The Lost World
of Sinbad
(aka DAI TOZOKU, 7TH WONDER OF SINBAD, THE ADVENTURES OF SINBAD, THE GREAT THIEF, THE SAMURAI PIRATE)
With: Toshirô Mifune (Sukezaemon, aka Sinbad), Tadao Nakamaru (The Premier), Mie Hama (Princess Yaya), Kumi Mizuno (Miwa the Rebel Leader), Ichirô Arishima (Sennin the Wizard), Eisei Amamoto (Granny the Witch)
English-Language Version:
Plot Outline (IMDb): Sukezaemon, a pirate, is shipwrecked in a strange corner of the world. With his companion, a wizard named Sennin, Sukezaemon becomes entangled in a plot by the evil premier to succeed the dying King Raksha.
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Synopsis: Sinbad, a soldier of fortune, escapes execution for crimes against humanity, and returns to his ship and crew for further adventures. The mercenary shouts, "Money can accomplish anything! It rules the earth!" Sinbad checks on his chest of treasure. Sinbad had been accused of being a pirate, and he now vows to live up to that accusation, and plunder the whole world.
Sinbad and crew soon sail right into the eye of a ferocious hurricane, however, and in the ensuing struggle against nature it is presumed that Sinbad and crew are killed. However, Sinbad and two crewman float away on some wreckage, taking their treasure chest with them, only to be soon assaulted by the dreaded Black Pirate. The pirates attack the shipwrecked men mercilessly Sinbad and the others soon fall into the water, while the Black Pirate retrieves Sinbad's treasure chest. Sinbad tries to board the Black Pirates' ship, but he is tossed back into the sea, and left to drown.
However, Sinbad washes up on shore and is brought to life by a goofy old wizard. Sinbad runs off, and the Wizard follows. As they approach town, the Wizard sees a beautiful young girl, and he convulses into a full-body erection, a curse his family has carried on for generations. The Wizard reveals that because of this affliction, he has been demoted to Third-Class Wizard.
Sinbad carries on alone, and soon reaches town, where he comes to the aid of a young woman who is being tortured by a brute. The brute demands a fight, but Sinbad wants no part of it. The two end up befriending each other. It turns out that the brute is a member of the Imperial Guard. He offers Sinbad work with his force, but Sinbad declines. Soon, armed guards kidnap all the woman in the town; it is the King's tax for poor families to give up their daughters.
Sinbad finds out from a beautiful woman (Kumi Mizuno) about the evil King. Soon a royal procession goes through town, with the Princess of the land. Sinbad travels on, towards the royal castle. A young boy leads him right into the arms of the outlaw gang, led by the woman. 5inbad insists that he can kill the evil monarch single-handedly and leaves the outlaws.
Inside the castle, various political intrigues are discussed by the evil Premier and his mistress, Kobe. Sinbad announces himself at the castle, and demands to see the Princess. After proving himself to the assembled guards in an archery contest, Sinbad forces his way into the Princess' chambers. The Princess seems glad to see Sinbad, but soon it is announced that the ship carrying the Princess' wedding gifts was sunk and overtaken by the Black Pirate, and the Princess' wedding to the Prince of Thailand will now have to be postponed. Sinbad is asked to stay an as a guard, and he agrees so that he be near the Princess.
The evil Premier descends to the castle dungeon, and converses with his ally, an evil, white-haired Witch whom he refers to as "Granny". The Witch offers a potion to kill the King, so that the Premier can finally ascend to the throne, including the Princess as his bride. The Premier informs the Witch about the new threat of Sinbad. The Witch looks into her magic mirror, and see the old Wizard, thus assuming that he will be the biggest obstacle to their plan.
Sinbad speaks to a slave girl and asks whatever happens to all the girls who are kidnapped and brought to the castle. Sinbad asks the slave girl to arrange a meeting with the Princess. That night, Sinbad climbs up the side of the castle, to the princess' quarters, but he is soon attacked by a giant palace guard. He overpowers the giant and meets with the Princess, who shows him some rare jewels, which are the ones stolen from Sinbad. Sinbad surmises that the Black Pirate is none other than the Princess' father, the King. The Princess knows that the real villain is the evil Premier, but alas, she has no proof as yet.
The guards enter the room, and take the Princess and 5inbad to the Witch's lair. The Witch turns a palace guard into stone by staring at him. Sinbad is forced into labor, but soon the Wizard joins him, and promises to help him overthrow the evil Premier. Turning into a fly so as not to be spotted, the Wizard promises to help out however he can.
Soon, the evil Premier confronts the Princess, and says he is taking over the kingdom, as her father, the King, is too ill to reign. The Princess does not believe him, but can do nothing while her father lies on his deathbed.
The Wizard rejoins Sinbad at labor. The Wizard evaporates, and Sinbad is released into the custody of the Premier's mistress, who now wants to thwart her master's plans. Sinbad leaves the dungeon with the Wizard safely on his back, as a fly. The Witch confronts the Mistress, and tells that she knows of her conspiratorial plans.
Sinbad and the Wizard walk on through the tunnels of the castle, but the Wizard-Fly gets stuck on a spider web, and Sinbad must rescue him. The Wizard and the Witch soon meet, and have a magical battle of wits. The Wizard is able to trick the Witch into flying into a bottle, which the Wizard then caps, trapping her forever.
