ALL SCI-FI

The Spike

He who is patient obtains.

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad is directed by Gordon Hessler and stars John Phillip Law (Sinbad), Tom Baker, Caroline Munro, Douglas Wilmer, Takis Emmanuel & Martin Shaw.

It includes a score by composer Miklós Rózsa and features stop-motion effects from Ray Harryhausen (this one in Dynarama). It's the second of three Sinbad films that Harryhausen made for Columbia, the others being The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977).

The plot sees legendary sailor Sinbad come into possession of a tablet dropped onto his ship by a mysterious flying creature. The tablet is one part of a map which greatly intrigues Sinbad, so he wears it as an amulet. However, the tablet was bound for evil magician Koura (Baker) who now wants it back, as it will lead to The Fountain Of Destiny. Can Sinbad, aided by the Grand Vizier Of Marabia (Wilmer), fend off Koura before he gets the rewards from the fountain to use for his evil ways?

A smooth adventure piece that's low on plotting but high on magical mystery fervor. More known for directing horror films, Hessler does an admirable job in not letting the thin story bog the movie down. Sometimes with Harryhausen led movies the stop-motion creations end up being the sole reason for watching the film. And while, as always, they are the best thing in this movie, they give the film an Arabian Nights feel to the piece, managing to charm and engage enough to round it out as a full film viewing experience.

Yes the cast are sub-standard B listers, with John Law and Munro featuring, one thinks, for looks (cool beard and turban look) and bosom (whoosh!) respectively. While Tom Baker's pantomime villain act could never become tiring; such is the fun he and the audience are having with it.

But this be a good old yarn that's spun well in conjunction with Harryhausen's effects. Here we are treated to a vengeful ship's Figurehead, a Centaur, a winged Griffin, a tiny Gargoyle and (best of the bunch) the goddess Kali, a six-armed statue that is brought to life by Koura. The latter giving a moment to rival that of Talos' awakening in Jason & The Argonauts.

Look out for Robert Shaw who features uncredited as the "Oracle Of All Knowledge". Rózsa adds the aural joy with mystical Arabian flavours, and Ted Moore's cinematography brings the gorgeous colours and costumes to life.

Good wholesome family entertainment. 7/10

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The quality of mercy is not strnen.

Pow · Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2019 1:54 pm Post subject:

Some Fun Facts about "The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad." }

Ray sketched out a scene that was to take place in the Valley of Vipers. Giant stop~motion animated snakes would be in the foreground and real live snakes would be slithering out of the holes in a rock face in the background.

Producer Charles Schneer hated snakes and felt such a scene would be too unnerving for the audience.

There were 3 Vizier's golden masks constructed of fiberglass.

Location filming for the film took place in Madrid,Spain. Shooting also took place in Arta & Palma. The Palace Generalife Palma, Majorca was utilized as the Vizier's palace.

Manzanares was used for the evil Koura's castle. The Caves of Arta on Majorca were used for the temple of the oracle. Ray used the caves previously as Sokurah's cave/castle in "The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad."

Torrente de Pareis in Majorca was also used. It was the same locale for the fierce battle between the Cylops & Taro,the dragon from "The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad."

Verona Studios in the mountains near Madrid was where the sets for interior scenes were shot.

Sinbad's ship only had 2 sides to it and was built mainly of plaster on a hill that was not near the sea at all.

A section of the ship was constructed near the sea for certain shots.

The shots involving the ships of Sinbad's & Koura's that were miniatures was done in Rinella in Malta in a 400' by 300' marine tank.

The tank is built by the sea so that it merges with the real sea horizon. This allowed the realistic look of the scene instead of having a large painted background rising up from the edge of the tank.

Orson Welles was to play the oracle but withdrew over salary issues.

The budget for the film came in at $982,351 which was a small budget even for 1970s.

The movie was a great success for Ray & Charles.

It was one of Ray's favorites.

Many of Ray's films were submitted to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences but none were nominated.

Ray wondered if the lack of acceptance by the Academy was because his films were shot in Europe and not Hollywood?

The Spike · Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 1:34 am Post subject: Orson, come in Orson!

