledgable, and eternal youth. But he'll have to reach the isle before the black sorcerer, Koura (played to perfection by the sinister Tom Baker), who has more than a few tricks up his sleeves to stop Sinbad and his crew! This is a much different film than the first; the swashbuckling attitude is replaced by a darker, but more mystical atmosphere, which I find very cool! The score by Miklos Rozsa perfectly matches it, too (just check out the music during the scene with the Oracle; it's awesome!). The story is very inventive, with more twists-n-turns than you would guess. There is lots of suspense, too! And there is also Caroline Munro as the love interest for all you teenage boys out there! Ray Harryhausen once again provides a massive array of imaginative and expertly constructed creatures, including a flying homunculus (a spy of Koura), and a six-armed statue of the goddess Kali, which is the showcase for a masterfully-choreographed sword fight sequence. As well, there is an exciting battle between a one-eyed centaur and a griffin! A first-rate fantasy-adventure.


SINBAD & THE EYE OF THE TIGER

By far the least of the three, it's still enjoyable, nonetheless, though not for all the same reasons as the first two. First off, the acting is atrocious, but it is in a bad way; rarely do you feel the need to laugh out loud at its campiness. Second, the plot is pretty lame, and recycles quite a bit from the preceding voyages. Sinbad is now played by Patrick Wayne, the son of John Wayne, though it really doesn't show. He has none of his father's presense on screen, nor does he possess any acting abilities whatsoever! He is now on a quest to the land of *it's a really long, utterly forgettable name*, in order to return the Prince Kassim back to his human form. You see, he has been transformed into a baboon (?!) by the evil sorceress Zenobia (Margaret Whiting), but Sinbad must have the prince's permission to wed the Princess...once again, I forget her name, but it's a really hot Jane Seymour. They are joined by the wise man Melanthius (Patrick Troughton) and his lovely daughter (Taryn Power). Like I said, the story is weak, so it's up to the craftsmanship of Ray Harryhausen to save the day, and he does it very effectively! The giant walrus isn't menacing in the least, but the fight between the Troglodyte and Saber-toothed Tiger is suspenseful and exciting. Indeed, the creatures (such as Kassim the Baboon) produce more emotion than the actors themselves! All except for the Minaton...I mean, he's supposed to be this unstoppable colossus, right? Well, all he does in the entire picture is row a friggin' boat! That we are deprived of seeing this brute giant in action is all but devastating. The music is overall mediocre, but the backgrounds are beautiful and mystical. In fact, the production crew shot the film in places that had never been used in any film before it, and it shows! (P.S. Why the hell is it called "The Eye of the Tiger"? It has nothing to do with any tiger, nor any eye...at least, not enough to put in the title.) (all of the above are by Erik Morton, posted to Amazon)

I worked hard in my pre-teen years mowing and doing other lawn work, running errands and doing odd jobs. I paid close attention to how I spent my hard earned dollars. I believe this film was the first for which I bought theater tickets with money I earned myself. I've always liked both fantasy and science fiction. Based on Greek mythology and an ancient tale, Jason and the Argonauts belongs in the fantasy category. At the time of its release it reached the pinnacle of achievement in special effects. About twenty years later, Ray Harryhausen made Clash of the Titans with another Greek legend, big name performers and a far larger budget, but I still prefer this film with its occasionally “cheesy” acting.

Politics and the lengths to which it drives mortal men, in this case assassination and murder, begin the story. In his battle camp Pelias (Douglas Wilmer) has his soothsayer (Michael Gwynn) read the future. The seer speaks of a golden fleece in a great tree at the end of the world. Pelias, who wishes to be King of Thessaly, demands to know of the more immediate future: that night. The seer foretells that Pelias will defeat the present King in battle, kill him and become King of Thessaly, because Zeus commands it.

However, the soothsayer also foretells that one of the former King's children will later retake the throne. Pelias aims to kill all the King's children to prevent this. Meaning to escape, the current King's oldest daughter prays to the goddess Hera for protection in Hera's temple. Pelias finds her and questions her. Before the King's daughter can answer, a figure that Pelias believes a priestess of the temple silences his questions, saying that the daughter prays to Hera. When told that the goddess has heard the girl's prayer Pelias runs the daughter through with his broad sword. The figure in the shadows, actually the goddess Hera (Honor Blackman), now tells Pelias that the gods have abandoned him. “A one sandaled man shall come and no god shall protect you from him.”

Back on Olympus Hera speaks to her husband Zeus (Niall MacGinnis) about the profanation of her temple by murder and also her desire to help Jason defeat the profaner Pelias. Zeus grants Hera five interventions on Jason's behalf.

An instant later on Olympus, but 20 years later back in ancient Greece, Pelias' horse throws him in the water, where Jason (Todd Armstrong) rescues him from drowning. In the process of rescuing Pelias, Jason loses one of his sandals. Pelias, recognizing the instrument of his downfall, does not tell Jason his true identity, but instead welcomes him as his rescuer to receive the hospitality of his camp. There -- in company with dancing girls, musicians and the soothsayer -- Jason meets Acastus (Gary Raymond): Pelias' son. Jason tells of his desire to heal the damage to Thessaly wrought by Pelias in his time as King. He hopes to inspire the people by bringing them a treasure from the ends of the world: the Golden Fleece. Pelias encourages Jason to pursue his idea: build a ship, recruit a crew and bring the Golden Fleece to Thessaly, before revealing himself to his foe. After Jason has left the scene, Acastus asks his father why he lets Jason live and why he encourages Jason to pursue the treasure. Pelias plans for Acastus to accompany Jason.

Later at a temple ruins near a fallen statue of the god Hermes, the seer plays his lute as Jason approaches. The seer asks Jason if he has come to the temple area to pray. As the seer drops hints about his true identity, he also asks Jason if he will ask the gods how to find the treasure he seeks. Jason replies that he doesn't believe the gods would help one who does not believe in them.

Hermes brings Jason to visit Olympus, where Jason announces that he will accomplish his plan without Zeus' help. However, Hera tells Jason that she will be his protector but can help him only a limited number of times. Jason tells the gods that he will hold competitive games and choose only the best athletes for the crew of his great ship. Argos (Laurence Naismith) has made that ship: the Argo. Hercules (Nigel Green), Hylas (John Cairney), Acastus and others make up the crew of the Argo and figure prominently in adventures on their voyage to the land of Colchis, home of Medea (Nancy Kovack) where they will find the Golden Fleece.

It might seem that I've said too much, but I've only summarized the high points of first fifth of this movie. Most of the wonderful adventures with their excellent special effects lie beyond the background information I've provided in introducing most of the main characters and outlining the start of the story. Parts of Bernard Herrmann's score from this movie, along with some of his work from several other films, have been combined on an audio CD. The music lends to the spirit of myth and adventure. Many believe this movie to be Ray Harryhausen's best work. I count myself in that group, but enjoy all his films. (Tom Ender)