On 28 December 2020, I finally watched another of my ex-rental big box videos that I'd long been promising myself to view. This time it was the 1989 live-action Arabian Nights-type movie Sinbad of the Seven Seas.
Directed by Ennzo G. Castellari (as well as an uncredited Luigi Cozzi), Sinbad of the Seven Seas stars Lou 'The Incredible Hulk' Ferrigno as the immensely muscular Sinbad that Hercules would have looked like if he'd decided to give up a life on land in favour of more maritime pursuits, and how Sinbad would have sounded if he'd been born and raised in Brooklyn rather than Basra.
Interesting to note, btw, is that this film also features both a Prince Ali and an evil grand vizier named Jaffar, a few years before much the same names appeared in Disney's animated movie Aladdin. Pedants' corner alert: yes, there is indeed one 'f' less in the name of Disney's vizier version.
Still on the subject of viziers: the basic plot of Sinbad of the Seven Seas opens with the fairly standard storyline for Sinbad movies, in which the benevolent caliph is bewitched by his evil, scheming grand vizier, the sorcerer Jaffar, who plans to rule in his stead (has there ever been a movie in this subgenre featuring a vizier – grand or otherwise – who isn't evil, scheming, and planning to rule in the rightful potentate's stead??).
Moreover, Jaffar magically conceals in all manner of far-flung localities guarded by all manner of malign entities Basra's five magical stones that have hitherto protected this fair city from harm. And as if all of that were not enough, Jaffir also seizes the caliph's beauteous daughter, Princess Alina, and tries to imprison and slay Sinbad and his crew when they attempt to challenge his malevolent machinations.
However, as Sinbad evidently spends much if not all of his time working out when not sailing the seven seas, his ripped physique readily enables him to break free from his subterranean dungeon, ably assisted by a rope composed of plaited living snakes(!). And after rescuing his crew forthwith, he duly sets off with them upon an epic voyage of discovery to seek out and bring back to Basra its sacred stones, which will then enable them to conquer Jaffir, break his spell over the caliph, and rescue the Princess. Job's a good 'un – as they probably never said in ancient Arabia…
Anyway, although a sundry selection of ghouls, ghostly knights, and rapacious Amazons are encountered en route, Sinbad of the Seven Seas offers little in the way of monsters, sadly, only some of the 'men in suits' variety – unlike the superb stop-motion classics featuring in Ray Harryhausen's awesome trio of Sinbad movies. Speaking of which: Jaffar in this present movie (played by John Steiner) is so outrageously OTT that he makes Tom Baker's eye-popping evil magician-prince Koura in Harryhausen's The Golden Voyage of Sinbad look positively staid and retiring by comparison!
Indeed, it soon becomes evident that Sinbad of the Seven Seas plays very much for laughs overall, once again unlike Harryhausen's Sinbad movies, which are presented in a totally serious, dramtic manner. Nevertheless, this film is still well worth watching – especially if, like me, you are a particular fan of the Sandals & Sorcery subgenre of fantasy movie, to which the numerous Sinbad and several Thief of Baghdad movies are major contributions.
Incidentally, many years ago I was fortunate enough to encounter Lou Ferrigno at a big film convention held at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), just outside Birmingham, England, where he was chatting with visitors and signing photographs. They say that TV cameras make those in front of the screen look bigger than they actually are, but trust me, Lou needs no such optical trickery - that guy is BIG!! He was also very pleasant and approachable - a totally charming, genial giant of a man, whom I was delighted and very honoured to have met.
If you would like to get an idea of what to expect from Sinbad of the Seven Seas, be sure to click here to watch an official trailer of highlights from it on YouTube.
And to view a complete listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE!
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