The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

Friday, October 11th, 2013

One of the most iconic movie scenes of my childhood is the scene from the original Star Wars of Luke Skywalker grabbing Princess Leia and swinging across the chasm.

Star Wars Luke and Leia Swing

I recently watched The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, the 1958 fantasy film featuring special effects — in Dynamation! — by Ray Harryhausen, and I couldn’t miss the obvious inspiration for Lucas’s later scene.

7th Voyage of Sinbad Swing

I’ve mentioned the skeleton scene before.

Near the end of the movie, Sinbad unchains the dragon guarding the cave entrance so it will fight a cyclops just outside, and the fight is a clear homage to the classic stop-motion match between King Kong and the T-Rex.

Kong uses superior technique:

Everything is a remix.

Leave a Reply