4K Blu-ray Review: The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

Synopsis: It's an incredible cinematic adventure as the legendary Sinbad sets off on a dangerous journey to the mysterious Island of Colossus. His quest is to break the spell cast over his beloved princess by a diabolical magician. But before he can save her, Sinbad must battle an awesome collection of mythical monsters, the man-eating Cyclops, a saber-wielding skeleton, a ferocious two-headed bird called the Roc and a fire-breathing dragon.

Main Feature: The 7th Voyage of Sinbad can be a marvel to look at. The then-groundbreaking special effects by the legend that is Ray Harryhausen can appear jaunted to modern audiences, but in certain lights, it's breathtaking in it's technique and outcome. The 4K release here (from a new UHD scan of the negative), the grains is nice and balanced, with the Harryhausen scenes mostly coming across gorgeous, even if the ultra HD output is a double-edged sword--accentuating both the good and the bad. Regardless, my presentation and setup look quite good. The film itself is still an enjoyable, entertaining adventure film of old, holding up mostly well. 

Bonus Features: The 4K disc carries a wonderful almost-hour long featurette of a 1998 TV special called The Harryhausen Chronicles that includes talking heads like George Lucas, Tom hanks and Harryhausen himself, among many others. Also, the original promo trailer is included. The Blu-ray disc of this dual set appears to be an exact version of the 2008 Blu-ray. based on my research, the standard HD presentation for the film on that disc is less than stellar, but is full of a dozen or so bonuses to appreciate over the main feature. 

Final Call: Despite the 4K format's good & bad presentation of the old school Harryhausen effects, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad is still worth a trip.

Grade: B+