Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger

Plot synopsis:
In the kingdom of Charak, a celebration is taking place for the coronation of Prince Kassim. But Kassim's evil stepmother, Zenobia (Margaret Whiting), places a curse on him and turns Kassim into a baboon (one of Harryhausen's stop-motion creations) just as he was going to be crowned caliph.
Sinbad (Patrick Wayne), sailor and Prince of Baghdad, moors at Charak, intent on seeking permission from Prince Kassim to marry Kassim's sister, Princess Farah (Jane Seymour). He quickly gets used to the city and its people, but finds it under curfew. When Sinbad and his men shelter in a nearby tent, one is poisoned and are attacked by Rafi, Zenobia's son, but Sinbad defeats him. Soon a witch (whom the audience later learns is Zenobia) summons a trio of ghouls, which emerge from a fire and attack Sinbad and his men. Sinbad disposes of the ghouls by crushing them under a pile of huge logs.
Sinbad meets with Farah, who believes Kassim's curse is one of Zenobia's spells and if Kassim cannot regain his human form within seven moons, then Zenobia's son will be caliph instead. Sinbad, Farah, and the baboon Kassim set off to find the old Greek alchemist named Melanthius (Patrick Troughton), a hermit of on the island of Casgar, who is said to know how to break the spell. Zenobia and Rafi (Kurt Christian) follow in a boat propelled by the robotic bronze Minoton, a magical creature created by the sorceress which looks like a Minotaur. During the voyage, Farah proves to be the only person capable of calming the baboon. Sinbad is convinced that the baboon is Kassim after he witnesses it playing chess with Farah and writing his name on the wall.
Sinbad and Farah land at Casgar and find Melanthius and his daughter Dione (Taryn Power), who agree to help them. Melanthius says they must travel to the land of Hyperborea where the ancient civilization of the Arimaspi once existed. On the way to Hyperborea, Melanthius and Dione also become convinced that the baboon is Kassim. Besides Farah, Kassim enjoys having Dione's company and develops a love interest towards her.
Zenobia uses a potion to transform herself into a gull to spy on Sinbad. Once aboard his ship, she turns into a miniature human and listens in as Melanthius tells Sinbad how to cure Kassim. Alerted by Kassim, Melanthius and Sinbad capture Zenobia. Unfortunately, her potion spills and a wasp ingests some of it. The wasp grows to enormous size and attacks the two men, but Sinbad kills it with a knife. Zenobia takes what is left of her potion, turns into a gull, and flies back to her own ship. But there is too little of the drink left: While Zenobia is restored to human form and full size, the lower part of her right leg remains a gull's foot.
After a long voyage, Sinbad's ship reaches the north polar wastes. Sinbad and his crew trek across the ice to the land of the Arimaspi, but are attacked by a giant walrus. It destroys most of their supplies and kills two men, but Sinbad and the others fend it off with spears. Zenobia uses an ice tunnel to reach the land of the Arimaspi, and she, Rafi, and the Minoton climb subterranean stairs to emerge in the warm, Mediterranean-like valley above.
Sinbad and his crew also reach the valley. While resting, they encounter a troglodyte a 12-foot (3.7 m) tall creature somewhat like a fur-covered caveman, with a single horn coming out of the top of its head. The troglodyte proves not dangerous, but rather friendly and follows the adventurers to the giant pyramidal shrine of the Arimaspi. Zenobia and Rafi arrive at the shrine first, but she has no key to enter. She orders the Minoton to remove a block of stone from the pyramid's wall. He succeeds, but the block crushes the Minoton and destabilizes the shrine's power.
