While many gamers were introduced to fantasy through The Lord of the Rings or Conan the Barbarian - of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe - my introduction was through Sinbad. I had a picture book and record album with tales of Sinbad, and for an hour I would sit and listen to the recorded voice of Shaharazade telling the tales, turning the pages at the sound of a gong. Later The Arabian Nights - the Scribner's version with the Maxfield Parrish illustrations - would take the place of that picture book, but in between came The Golden Voyage of Sinbad.
TGVoS remains the most influential fantasy film for me. I watched it, mouth-open in wonder, drinking in every detail, and a few years later - and it was only a few years later - when I was introduced to Dungeons & Dragons, it was Sinbad, and especially TGVoS, from which I drew heavily for the dusty tombs and haunted caverns and wicked sorcerers and hissing monsters which populated my early dungeons.
In the spirit of this blog, and in honor of a cinematic magician, the duel with the skeleton from T7VoS.
I always loved how the music incorporates what sounds like the clacking of bones! Classic! Sinbad needs a cleric!
ReplyDeleteOr a mace.
DeleteOr a cleric with a mace..... :D
DeleteExcellent!
ReplyDeleteI wrote a little entry on my blog about how Harryhausen means more to me in e context of D&D than Tolkien. Really love the Sinbad films!
ReplyDelete