A follow-up (more than a decade later) to The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, this was, so the movie posters said, filmed in Dynarama – basically a fancy word for Ray Harryhausen’s terrific stop-motion special effects (‘stop motion’ being the trick where film-makers shoot a single frame as if they are using a still camera, and then another and another, altering the position of the creature a little between each shot to make it look as if it is moving). The bad guy this time is sorcerer Koura (Tom Baker, in a pre-Dr Who performance), who is after the same amulet that Sinbad is looking for.
Kids will enjoy the creatures and battles – especially a terrific scene in which the six-armed statue of Kali comes to life and engages Sinbad in a sword fight – though knuckle-chewing moments with the griffin and a one-eyed centaur mean this is most suitable for the over-nines. Watch out for Bond girl Caroline Munro and a young Martin Shaw (of TV’s The Professionals) in the mainly British cast.
Is The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...
As mentioned above, the centaur and griffin scenes are probably too frightening for children under the age of nine.
If you like this, why not try: The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad, Clash Of The Titans 1981, Hercules, Jason And The Argonauts, Sinbad And The Eye Of The Tiger,