Sinbad and his friends arrive minutes later, and realize Zenobia has entered the pyramid. They enter the shrine's main chamber, the interior of which is covered in ice and is guarded by a Smilodon frozen in a block of ice. Zenobia orders Rafi to attack Melanthius and is about to hurt Dione with a knife, but he is attacked by Kassim and is killed falling down the temple stairs. Momentarily overcome with grief, Zenobia cradles her son while Sinbad and Melanthius investigate how to get Kassim into the column of light at the top of the shrine which will break the spell. Having come to her senses again and seeing Kassim restored to human form, Zenobia transfers her spirit into the Smilodon. Breaking free of its icy prison, the giant cat attacks the group but the troglodyte then enters the scene and engages the Smilodon in combat. Initially gaining the upper hand and even slamming the beast to the ground, the Smilodon disarms the troglodyte of its spear and pins it to the wall, inflicting more damage before killing it via biting the neck. Sinbad and his men fight against the Smilodon but overpowered by its speed and Maroof is killed. The Smilodon then attacks Sinbad who uses the troglodyte's spear to jab it in the chest, killing the Smilodon and Zenobia. With the spell on Kassim is broken and Zenobia dead, and the adventurers flee the temple as it collapses and buried in snow and ice.
Sinbad, Kassim, Farah, Melanthius, and Dione and return home just in time for Kassim to be crowned Caliph. Sinbad and Farah share a kiss. The film fades to black, and the eyes of Zenobia appear on the screen.

Tags: good versus evil, revenge, cult

Review:
It's inventive and eye-catching, and the Minoton is a marvel.Patrick Wayne is strong-jawed and stalwart as Sinbad, but Jane Seymour, as the princess, obviously hadn't done much acting yet when she made this film.
Sinbad the Sailor voyages to the mythic northern realm of Hyperborea to restore a caliph from an evil witch's transformation.Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, the follow-up to the classics The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, is an uneven conclusion to Ray Harryhausen's celebrated "Sinbad Trilogy".
The attractive cast performs listlessly and the villain is campy rather than truly menacing, although former "Doctor Who" Patrick Troughton is delightful as a befuddled wizard.Yet, for all its flaws, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger remains an entertaining escapade in the old-fashioned Saturday-Matinée tradition.
The quest for the mystical Shrine of the Four Elements has a particularly epic quality with the usual eclectic blend of mythical elements set against the backdrop of the Arabian Nights.Most importantly, Harryhausen's realistic stop-motion animation is as extraordinary as ever, with two of the animated-puppet creatures -- Kassim the Baboon and Trog the Troglodyte -- successfully functioning as actual communicative characters within the body of the story.
Other wonders include insectoid demons, an over-sized mosquito, Minaton the Brass Minotaur and the saber-tooth tiger of the title.Genuine movie fantasy is a rare commodity, and Ray Harryhausen's vision and conviction shine through the circumstances of production to make this a satisfying final visit to the land beyond Beyond..
And I think at the time of this release we had gotten "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Star Wars" so our expectation levels were running higher for "special effects" and "whimsy" than this.But I still can get entertainment out of this film.How?By remembering how old I was when I saw it and WHOM I was with when I saw it.
Now, most children don't even think "Spy Kids" can give them a buzz.This movie is about childhood and remembering what it was like to have an imagination and watch a story unfold for nothing but the sheer enjoyment of it...the fun of eating "Good 'n' Plenty", "Snowcaps", "Malted Milk Balls" and Popcorn without thinking about calorie content to make this even more fun to watch...and the "eye candy" of Wayne, Seymour and Power help a so-so story that's really better than a lot of stuff I've seen today that they charge ya $10 a ticket for!
Watch this as a "fun" romp....as remembering when families watched shows together (..or in my case my dad mumbling under his breath about how the game was due on and he had to sit through this 'crap' first!), the pre-teen tingles of watching a handsome Wayne, young Seymour and/or Power (...ya know...before having breast implants and weighing 95 pounds was mandatory in Hollywood for women to do this kind of film work?!?) and telling your parents you were REALLY interested in the story...really.Maybe I've got a more "nostalgic" view about this film..its because I'm not looking for academy award winning material with this kind of film, but it does its job of...entertaining...and if you have children and want them to be children for a tad longer, this may be the film fare for them.
Or just for you, if you want to curl up with some popcorn and remember "the good old movie fluff days" where special effects were done by hand and stop motion photography by the "grand-daddy" of the genre and a Sinbad movie where Sinbad actually looked like you might imagined him to look like back then and evil characters who were evil and got theirs....pretty much simplified.Open your mind and when you have a moment...enjoy.
