The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)

Sinbad and the vizier of Marabia, followed by evil magician Koura, seek the three golden tablets that can gain them access to the ancient temple of the Oracle of All Knowledge.

Director:

Gordon Hessler

Writers:

Brian Clemens (screenplay), Brian Clemens (story)

Stars:

John Phillip Law, Caroline Munro, Tom Baker

3 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Phillip Law	...	Sinbad
Caroline Munro	...	Margiana
Tom Baker	...	Koura
Douglas Wilmer	...	Vizier
Martin Shaw	...	Rachid
Grégoire Aslan	...	Hakim (as Gregoire Aslan)
Kurt Christian	...	Haroun
Takis Emmanuel	...	Achmed
David Garfield	...	Abdul (as John D. Garfield)
Aldo Sambrell	...	Omar

Storyline

Sinbad and his crew intercept a homunculus carrying a golden tablet. Koura, the creator of the homunculus and practitioner of evil magic, wants the tablet back and pursues Sinbad. Meanwhile Sinbad meets the Vizier who has another part of the interlocking golden map, and they mount a quest across the seas to solve the riddle of the map, accompanied by a slave girl with a mysterious tattoo of an eye on her palm. They encounter strange beasts, tempests, and the dark interference of Koura along the way.

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Plot Keywords:

treasure chest | gold coin | psychotronic film | sinbad | map | 

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Taglines:

Sinbad battles the creatures of legend in the miracle of Dynarama!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Arabic

Release Date:

25 January 1974 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad

Filming Locations:

Torrent de Pareis, Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$982,351 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$11,000,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ameran Films, Morningside Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (uncredited)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Christopher Lee was a front runner for the role of Koura.

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Goofs

At 39:37 from the beginning, you can see a blue sleeve from a shirt ...on the close up grab move to grab Rachid .. blue sleeve shirt under the wooden skin of the illusion .

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Quotes

[first lines]
Lookout: [shouting from the crow's nest] A fine clear morning! And all is well!

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Alternate Versions

At 0:49:27 on the VHS version (PAL time) (and presumably on the original release print) you can see when Sinbad is helping Margiana from the boat to the sand on the beach, for a couple of seconds and by mere accident, Caroline Munro's nipple. On the DVD it's been covered by a digital addition to her hair.

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Connections

Referenced in Die schlechtesten Filme aller Zeiten: Star Crash - Sterne im Duell (2017)

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Soundtracks

Kali Walk Dance
(uncredited)
Music by John Mayer

User Reviews

Old-time Saturday Fun

Despite many outings, including the poorly-received animated opus of 2003, Scheherezade's most famous hero has never made much impact on the big screen, compared to less likely but more politically correct freebooters such as Robin Hood. It must be that there's no underlying message, such as Up-Yours to the Man, in these tales of Baghdad's intrepid sailor & explorer of mythical lands. One of the best efforts was this film made just before "Star Wars" compelled B-budget adventure movies to take to outer space & "Raiders" made stunning visual excess the duct tape of plot holes. A mysterious golden tablet leads Sinbad's ship into an alliance with the gold-masked vizier of Moravia (Wilmer) & a race against time against sorcerous Prince Koura (Baker) to find a power that will confer either the means to stop Koura or make Koura unstoppable. Law is game in the lead, deftly playing Sinbad between earnestness & camp, but still looks a bit like a fugitive from the Mod Squad. Actresses get short shrift in these films unless they get to be villainesses, but no such luck for the ladies here. The beautiful but unfashionably voluptuous Monroe, whose career hit its high point here, isn't more than the obligatory decoration & damsel in distress. Her scenes with Law are too awkward to be either romantic or campy. Harryhausen's Dynarama effects are the star, as usual, making all the films he treats a cut above average, at least. They are up to the task here, with the fight against the six-armed Kali not far short of the classic climax in "Jason & the Argonauts," but are not quite his best. Supporting parts give the film unusual & pleasant depth, including Wilmer's pessimistic Vizier & especially Shaw as the cautious but valiant second-in-command, Rashid. It's Baker who makes the film as Koura, effectively depicting the torment he brings upon himself in his evil ambition. The film is generously endowed with sage, ostensibly Arab sayings from Sinbad & others, notably "Trust in Allah, but tie up your camel." Koura gets the best ones, though, including "He who searches for pearls should not sleep" and my favorite, "He who is patient, obtains." Darth Vader's "I find your lack of faith disturbing" was a better catchphrase for an America made, perhaps, less credulous by Vietnam & Watergate. The subsequent "Eye of the Tiger," which featured the stunning young Jane Seymour in the stereotyped decorative role, wasn't up to the unpretentious old-fashioned fun of "Golden Voyage." Sinbad remains in his hidden harbor, waiting for an effort like Boorman's "Excalibur" or Milius's "Conan"--and perhaps also an end to America's ugly image of the Persian Gulf--to make sail again.