The Vampire Lovers (1970)

Another Hammer horror movie that takes its cue from "Carmilla" by Sheridan Le Fanu, this contains plenty to keep fans happy, and stands up as one of the better films to be spun off from the source material.

Ingrid Pitt plays Mircalla Karnstein, a young woman who ends up staying in the house of General von Spielsdorf (Peter Cushing) and repaying his kindness by feeding off his daughter. Then, when she's had her way with the available blood, Mircalla manages to get herself placed in a household that also contains the lovely Emma (Madeline Smith) and her governess (Kate O'Mara). Twice the food supply. If she's not found out for what she really is.

Directed by Roy Ward Baker, this is a beautiful, seductive chiller that makes the most of its lead cast members to create something that consistently alternates between the erotic and repulsive. The script, ultimately credited to Tudor Gates, helped by Harry Fine and Michael Style in adapting material into movie form, isn't that good, but it doesn't have to be. This is about a beautiful woman casting a spell on those around her, and seducing other beautiful women until she can sink her teeth into them.

Pitt is just wonderful as Mircalla, beautiful and sexy and dangerous and pretending to be laughably innocent at times. She is, however, just one of many beautiful women onscreen, and Hammer really filled out this movie with gorgeousness. Smith is another beautiful actress, O'Mara has a softness to her features here that I've never seen before, and Pippa Steel, as the daughter of Cushing's character, is yet another image of loveliness in a film that is, in some ways, an embarrassment of riches. Okay, so the menfolk may not have the same allure, but Cushing is welcome in any movie, no matter how small the role (and he's only in this for about a quarter of the runtime), George Cole is decent enough as Roger, the father of Emma, and Douglas Wilmer is good fun in his role, the one man who knows the full horror of the situation, and also what is needed to resolve it.

Some may roll their eyes at the fact that this movie is aimed, first and foremost, at anyone who will be won over by the physical charms of Ingrid Pitt, but as I am one of those viewers I can only rate the film as a wonderful success.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vampire-Lovers-Lust-For-DVD/dp/B001AOHQ0M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389884125&sr=8-1&keywords=the+vampire+lovers

The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad (1973)

A lot of people view this as the best of the three Sinbad movies that showcased more great work from the great Ray Harryhausen, but I disagree. It's very good, it has at least one definite contender for best Harryhausen creation ever (a lively statue of Kali) and it also benefits from the presence of the stunningly gorgeous Caroline Munro, but it just falls flat in between the set-pieces, for me, in a way that the previous film managed to avoid.

Sinbad (this time played by John Phillip Law) in on his ship when he spies a flying beastie that's holding something that looks valuable. So he shoots an arrow at the thing and collects what is dropped, which happens to be a golden tablet. He immediately wears the thing around his neck and then goes to sleep the sound sleep of a man who can shoot small creatures and take their riches. While sleeping, his ship is thrown off course by a storm that I like to think is an externalisation of Sinbad's troubled conscience, but is more likely to have been caused by a bad man named Koura (Tom Baker). Sinbad meets Koura when he ends up in a coastal town. Koura would like the tablet/amulet, Sinbad refuses and Koura has to disappear when the Grand Vizier (Douglas Wilmer) and his men appear. The Grand Vizier relates a legend to Sinbad. The tablet is one of three pieces. The three pieces put together create a map to the Fountain Of Destiny and whoever gets to the fountain and puts the three pieces of the tablet/amulet in there will receive "youth, a shield of darkness, and a crown of untold riches." That's enough to convince Sinbad that he should travel with the Grand Vizier and see if the legend is true. Before heading back to see he adds a lazy young man (Kurt Christian) to his crew, after some persuasion from the lad's father, and a beautiful woman he frees from slavery (Caroline Munro). The journey ahead will not be easy, mainly due to Koura following close behind and doing his damnedest to reclaim the key to great rewards. Unfortunately, each bit of black magic that he performs drains away some more of his life force.

This time around it's Gordon Hessler in the director's chair and Brian Clemens on scripting duties, but Mr. Harryhausen remains the one constant. His contributions here include two of the very best stop motion creatures to come from his imagination, with one being a wooden figurehead brought to life and the other being that aforementioned statue of Kali, with all six arms wielding a sword.

John Phillip Law is okay as Sinbad, but it's always more fun to watch the wonderful Tom Baker in his villainous role or just soak up the beauty of Caroline Munro. Kurt Christian provides the comic relief, Douglas Wilmer and Martin Shaw do their bit, but the more important thing to remember is that there's also a one-eyed centaur, a griffin and a few other magical creatures onscreen to keep things entertaining.

The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad has all of the ingredients to make for a fun adventure - the magic, the exotic, fictional locations, the menagerie of opponents for the hero to overcome, the Caroline Munro - so it's an easy film to recommend to those who enjoy this kind of pure escapist fantasy fun. It just doesn't hit the heights of other Harryhausen films, for me, though I'm almost certain that I'm in the minority with that opinion.

7/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sinbad-Eye-Tiger-Voyage-Golden/dp/B002JF3FU6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1369248064&sr=8-2&keywords=the+golden+voyage+of+sinbad

Jason And The Argonauts (1963)

Jason And The Argonauts is, to me, the best of the movies featuring the work of Ray Harryhausen. Oh, there are a few other films vying for the top spot, but this one wins, in my opinion. Every creation onscreen here isn't just up to the usual high standard that people came to expect from Harryhausen, each one is a classic involved in a classic sequence.

The story is all about Jason (Todd Armstrong playing the Greek hero) and his crew of good men braving the perils that stand in their way as they sail away on the Argo to seek the legendary Golden Fleece. They are alternately helped and hindered by gods (mainly Zeus, played by Niall MacGinnis, and Hera, played by Honor Blackman) as they face the mighty statue of Talos, some horrible harpies, clashing rocks, unexpected treachery and much more.

Pretty much essential viewing if you're a fan of sword 'n' sorcery movies, Jason And The Argonauts only makes one or two minor mis-steps on its fantastic journey. The fact that the whole thing is a game being played out by the gods is one annoyance (especially when the real reason for the quest is forgotten) and the very final moments of the film prove, perhaps inevitably, anti-climactic after such a memorable sequence involving battling skeletons brought to life from the teeth of the Hydra.

The acting from all concerned is just fine. Todd Armstrong may not be the most memorable leading man, but he puts himself over as a good, kind leader. MacGinnis and Blackman are fun as the two main gods keeping an eye on the quest, Nigel Green is fine as Hercules, despite his limited screentime, Gary Raymond is okay as Acastus (the son of an enemy who has managed to get himself in the crew) and Laurence Naismith gets to play the man who built the Argo. There's also the lovely Nancy Kovack, who arrives just in time to fall for Jason and become involved in the big finale.

Director Don Chaffey does a good job, working from the screenplay by Beverley Cross and Jan Read, and there's very little to fault. The pacing is perfect, the dialogue does what is required, and everything is designed to move the characters from one spectacular set-piece to the next. For me, this remains the pinnacle of Ray Harryhausen's work, despite strong competition from those Sinbad movies, and if you haven't seen it already then I suggest you get to it as soon as possible. It's held up as a classic of the fantasy genre for good reason, because it IS one.

9/10

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Would I really end with any other screenshot???