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger was the third and final Sinbad movie with Ray Harryhausen creatures.In this one, a prince is turned into a stop-motion baboon and Sinbad and crew go on an expedition to Ademaspai to restore him back to human form.
All of them look impressive, thanks to Ray Harryhausen.Sinbad is played well by the Duke's son Patrick Wayne (The People That Time Forgot) and the rest of the cast includes Dr Who actor Patrick Troughton, Bond girl Jane Seymour (Live and Let Die), Taryn Power, Margaret Whiting as Zenobi and Nadim Sawalha.Though not as good as the first Sinbad movie, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, I still enjoyed watching this one.
Loose retelling of the ¨ 1001 Arabian nights¨ , based on ancient legends , deals with Sinbad The Sailor (Patrick Wayne) sails to deliver a cursed prince Kassin (Damien Thomas) to a dangerous island in the face of deadly opposition from a powerful witch (Margaret Whiting) .
In the mysterious land Hyperboria Sinbad along with a sorcerer (Patrick Troughton) and his crew encounter magical and mystical creatures .This exciting picture contains swashbuckling , magic , fast-moving plot , thrills , impressive fights among monsters and lots of fun .
It is Patrick Troughton's excellently enigmatic Melanthius and Margaret Whiting's icy Zenobia who are the real stars of this show.Sinbad travels to find a way to break the spell which has turned a prince into a baboon, but Zenobia, who has plans to ensure her son is crowned king in the prince's place, calls upon the help of various mythical creatures.
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger is directed by Sam Wannamaker and is the third and final Sinbad film that Ray Harryhausen (and his stop-motion creations) made for Columbia after The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad.
It stars Patrick Wayne (Sinbad), Jane Seymour (Princess Farah), Taryn Power (Dione), Patrick Troughton (Melanthius), Margaret Whiting (Zenobia) and Nadim Sawalha (Hassan).
They face a perilous journey to the end of the World (a place called Hyperborea) with Zenobia and her black magic tricks in hot pursuit.Depending on if you are a fantasy/adventure fan or not may determine how much, if at all, you get from Sinbad & The Eye Of The Tiger.
Troughton has a good time as the mad/eccentric/genius alchemist, while Whiting owns the film with her delightfully over the top trip into evil villainy.It's presumed that newcomers to the movie know what to expect going into this one, whilst old fans revisiting it should hopefully find that it's holding up rather well considering the genre it sits in.
It is the most epic of the trilogy and has the most ambitious storyline (POSSIBLE SPOILER) involving a voyage into a lost world hidden behind the ice sheets at the North Pole (no doubt an idea partly influenced by Disney's 1974 'The Island at the Top of the World').The creatures in this one are the least spectacular of the trilogy (THE SEVENTH VOYAGE & THE GOLDEN VOYAGE have better and more spectacular ones) but Harryhausen's artistry is as great as ever and he really should have been given a special accolade for imbuing Kassim the Baboon and the Troglodyte with so much character.
You want to see the details on the bronze minotaur (called Minaton here) the intricate patterns on the thousands of fabrics, and precious jewels, the different eye lash-layers on "evil" queen Zenobia and the expanse of ultra blue seas.The third of Ray Harryhausen's Sinbad films has apparently gotten a bad rap over the years, which I can not understand.
No doubt it could have been better, but as an exciting adventure it is more than good, thanks to a strong cast and Ray Harryhausen's excellent animation.The story is about Kassim, the caliph of Baghdad, who mysteriously disappears at the very moment of his coronation.
It's all a matter of perception and historical placement, above all Location, location, location!In order to break Zenobia's spell on Kassim, Sinbad enlists an adequately wise and aged wizard, Master Malanthius and his sexy daughter, the hyper blond, hypnotized-looking Dione (Taryn Power), who also has some of the most vapid dialog in the movie.
The first thing they do is crush the spies that the vizier had set to watching their moves, against a rock as they start on the pursuit, an appropriately delightful moment of evil indulgence.The best part of the movie is Zenobia's transformation into a seagull so she can leave her ship and spy on Sinbad in his.
