Revisiting THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD in 4K

THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD (4K UHD)

1958 / 88 min

Sony

Available at MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Paws😺

About a decade ago, I had the pleasure of reviewing a humble little B-picture called Queen Crab. The movie wasn’t any good, but I was charmed by its titular monster, rendered in good ol’ fashioned stop-motion animation. It was also a sad reminder that the process is largely a lost art these days (with only Laika Studios consistently carrying the torch).  

Even as a kid and thrilling to the likes of Mysterious Island & Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, I never thought stop-motion animation was all that convincing, but still appreciated the enormous effort it took to create such special effects. And convincing or not, they looked wonderful. To movie lovers of a certain age, they still do. 

The legendary Ray Harryhausen didn’t invent stop-motion (or, “Dynamation,” as his brand was known), but he was its rock star. Even today, you’d be hard pressed to name another special effects artist whose name was just as vital to a film’s creative success as the director and cast. In some cases, his wonderful work was the only reason to watch the film…such as The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. 

One could debate forever over what movies feature Harryhausen’s best work, but this one features a lot of his most iconic creations…the malevolent cyclops, the giant dragon, the vengeful flying Rocs, and of course, those resurrected swordfighting skeletons that provided nightmare fuel for a generation of kids (and they’re still kinda creepy looking). 

Not to nitpick, but does that skeleton actually need a shield?

The movie itself is standard ‘50s-era fantasy fluff with silly dialogue and forgettable performances (Kerwin Matthews as Sinbad makes a bland action hero), but who cares? For the time, it was an astounding technical achievement, with thrilling action, gorgeous production & costume design and - the icing on the cake - a rousing score by the great Bernard Hermann, which ranks among his all-time best.

It’s all brought back to vibrant life with this new 4K release, featuring an excellent video transfer that improves on the comparatively lame Blu-ray edition (also included in this set). Even better is the DTS-HD Master Audio track, which is well mixed, particularly regarding the score. But aside from a digital copy, there are no new bonus features. Though there’s a lot of stuff of considerable historical interest (especially for Harryhausen fans), it’s all carried over from previous releases.

I had a childhood friend who loved this Sinbad stuff, and while we’ve since lost touch, I can’t help but think about how much he’d enjoy a release like this (even if he’s outgrown it). The 7th Voyage of Sinbad’s inherent technical charms would probably be lost on those weaned on Jurassic Park, but for the generation(s) who grew up thrilling to Harryhausen’s groundbreaking creations, it’s a nostalgic blast. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

4K, BLU-RAY & DIGITAL COPIES

THE HARRYHAUSEN CHRONICLES - An hour-long retrospective documentary that’s previously been included on many other Harryhausen-related releases, but is always worth revisiting.

FEATURETTES - In Remembering The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Ray Harryhausen recalls his efforts to get the film made; The Harryhausen Legacy features several filmmakers and effects arts who were influenced by Ray’s work; The Music of Bernard Herrmann looks at the legendary composer; A Look Behind the Voyage is very old short film about Harryhausen that plays like a distilled version of the Harryhausen Chronicles feature; Ray Harryhausen - Interviewed by John Landis.

“THIS IS DYNAMATION” is a promotional film touting the special effects. 

MUSIC VIDEO - “Sinbad May Have Been Bad, But He’s Been Good to Me” was a song used to promote the movies. Silly but catchy. 

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By Ray Harryhausen, Phil Tippet, Randall William Cook, Steven Smith, Arnold Kunert.

PHOTO GALLERY

TRAILER

CORPSE BRIDE (4K): Tim Burton's Bag of Tricks

TIM BURTON’S CORPSE BRIDE (4K UHD)

2005 / 77 min

Warner Bros

#InPartnershipwithWB

Review by Mr. Bonniejangles😸

I suppose I should be forthcoming and put out there that I’m not among Tim Burton’s biggest fans. He’s made a few films I really love, but by and large, I never thought he was all that great of a storyteller. 

But I’ll concede that his work was almost always aesthetically interesting, especially the pre-21st Century stuff…before his usual bag of tricks (colorful production design, quasi-gothic flourishes, oddball characters, Danny Elfman score, etc) turned Burton into more of a reliable brand name than a director still interested in artistic growth. 

The exceptions might be a couple of whimsically dark forays into stop-motion animation, starting with 2005’s Corpse Bride (contrary to what a lot of people still mistakenly assume, Burton wrote & produced A Nightmare Before Christmas but didn’t direct it). In a way, Corpse Bride is a welcome return to his roots, when he first got Hollywood’s attention with such stop-motion shorts as Vincent and Frankenweenie.

Though co-directed by Mike Johnson, the tricks in Burton’s bag are still here in abundance (including his choices for voice actors). But this time they’re in service of a narratively slight but charmingly morbid folktale that’s bursting with vivid imagery, from the characters to the worlds in which they exist. With Laika Studios assisting with production, it probably goes without saying that the stop-motion animation is brilliant (which earned an Oscar nomination that year).

Looks like the honeymoon's over.

Corpse Bride features an impressive cast providing the voices, including Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman, Albert Finney and Christopher Lee. It also boasts another playful Danny Elfman score, along with a few amusing musical numbers that help drive the plot. For the most part, this is all typical Tim Burton, but the animation makes it look and feel a bit fresher than his increasingly rote live action films of the time. And at 77 minutes, at least it doesn’t wear out its welcome.

If there’s ever been a director whose overall body of work screams for the 4K treatment, it’s Burton, and the video/audio transfer for Corpse Bride doesn’t disappoint. I’m still not completely sold on the visual and sonic benefits of 4K for every film, but it’s arguably the best way to appreciate Burton’s aesthetic sensibilities and the meticulousness of stop-motion animation. Additionally, there are a couple of brand new bonus features thrown in with a bunch of supplements from the original 2005 Blu-ray version. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

4K & DIGITAL COPIES

FRESH KIBBLES - Digging Up the Past: The Minds Behind Corpse Bride and ‘Til Death Do Us Part: A Corpse Bride Reflection are a couple of brand new retrospective bonus features.

SEASONED KIBBLES - Danny Elfman Interprets the Two Worlds; The Animators: The Breath of Life; Inside the Two Worlds of Corpse Bride; Voices from the Underworld; The Corpse Bride Pre-Production Galleries; Tim Burton: Dark vs Light; Making Puppets Tick; The Voices Behind the Voice. All the these featurettes are carried over from the 2005 Blu-ray release.