Sinbad, meanwhile, has returned to the outlaw camp, and prepares a revolution with the others. Sinbad convinces the others that the King is innocent, and that it is the Premier who is the enemy of the people.
Soon, news arrives that the Prince of Thailand is rapidly approaching, and will marry the Princess. The Premier, of course, has no intentions of letting this happen, so again he sends out his colleague, the Black Pirate; he and his men attack and destroy the Prince's ship, and leave them all for dead.
The Premier then lies to the Princess' face, and tells her that the ship was lost in a raging storm, and that there can be no further delay in their own proposed wedding, which he insists will happen this very evening.
The Princess visits her father, who lay dying. She promises that is the Witch can save the King's life, she will agree to marry the Premier. Although the Premier tells the Witch to poison the King, the Witch of course is actually the Wizard in disguise, and he gives the King an antidote to his illness.
Realizing that they can't get into the castle on foot, the Rebels hatch a plan to send Sinbad over the walls of the kingdom in a giant kite. The kite rises majestically to the sky carrying Sinbad, but soon begins to fall apart.
Sinbad makes it to the castle before the kite completely disintegrates, and visits the Princess, who sadly informs him that her wedding to the Premier is to be held this every evening. Knowing that he must work fast, Sinbad locates the Wizard, who is still disguised as the Witch, and formulates a plan. Sinbad next encounters the Chief of the Palace Guard, and informs him that his boss, the Premier, is a traitor to his country. This angers the guard, and the two men resume the battle thy had postponed earlier.
The Wizard is about to activate his part of the plan, when he sees a shapely leg in a castle window, and turns back into his Wizard self; as he falls to the ground, he notes with some embarrassment that the leg which triggered his attack belonged to not a living woman, but a statue.
Sinbad and the Rebels launch their attack on the castle, but the Premier soon has the Princess in his custody. The Wizard, undone by his moment of weakness, is temporarily paralyzed by the Witch, who has escaped from her bottle-prison. The Witch then visits the Princess, and tries to force her to look into her evil eyes, so that she may turn into stone forever.
The Rebels storm the castle, and the guards join battle. As the Witch corners the Princess, Sinbad and his men arrive, and force their way into the Princess' rooms. However, the Witch manages to trap the Princess, and is about to put her under the horrible curse, when a curtain falls and the Witch finds herself staring into a mirror. Reflecting the evil gaze back onto herself, the Witch turns herself into stone, and her spell thus ended, all of her former stone people revert back to their human selves.
A giant of a guard, who was one of the Witch's first victims, picks up the Witch's ossified corpse and throws it off the balcony to the ground below, where it shatters into a million pieces.
Sinbad finally confronts the Black Pirate, who he knows is the one who stole his treasure chest. The two battle, and Sinbad kills the criminal. Sinbad then confronts the Premier, and slays him fatally. As he lay dying, the castle drawbridge lowers itself onto the Premier, and he is crushed to death by a stampede of his own people.
Soon, the slave girls are released, and the kingdom resumes under the benevolent rule of the king. The Wizard, however, finds that he is still fatally attracted to young girls. Inside the castle, the King and the Princess want to thank Sinbad, but he cannot be found. He has boarded his ship again, headed off to new adventures. When asked by his crew where they are headed next, Sinbad looks out to sea and replies, "Everywhere!"
THE END
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THE LOST WORLD OF SINBAD, one of the most obscure films to hit the Kiddie matinee circuit, was originally DAI TOZOKU, a Japanese pirate adventure. Although it primarily qualitied as family entertainment, there are moments in the film which are adult-oriented, and so make it a slightly odd Kiddie Matinee feature. These moments include several rather leering shots of buxom young woman, and a cruel scene in which a villain chews the legs off a live frog to in order to scare his enemy.
American International purchased rights to the English-Language version of the film, and released in theatrically in the U.S. in 1965, first as part of a drive-in double bill, and then, second-run, to matinee bookings.
The English version, dubbed very broadly like a cartoon, is certainly entertaining, although the long battle sequences might make the film tedious for some. The special effects by whiz Eiji Tsuburaya, although subdued, are excellent; these include magnificent model work of cities and ships, as well as some impressive optical effects. The giant kite, prominently featured in the U.S. poster art, is also quite impressive. Alas, there are no monsters in SINBAD, and one might have wished for at least one Godzilla-like dragon.
Toshiro Mifune, international star of RASHOMON and other Japanese film classics, gives his all in what must have been an uninspiring role for him. His name in the original film was Sukezaemon, and AIP simply changed the name to the more recognizable Sinbad for the US release. Also fun to see is Kumi Mizuno, Toho’s in-house sex-pot, as the leader of the Rebel group.
All in all, fun and nice to finally catch up, not a classic but a winning fantasy.
Video/DVD availability:VHS, DVD (unavailable)
(1963, Japan) color 96 minutes
Toho Company Ltd.
Story: Toshio Yasumi (as Kikuo Yasumi)
Screenplay: Takeshi Kimura, Shinichi Sekizawa
Music: Masaru Satô
Cinematography: Takao Saitô
Special Effects Director: Eiji Tsuburaya
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka, Kenichiro Tsunoda
Directed by Senkichi Taniguchi
(1965) American International Pictures
Produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff, James H. Nicholson