The real plusses come from supporting players Patrick Troughton( a former Dr. Who) and Margaret Whiting as the evil Zenobia, foil to Sinbad and his baboon-changing-back-to-prince plans.
I've seen this movie probably about over 10 times when I was little, but now I can't find it and I really want to watch it again!This movie is plain entertaining, about one of many adventures that Simbad had, including a witch that practices black magic, a terrible curse, an old wise man with lots of answers for lots of questions and even a golden bull, Zenobia's slave.
Margaret Whiting is completely over-the-top as the villainous Zenobia but at least she seems to be having fun with all the corny dialog(her transformation into a seagull is laughable and the only bad special effect in the film).
The effects are, as always in a Harryhausen-movie, excellent, but many people say that it was not for the best that Harryhausen took some creatures from earlier films: that might be partially true, the creatures from the beginning sequence are looking like the selenites from FIRST MEN IN THE MOON, but it is not the right of the master to copy himself?
Veteran character actor Sam Wanamaker is the nominal director, but the effects unit was run as always by Harryhausen, and for its time the stop motion animation was very good and the actors did their best to interact with models which weren't there.
By the late seventies they were starting to look old-fashioned; there is little in "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger" (which came out in the same year as "Star Wars") to distinguish it from "The Seventh Voyage" which had come out nearly twenty years earlier.Today, of course, films made using the "Dynamation" process have a very retro feel to them, but I have long had a soft spot for Harryhausen's work ever since I was taken, as a child, to see a double bill of "The Seventh Voyage" and "Jason and the Argonauts" as part of a friend's birthday treat.
The acting is variable; neither Patrick Wayne as the hero nor Taryn Power has the talent or the charisma of their famous fathers, but Margaret Whiting as Zenobia makes a splendidly over-the-top villainess, former Doctor Who Patrick Troughton is good as the wise old philosopher Melanthius and Jane Seymour as Farah looks as lovely as ever.
Fun Sinbad Adventure with Patrick Wayne, Jane Seymour & Taryn Power.
I don't get why so many people pan this 1977 Sinbad adventure film, the third in a trilogy featuring Ray Harryhausen's special effects creations.
The previous installments are 1958's "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" and 1973's "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad."THE PLOT: Princess Farah's (Jane Seymour) brother, who's about to be crowned Caliph of the kingdom, is turned into a baboon by the envious sorceress Zenobia (Margaret Whiting) who wants her son to be Caliph instead (Kurt Christian).
Whiting puts her heart & soul into her role as the witch with a capital "B" and Troughton is charismatic as the likable old magician.As for women, this is one of the highlights of the film as the young brunette Jane Seymour and blond Taryn Power (Tyrone's daughter) are breathtaking to behold in every scene they appear.
Patrick Wayne is a great Sinbad, the story captures your attention, the locations are fabulous, and Jane Seymour & Taryn Power are delectable.
SINBAD AND THE EYE OF THE TIGER (1977) ** Patrick Wayne, Taryn Power, Jane Seymour, Margaret Whitton.
I consider it one of the two best films to feature Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion creatures, the other being Clash of the Titans (the original, not the dire remake!).Anyone not impressed by the animation in this film, including a stop-motion baboon who is a main character throughout and gives an exceptionally nuanced and emotionally moving performance, is most likely an ignorant millennial with no knowledge or respect for film history, animation techniques, or the concept of evolving technology, and has spent their entire life being spoon-fed CGI that, while immensely impressive, has rendered modern audiences incapable of suspending disbelief, applying their own imagination (because they have none), or comprehending the sheer artistry and technical genius of old-time movie-makers like Harryhausen!Rant over.As the last of the three Sinbad films released by Columbia Pictures it is my favourite, being altogether more varied, adventurous, imaginative, and well-rounded.
Nor do they feature Jane Seymour with corn rows and no clothes!It would be fair to say that the skinny-dipping scene with Jane Seymour and Taryn Power (plus a giant troglodyte) left a lasting impression on my young mind, for which I will always be grateful.Overall, despite being undeniably dated by today's standards, I consider Eye of the Tiger to be one of the finest fantasy films ever made..
