Golden Voyage vs Eye of the Tiger

 

If you're familiar with the films of the 70s, you know I'm talking about Sinbad. I watched these two films during my workout sessions over the last couple weeks.

 

 

 The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973), directed by Gordon Hessler, written by Brian Clemens and Ray Harryhausen, stars John Phillip Law as Sinbad, Caroline Munro as Margiana, and Tom Baker as Koura. This story has Sinbad take a scarred vizier who wears a metal mask on a journey to acquire three gold tablets to the Oracle of Knowledge and finally to a fountain where placing the tablets into the pool will give the placer certain benefits, including youth. Naturally, there's a fly in the ointment in the form of an evil sorcerer, Koura, who wants the benefits for himself.

 

 

Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977), directed by Sam Wanamaker, written by Beverly Cross and Ray Harryhausen, stars Patrick Wayne as Sinbad, Jane Seymour as Farah, and Taryn Power as Dione. In this tale, Sinbad is tasked with taking the baboon who would be king to a remote island to pass him through a rainbow so that he can regain his human form. It's an evil sorceress, Zenobia (played by Margaret Whiting), in this one who attempts to thwart the hero so her own son can be king.

 

The two films are almost as much alike as are Rio Bravo, Eldorado, and Rio Lobo. It doesn't bother me that the films take a nearly identical formula and dress it up in slightly different ways. All that matters is whether the film is good. Both of these films are great. I watched them both on as a kid - probably on a Saturday afternoon when I had the good fortune to be left alone with time to watch whatever was on one of the three or four channels we got on TV.

Which movie do I prefer? Let's compare:

Leading Protagonists:  GV features John Phillip Law and Caroline Munro. He's a fine actor who exudes heroic determination in the role. She's a knockout with eyes that could melt a reactor core. Additionally, she has an eye tattooed on her hand. This Sinbad has a nice catch phrase, "Trust in Allah, but tie up your camel."

EOTT features Patrick Wayne and Jane Seymour. Wayne is great, but lacks something in comparison to Law's Sinbad. Seymour seems very young, but must've been about 25 or 26 at this time. Wayne has the swashbuckling down, coming across more as a fun-loving corsair than a serious adventurer. Although Seymour is beautiful, her eyes won't melt reactor cores. However, the film also benefits from the presence of Taryn Power as Dione, daughter of a wise man or magician who knows the way to San Jose or the island they need to go to. 

Powers (lower right) is also a beauty. She and Seymour help persuade the troglodyte (upper left) to help them find the magical place.

It's a close call, but I think the older film wins this factor by a thin margin. One point for GV.

What about the antagonists:

Tom Baker brings a malevolent presence to Koura. He uses imps to eaves drop

and gives life to sculptures and statues..  

He pays a price for his magic use in the form of aging. By the end, he is well aged and feeble.

Zenobia, of EOTT,

transforms herself with a potion to do her own dirty work, which at one point leads to her temporary capture.

She also has some difficulties when her potion runs short at changing back time. She also controls a metal minotaur man that propels her ship, spears men in the water, and removes heavy stone blocks - or block, actually.

Koura is the more formidable  of the sorcerers. He loses points for not doing the dirty work himself, but gains for being better at the wizard game and for bringing life and swords to the Kali figure, which was one of the most impressive feats of cinema I had ever seen as a kid.

Both antagonists use their heads at the end in a final effort to turn the scales in their favor, but, naturally, good must prevail. Again, the point goes to GV.

As far as supporting characters, specifically, the characters in need: GV has the vizier, or old metal head:

EOTT has Kasim, the prince turned into a baboon.

 Kasim is the more interesting of the two. He's a Harryhausen creation. He plays chess and progresses as the tale goes on, losing his humanity for savage characteristics. The point goes to EOTT.

The finale of each show features Harryhausen monsters battling each other as well as the heroes. The GV monsters represent good and evil while the EOTT creatures are the troglodyte featured above in the Taryn Powers picture, and Zenobia inhabiting a huge sabertooth tiger. Both were great fights, but I was irked that the GV Sinbad did nothing to help the griffin creature representing good in the battle against evil while allowing Koura to hamstring the griffin. The point narrowly goes to EOTT for the final battle.

 

Which film wins? Both are winners. It's a difficult decision, but I think Caroline Munro's eyes and, "Trust in Allah, but tie up your camel," push GV a nose ahead of EOTT. Naturally, your mileage may vary. Both films are fun fare for kids and adults.