The Golden Age of Sinbad

The Golden Age of Sinbad (Gordon Hessler, 1973)

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Rating: Q=4, P=5 / Average OJ

Scale 1=2, Scale 2=2, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=2

Adventure, Fantasy, Based on Book

I love all stories about Sinbad--a favorite film is the The 7th Voyage of Sinbad from 1953. But The Golden Age of Sinbad was...weird. While it had the escapist tone and the Ray Harryhausen visuals, it definitely felt like Sinbad in the 1970s. The story was a little outlandish and some of the characters a bit stereotypical or flat, but it's still a fun little adventure.

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Kings of the Sun

Kings of the Sun (J. Lee Thompson, 1963)

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Rating: Q=6, P=5 / Average OJ

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=2

Adventure, Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Continuing on our journey through adventure movies of the 1940s-1960s, Kings of the Sun is an interesting film. It is a story of cultures and philosophies during the time of Chichen Itza in Mesoamerica. The visuals and color are beautiful and some average performances by Yul Brynner and George Chakiris. The film isn't especially grand and the story isn't amazing, but it still left a good impression and the world was fun to delve into for a few hours.

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The Thief of Baghdad

The Thief of Baghdad (Berger, Powell, Whelan 1940)

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Rating: Q=6, P=6 / Average OJ

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=3

Adventure, Fantasy, Based on Book

I'm not entirely sure why I hadn't watched this film until now. A fantastic adaptation of the 1001 Arabian Nights story and a marvel for 1940. This film won many awards for its innovative cinematography and art direction. It may feel a bit goofy today, but the tone and vibrancy of this film still holds up, in my opinion. I love the music and the acting is great. I felt immersed in a world far, far away and that's exactly what I want.

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Happy 2023!

Happy 2023, everyone! This year's film watching was a lot of fantasy, adventure, and some truly amazing series. Probably my favorite film I saw this year was The Northman (closely followed by The Batman), favorite show was Andor: Season 1.

Other highlights were finishing my all-time favorite drama series, Peaky Blinders, an epic Season 4 of Stranger Things, Obi-Wan and Boba Fett--wow, what a year of excellent shows!

I'm hoping to keep watching new and old films in 2023 and doing a few more marathons: Mel Brooks films, revisiting Hercule Poirot BBC series, and a list of good films/shows about sailing/navigation (starting with the Horatio Hornblower series). I'll also be watching lots of classic 1940s-1960s adventure films I haven't seen before.

Best wishes!