The Magic Voyage of Sinbad (1953): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1953, The Magic Voyage of Sinbad is an action, fantasy, adventure and family film directed by Aleksandr Ptushko, running about 80 minutes.

What it’s about. Sadko is based on an opera by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, which was based on a Russian epic tale of the same name. In the old Russian city of Novgorod, the merchants are feasting in a gorgeous palace and Sadko is bragging that he can bring to their land a sweet-voiced bird of happiness. They laugh at him, but he is offered help by the Ocean King's daughter, who is mesmerized by Sadko's singing and is in love with him. The hero is destined to visit many lands in his search of the bird. First shown in the USA in 1953 with English subtitles. This entry is for 1962 English-dub by Roger Corman's Filmgroup, which runs about 8 minutes shorter (removes much of the music) than the Russian original (see, Sadko, 1953)

Who’s in it. The Magic Voyage of Sinbad stars Sergei Stolyarov as Sadko [Sinbad in dubbed version], Alla Larionova as Lyubava, Ninel Myshkova as Princess of Lake Ilmen and B. Surovtsev as Hadabad, the boy, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 4.9/10, The Magic Voyage of Sinbad has proved divisive with audiences.

Where to watch. In US you can stream it on Shout! Factory Amazon Channel and rent or buy it from Amazon Video. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch The Magic Voyage of Sinbad page.

If you liked it. Fans of The Magic Voyage of Sinbad tend to enjoy The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Inception and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.