Courageous sailor Sinbad (an appealingly earnest Kerwin Matthews) embarks on a perilous quest to break a spell put on his beloved fair maiden Princess Parisa (ravishing brunette beauty Kathryn Grant) by cunning and wicked powerful magician Sokurah (grandly played with lip-smacking aplomb by Torin Thatcher). Nathan Juron's strong, robust direction maintains a steady pace throughout and stages the action set pieces with considerable rip-snorting brio. Ray Harryhausen's marvelously vivid and lifelike stop-motion animation creatures include a ferocious gigantic Cyclops, a vicious two-headed giant bird beast, an angry fire-breathing dragon, an exotic four-armed snake woman, and, best of all, a lethal sword-wielding skeleton who fights Sinbad at the film's incredibly exciting conclusion. Kenneth Kolb's smart, colorful script has a few nice gritty touches (Sinbad's crew is largely made up of hardened criminals and the Cyclops puts a screaming man on a splint over a fire so he can cook and eat him). Richard Eyer delivers a charming performance as a sad imprisoned little boy genie. Bernard Herrmann's lively, rousing, flavorsome score, Wilkie Cooper's rich, vibrant color cinematography, and the engagingly sincere tone are likewise on the money excellent and impressive. A real delight.

If seen by the average idiot today, they will no doubt have no appreciation for the great special effects this film had for 1958. Sure, compared to modern CGI it looks awfully silly, but you really need to stop and think about all the work that went into this. You also seen to just sit back and enjoy it for what it is...escapist fun.

The film begins on the island of Colossa. Captain Sinbad and his crew meet Sokurah the Magician and it seems pretty obvious Sokurah is bad. But, you don't know this for sure until late in the film. Now I might not have mentioned this, but the IMDb summary divulges this!!! Way to go, folks! Sinbad rescues Sokurah from the cyclops but on their way back home the boat sinks and most of Sinbad's crew dies. Sokura and Sinbad survive and make it back home. Immediately, Sokurah starts whining about needing a ship full of men and weapons to defeat his foes--but no one takes him seriously. So, to get them to take Sokurah back there, he shrinks Princess Parisa. This is a SERIOUS problem as her pending marriage would guarantee peace--but no one wants to marry a 7 inch tall girl! Now you'd think people would put 2 and 2 together and realize Sokurah did this...but they don't. And, when Sokurah says he can restore her ONLY if he's taken back to his island, you KNOW something is amiss. But, the Caliph is a bit dim and orders Sinbad to take a new crew and Sokurah and the itty-bitty princess there. Naturally, one the island are a lot of dangerous stop-motion creatures. And, naturally, Sokurah is NOT a man of his word and tries to kill Sinbad.

The best thing about the film is the action. though dated, it's very good. The plot, on the other hand, seems a bit of a weak point--as the audience surely could see what was going to happen--why didn't the folks also see this who were in the film? Still, it's dandy fun and well worth seeing.

By the way, isn't that the cutest genie you've ever seen in a movie?! He was my favorite character in the film.

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad is arguably Ray HarryHausen finest achievement, it is a fantastic family treat from start to finish. Nathan Juran's direction is realised with dazzling spectacle, that is further advantaged by beautiful cinematography(particularly of Baghdad and Carlossa) and very convincing effects. I absolutely loved the clever designs of the monsters, such as the Cyclops and the Dragon, both of which are quite scary, the two-headed bird, and my favourite the warrior skeleton. Bernard Hermann's magnificently rousing score gives some weight to the really exciting scenes, and there are so many of them I can't count. The always likable Kerwin Matthews is very handsome and charming as Sinbad, even if he isn't the typical Sinbad from the other films or the stories. Kathryn Grant is beautiful beyond words as Princess Parissa, and the evil magician Sokurah is marvellously played by Indian actor Torin Thatcher. Richard Eyer is very sweet as the genie, though my only minor complaint of this brilliant movie, is that the genie's electrified voice got a little distracting. But overall, it is a hugely enjoyable film, with a 10/10. Bethany Cox.