Search - The 7th Voyage of Sinbad on DVD

MPAA Rating: G Content Advisory: Mild Violence, Excellent For Children Movie Release: 1958 DVD Release: 11/30/1999 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, Spanish Subtitles: English, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 28 mins Studio: Columbia TriStar Members Wishing: 11 Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Mythological Fantasy, Fantasy Adventure See Also: Seventh Voyage of Sinbad [50th Anniversary Edition], Seventh Voyage of Sinbad [Blu-ray]

Whilst Sinbad (Kerwin Mathews) is on his way to Baghdad, transporting the Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant), who is to become his bride and secure peace between her kingdom and his, the ship encounters the isle of Colossa. Sinbad and his men are attacked by a gigantic, bestial one-eyed Cyclops, and are saved only when the mysterious magician Sokurah (Torin Thatcher) appears and uses a magic lamp to protect Sinbad's men. But in the process of escaping harm, Sokurah loses the lamp to the Cyclops. He desperately wants to retrieve it and tries to persuade Sinbad to put about and return to Colossa -- but the captain won't jeopardize the safety of the princess or the success of his mission, and the Caliph of Baghdad (Alec Mango) feels the same way, even after Sokurah amazes the court by conjuring up a snake-woman. It is only when the princess is shrunk by an evil spell, the breaking of which requires the shell from the egg of the giant Roc -- which resides on Colossa -- that Sokurah can get his expedition mounted, with Sinbad in command. With a crew made up of a handful of his bravest men and some of the most desperate convicts in the Caliph's prison, he has to contend with potential mutiny at every turn, and the men are driven almost to madness before they even reach Colossa. Once there, they find terrors as great as the Cyclops and the treachery of the magician, but Parisa -- in her tiny state -- also discovers the beautiful world inside the lamp, and the lonely boy genie (Richard Eyer) who inhabits it. They strike the bargain that, when Sinbad's bravery is added to the equation, will bring their quest to an end. If, that is, they can all survive the dangers that Sokurah puts in their path. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Kerwin Mathews - Sinbad
Kathryn Grant - Princess Parisa
Richard Eyer - Baronni the Genie
Torin Thatcher - Sokurah the Magician
Alec Mango - Caliph

This DVD is not only a real treat for any audience, but an absolutely essential disc for fans of fantasy films and stop-motion animation. Apart from the movie itself, which has received a beautiful transfer, the disc comes with a pair of supplementary shorts in which Ray Harryhausen (joined by producer Charles Schneer and star Kerwin Mathews for one of the featurettes and John Landis for the other) discusses his work in detail on The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad and Jason and the Argonauts. Additionally, the disc includes the 1958-vintage featurette "This Is Dynamation," which introduced Harryhausen's technique to audiences ahead of the release of The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. The crowning element of the supplement, however, is "The Ray Harryhausen Chronicle," a brilliant, hour-long documentary on the filmmaker narrated by Leonard Nimoy that gives a close look at Harryhausen's entire career, culminating with his winning of an Oscar in 1992.
The supplements on this disc could easily keep viewers busy for a night before they get to the movie itself. The menu pops up automatically on start-up and is very easy to manipulate, especially as a means of accessing the supplements. The trailers from all of the Harryhausen films for Columbia Pictures also make an entertaining diversion. The movie is transferred about as well as it's ever likely to be shown, with deep, rich colors to most of the costumes and sets, as well as a deep, loud audio track that gives full play to Bernard Herrmann's music and the array of sound effects accompanying the various monsters onscreen. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide