Harryhausen Week, Day 1: The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.

"Y'all gonn' die!"

When looking back at the works of stop-motion auteur Ray Harryhausen, it's necessary to shut off one's cynicism for an hour and a half and revel in his own, very peculiar world. It's a world where colorful costumes and corny dialog are abundant, where the heroes are heroic and their women... womany. It's necessary to suspend one's disbelief for a moment because over here, there is black and white; good and evil. There are no shady corporations, no corrupt politicians hiding in the shadows. Shades of gray are not to be seen, and while there may be a crafty wizard or a treacherous king at work, the storytellers make sure that you know they're evil even before their misdeeds are shown.

Such is the case of "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad". We have the titular character himself, Sinbad, dashing sailor. We have his beautiful soon to be wife, whose hand in marriage assures peace for each of their kingdoms. Finally, the cunning wizard, who will do anything to obtain a fabled magical lamp. These characters, along with a rabble of sailors and a gaggle of monsters, complete the cast of this fantasy masterwork.

Sure the effects are aged, the work of the actors laughable... but there is something here that is rarely seen in the effects-laden work of the 21st century. I think the right term would be... magic? I don't know why, but these creatures seem to have more personality than most of the stuff put out by effects houses these days. It must have been really mind-blowing to have seen this kind of stop motion work in 1958. Today, they can only be seen through a thick lens of nostalgia. It's campy, monstery fun on a grand scale!

I hope you can enjoy this kind film. You should, unless your inner child has been withered and pruned to the point of non-recognition. In that case, *Mr. T* "I pity you!"

On Tuesday, I'll take a gander at "Mysterious Island" 'til then!