7th Voyage of Sinbad, The (DVD)

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It's hard not to like this film, but maybe watching it as a kid helps. I saw it when it first opened in 1958 and I was in the eighth grade, so it's had a chance to grow on me. I liked it then and I like it now.

Surprisingly, it has held up well with the passing years, the stop-action animation of Ray Harryhausen's creatures surpassed only by today's computer-generated special effects. However, I am not so happy with Columbia TriStar's DVD transfer, more of which later.

Only dedicated curmudgeons would complain that stars Kerwin Mathews and Kathyrn Grant (Crosby) look, dress, and wear their hair more like movie actors of the fifties than characters out of the "Arabian Nights." Only confirmed nit-pickers would suggest that Harryhausen's monsters--the snake woman, the one-horned Cyclops, the two-headed flying Roc, the fire-breathing dragon--are less fluid, less detailed, and less well textured than more recent computer-graphics creations. And only habitual complainers would notice that the fight scenes look clumsy or false.

Likewise, only the most devoted fantasy fans would point out that "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" compares unfavorably with its most obvious cinematic counterpart, the 1940 classic "The Thief of Bagdad." So what if Mathews as the hero isn't as dashing as John Justin, if Torin Thatcher as the evil magician isn't a match for Conrad Veidt, or if young Richard Eyer as the Genie isn't in the same league with Rex Ingram. And who cares if Nathan Juran's direction lacks the panache of Alexander Korda's lush production with its multiple directors. The comparison is unfair because no fantasy film before or since has equaled "The Thief of Bagdad" for beauty or grace. "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" is close enough for kids, which is what you've got to be in spirit at least to enjoy this imaginative adventure.

Two things that are above reproach: Bernard Herrmann's magnificent score, music that allows viewers to close their eyes and visualize perfectly the action of every scene; and Sinbad's celebrated fight with the skeleton, still astonishing after all these years and perfectly accentuated by Herrmann's tuneful accompaniment.

Video:
Columbia TriStar's keep case says, "Now in a pristine, hi-definition transfer that captures the magic of Harryhausen's 'eye-popping' special effects in dazzling Technicolor." Maybe I was watching a different film than the one advertised, but there is certainly nothing I saw about this DVD's image quality to justify such a claim. In fact, the picture is soft, sometimes dull and grainy, and generally faded. It's not awful, by any means, but there is little of the dazzling brilliance or vivid contrasts that should radiate from a Technicolor movie. In its favor, the digital transfer shows no traces of leftover pixels, shimmering lines, or ragged curves. The widescreen aspect ratio is presented at 1.74:1. I suspect the reproduction is as good as it can be, given a mediocre print.