Bud Brewster · Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 8:52 am Post subject:

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Patrick Wayne was handsome and likable, but there's something to be said for the idea of keeping an effective actor like John Phillip Law in the role for both films (and a third, if there had been one).

If Mr. Law was upset about not getting the role in the second film, then he obviously cared about his character and played it with true conviction.

Note to Pow: You are our Oracle, sir, and from now on when I read your Trivia posts I'm going to imagine them being read in Orson Welles' voice. Very Happy

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

Pow · Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 1:42 pm Post subject:

Why thank you, Bud. I am a big fan of Mr. Welles and wish I did have a similar voice to his.

Bud Brewster · Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 2:09 pm Post subject:

Pow · Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 4:59 pm Post subject:

You are too kind Bud. I'm sorry to report that my 67 year old bod is leaning more toward the older Orson than the younger one.

But it wasn't always so...sigh...

Pow · Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2020 2:07 pm Post subject:

Early title for the film was "Sinbad in India."

Throughout pre~production producer Charles H. Schneer and Ray Harryhausen intended to shoot the majority of the film in India.

Since the lost continent of Lemuria which figures so prominently in the movie is generally recognized as being located in the Indian Ocean, Ray felt that the architecture on Lemuria should resemble the Khymer in Western Indian.

Besides that factor, there was a more commercial reason to film in India.

At that time, many of the major Hollywood studios had invested major sums of money to shoot films in India.

Columbia Pictures, which Charles & Ray worked with, was one of those studios.

The studios discovered that once their money was deposited, they were unable to withdraw it due to Indian laws.

Ray & Charles then heard from producers who had filmed in India about the nightmare boondoggle of red tape and bureaucracy they were forced to endure.

Extras who accepted to work in a film and then would not show up was also an issue.

So Ray & Charles returned to a location they knew well from their previous productions: Spain.

What a shame, because India would have given the film a fresh new appearance with its outdoor vistas.

I always appreciated the scenic beauty of Spain for Ray's films, but he did end up shooting a number of his films there and even reusing locations from one film to another.

India's exteriors were a relatively unexplored site as far as U.S. film productions were concerned at that time.

American audiences were not used to or familiar with movies actually set in India. So, a Harryhausen film back then on location in India would have been a real treat.

Ray would do his stop~motion animation scenes for TGVOS in the Goldhawk Studios in Shepherds Bush, West London, England.

The small studio was located on the first floor, which created a problem for the legendary animator.

Vibrations from street traffic (buses were the worst) could jar the painstaking and precise animation that Ray needed to do.

So a special concrete floor was poured in the studio.

The full-sized plaster statue of Kali which appears at the beginning and end scene does not resemble Ray's model used for the animation scenes.

Ray had sent a copy of the Kali model, created from the original mold, to the Spanish construction department on which they were to base the full-sized Kali prop.

When Ray & Charles arrived on the set to begin shooting, they were horrified to see that the statue was not the same as Ray's concept. The head bore little resemblance to the one Ray had designed. The full-sized version has a more masculine face to it.

Filming was to take place immediately, so there was little that Harryhausen could do about it.

Ray admitted that while it was wonderful to dream and plan animation scenes, he would embark on a complex sequence like the Kali battle and wonder why he made life so difficult for himself.

Bud Brewster · Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2020 3:06 pm Post subject:

Pow · Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2021 11:38 pm Post subject:

Watching the battle between Sinbad and his men with the statue come to life Kali on Youtube.

The way Ray composites the live actors with his stop-animation model of Kali is absolutely fantastic!

I know fans and critics did not always think that whenever Ray had the actors existing in the same frame as his models that it always came off not truly jelling together for a believable effect.

He manages it in smoothly and beautifully in this movie.

Gord Green · Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2021 3:15 am Post subject:

Bud Brewster · Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2021 11:46 am Post subject:

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There were two YouTujbe videos of Kali, but one is pretty dark. so I picked this one. You're right, Pow, its a great example of Ray's incredible work. Very Happy

The Statue of Lord Shiva's CoSmic dance and fight (full sequence) from The Golden Voyage of Sinbad

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)