The Golden Voyage of Sinbad

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad is a 1973 fantasy adventure film directed by Gordon Hessler, with stop-motion effects by Ray Harryhausen. Based on the Arabian Nights tales of Sinbad the Sailor, it is the second of three Sinbad films released by Columbia Pictures, the others being The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977). The film stars John Phillip Law, Tom Baker, Takis Emmanuel, and Caroline Munro. It was a worldwide box office hit and won the first Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film. Plot A mysterious flying creature soars over a ship at sea, carrying some shiny object. The ship's crew observe it and fire an arrow. The arrow misses the creature, but causes it to drop the ornate golden sector it held. The crew suggest throwing the object overboard, but Captain Sinbad fastens it around his neck. That night, he dreams about a man dressed in black, repeatedly calling his name, as well as a beautiful girl with an eye tattooed on the palm of her right hand. A sudden storm throws the ship off course, and Sinbad and his men find themselves near a coastal town in the country of Marabia. Sinbad's visions continue and the man in his dreams appears as a mirage on the shore. Diving from the ship and swimming to shore, he encounters the man from his dream. The man, an evil magician named Koura, demands that he turn over the amulet, which he claims belongs to him. Sinbad narrowly escapes into the city and meets the Grand Vizier of Marabia, who has been acting as regent following the death of the sultan, who had no heir. The Vizier, who wears a golden mask to hide his disfigured face, explains that Sinbad's amulet is but one piece of a puzzle, of which the Vizier has another. The Vizier relates to Sinbad a legend, which claims that the three pieces, when joined together, will reveal a map showing the way to the fabled Fountain of Destiny on the lost continent of Lemuria. He who takes the three pieces to the Fountain will receive "youth, a shield of darkness and a crown of untold riches". Sinbad agrees to help the Vizier in his quest for the Fountain and they join forces against Koura, who is bent on using the Fountain's gifts to conquer Marabia. Koura had previously locked the Vizier in a room and set it on fire, resulting in the disfiguring of the Vizier's face. The creature that dropped the gold tablet was Koura's minion, a homunculus created by his black magic.