THE LOST WORLD OF SINBAD (1963)
aka Dai tozoku
Article 2336 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 8-18-2007
Posting Date: 1-4-2008
Directed by Senkichi Taniguchi
Featuring Toshiro Mifune, Tadao Nakamaru, Mie Hama

Sinbad does battle with an evil premier who is planning to poison the king and marry the princess himself. Sinbad enlists the help of a gang of bandits and a cursed magician to help him. He must face the palace guard, a pirate, and an evil witch as his foes.

All right, it isn’t really Sinbad; in reality, it’s a character named Luzon which got changed to the more familiar Sinbad for American audiences. And he doesn’t visit any “lost world”, either; don’t strain your eyes looking for dinosaurs and prehistoric monsters. Still, even if it isn’t technically a Sinbad movie, the plot is certainly familiar enough to those familiar with Arabian Nights cinema, what with an evil premier conniving to get the princess for his own. The biggest plus is the presence of Toshiro Mifune in the title role; he’s such a charismatic actor that he still manages to entertain tremendously in one of his lesser roles. The witch (played by a man) is incredibly ugly and desperately needs a good orthodontist; she’s the closest thing to a monster here. The special effects are variable; some are good, and some are not so good. The fight scenes are very exciting, though, and the movie delivers a satisfying amount of spectacle. If you can get past the weak dubbing, you might find this one quite enjoyable.