For some reason I really like Sinbad movies.Not just these great films by Ray Harryhausen, I also like Sinbad The Sailor and even Sinbad Of The Seven Seas just as much.This is your typical Sinbad story.Sailing, magic and hot women.What else do you need?A prince has been turned into a baboon by an evil witch so her son can become the king.I think that's the set up, it was confusing.There's a lot of talk about Muslim religion stuff, assuming we know that crap.Sinbad decides to drop everything to help the prince because he wants the princess.It may be hard to pay attention to the movie with the extremely hot Jane Seymour running around half nude but watching it a second time will be easy.This is a movie everybody needs to see..
Like Clash of the Titans and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, it's Ray Harryhausen's special effects that steal the show.
With the aid of an ageing wizard (Troughton), a princess (Seymour) and the blonde, blue-eyed Taryn Power (daughter of Tyrone Power) he sails the seven seas, contesting with mutated creatures (the minotaur, played by Dave Prowse pre-'Darth Vader') and other creatures, richly brought to life via Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion animation.Harryhausen fans will marvel at his technical capabilities; the scene In which Whiting is miniaturised, scampering about the ship's cabin while the crew try in vain to capture her before she can morph back into a seagull and escape is classic.
Featuring a gorgeous young Jane Seymour "Eye Of The Tiger" was my favourite Sinbad movie growing up, so when I saw it was on TV I sat down to watch it with my 9 year old son.
Whilst I revelled in the nostalgia from my youth, my son would say "that looks so fake" whilst I would tell him about how old the movie was, and the effects were great back in 1970's and the wonder of Ray Harryhausen, he would say 'Star Wars' and 'Superman The Movie' were out in the 70's too, and being the tech savvy 9 year old he is, he pointed out this was made in the same year as "Star Wars"Whilst the story is on par (if not better and Jane Seymour is as attractive as Caroline Munro (although she does not show as much cleavage) Patrick Wayne is not as effective as John Philip Law in the "Golden voyage of Sinbad" and seemed to spend most of the first part of the movie like a love sick puppy making doe eyes at Seymour!!
Patrick Wayne takes over the role from John Philip Law, and isn't as good(why JPL didn't return I don't know) Jane Seymour and Taryn Power are the female leads(no mention of Caroline Munro either!) Plot involves the quest to restore a young prince to his rightful throne(despite being turned into a chimp) with an evil witch and her son plotting to usurp it themselves.
I'd say that at least 20 minutes could've easily been edited from this film's 112-minute running time and I'm sure no one would've been in the least bit upset.About the only really noteworthy thing to say about "Sinbad" was that its title character was played by the dashing, 38-year-old Patrick Wayne, son of the famed, veteran actor, John Wayne..
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger starts with Captain Sinbad (Patrick Wayne) arriving ashore after a long voyage to see his friend Prince Kassim (Damien Thomas) & his sister Princess Farah (Jane Seymour), however he discovers that Kassim has been transformed into a Baboon by his evil step mother Zenobia (Margaret Whiting) using black magic so her son Rafi (Kurt Christian) can become king.
The script by Beverly Cross & producer/special effects man Ray Harryhausen has a simple yet functional story, it has a villain, plenty of monsters & mythical creatures, exotic locations, action scenes, sword fights, black magic & a chess playing Baboon, what more do you want?
Interestingly Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger came out the same year as Star Wars (1977) which probably put Harryhausen out of business & just about ended his career.Technically the film is good, with nice locations, decent effects, costumes, sets & production design.
The acting isn't anything special apart from Whiting who seems to be enjoying herself as she plays it up as the villain.Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger is a terrific film, it has all the elements one wants in a fantasy film such as this.
So, in all, SINBAD AND THE EYE OF THE TIGER is a film for a) Jane Seymour fanciers, b) Harryhausen enthusiasts, and c) people who enjoy watching old-fashioned adventure yarns and don't mind over-long running times and a lack of acting and story.
"Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger" is not as good as the other two Ray Harryhausen Sinbad movies.
But can any movie featuring Ray Harryhausen's creatures and sexy Jane Seymour ever be truly bad?