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The terrible and treacherous sorcerer Pendragon plans to gain the throne of Cornwall by kidnapping The King s beautiful daughter - Elaine and forcing him to abdicate.
To achieve his goal, Pendragon uses his dark sorcery to create a giant called Cormoran tasked with abducting the Princess. When the giant seizes Elaine, brave farm lad - Jack slays the monster and rescues Elaine. In gratitude, King Mark makes Jack her protector and entrusts him to safely guide her to a convent across the sea.
Seeking revenge, Pendragon follows with his entourage of wicked witches, unleashing a storm of deadly monsters. Can Jack defeat the evil sorcerer and guide the Princess to safety?
Featuring the stars and director of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, this wonderful MGM fantasy celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2012.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By filmboychris
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I always loved this as a kid, and it only seems to appear on the TV every 6 years or so in the UK. Now we have this timely release to co-incide with the films' 50th birthday and the soon to be released remake.
The film is still fabulous after all this time. Great Techicolour photography, lavish costumes, an energetic cast - including the handsome Kerwin Mathews who had also played Sinbad a few years before. Above all, it has an exciting plot, and keeps the viewer interested and entertained throughout.
Some of the scenes may be a bit scary for the very young, eg under 6, with scenes of ghostly skeleton faces and witches and ogres etc, so this is a PG certificate with that in mind, but this is generally perfect family fare, and kids nowadays see much more than they ought to.
Probably not a good idea to compare this with The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. Yes, it has a similar cast, and theme and director, but the animation is a bit jerky and the monsters look fake for the most part. It makes up for it however, with lots of colourful spells and magical touches, and if anything, is less corny than Sinbad, with better dialogue and pace, and certainly a nastier streak running through it than the Sinbad film.
The real shame is the DVD release itself. You would have thought that a film never before released on any home entertainment format in the UK, celebrating it's 50th year, would deserve a real special edition treatment. What do we get here? The film, presented in a sort of widescreen format and with a reasonably nice Technicolour print- although it was shot in 1:37 apparently, so we must be missing top and bottom bits to accomodate the masking, and a reproduction miniature poster. That's it! Not even a trailer.... Read more ›
The film is still fabulous after all this time. Great Techicolour photography, lavish costumes, an energetic cast - including the handsome Kerwin Mathews who had also played Sinbad a few years before. Above all, it has an exciting plot, and keeps the viewer interested and entertained throughout.
Some of the scenes may be a bit scary for the very young, eg under 6, with scenes of ghostly skeleton faces and witches and ogres etc, so this is a PG certificate with that in mind, but this is generally perfect family fare, and kids nowadays see much more than they ought to.
Probably not a good idea to compare this with The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. Yes, it has a similar cast, and theme and director, but the animation is a bit jerky and the monsters look fake for the most part. It makes up for it however, with lots of colourful spells and magical touches, and if anything, is less corny than Sinbad, with better dialogue and pace, and certainly a nastier streak running through it than the Sinbad film.
The real shame is the DVD release itself. You would have thought that a film never before released on any home entertainment format in the UK, celebrating it's 50th year, would deserve a real special edition treatment. What do we get here? The film, presented in a sort of widescreen format and with a reasonably nice Technicolour print- although it was shot in 1:37 apparently, so we must be missing top and bottom bits to accomodate the masking, and a reproduction miniature poster. That's it! Not even a trailer.... Read more ›
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This looks like a PAL conversion of the USA release from the DVD release several years ago. It is Letterboxed 4x3 aspect ratio.A 16x9 version, with a hint of restoration would have been much, much better.101 films should have put a lot more effort into the technical standard in this release.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By Brammers
Format:DVD
After seeing this movie recently, it has gone on to be one of my favourite films. it has everything, charm, romance, vikings, leprechauns, an evil sorcerer and plenty of giants. a traditional fairytale with some "interesting" monsters, you can tell the designers really went to town to create unique and chilling creatures, my favourite being a shapely witch with a head like an open maw, which can emit hurricane force gales. Its all a bit of fun, with a rhyming leprechaun in a bottle who aids jack and a steriotypical viking who singlehandedly mans a warship. if you want a fantasy film whic sticks to the tried and tested formula, then this is a perfect film for you. it has the beautiful princess coming of age, getting kidnapped, getting rescued by a (very) handsome farm boy who is then knighted and charged with the safety of the princess who again gets kidnapped... la la la, etc, etc, etc. its all predictable stuff and leaves you with a warmth inside and a smile on your face.
i cant think of a bad thing to say about it, apart from the crude animation, but even that has its charm, and the cornyness of the whole thing but it is a great film and especially one for a rainy sunday in.
i cant think of a bad thing to say about it, apart from the crude animation, but even that has its charm, and the cornyness of the whole thing but it is a great film and especially one for a rainy sunday in.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm a huge fan of Harrthausen, specifically Jason and the Argonauts and of course 7th voyage of Sinbad. Jack the giant killer has the same director as 7th voyage, I guess it was made in response to the popularity of it. However, this isn't a work of Harryhausens' and although the stop motion has a certain charm it in no way can compete with the technical brilliance Harryhausen brings to the table. The film does have a magical charm about it but falls short on many levels. It is enjoyable nonetheless.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Shrewlord
Format:DVD
For a childrens' film in the style of a fairytale, this is one SCARY picture - some of the stop-motion violence is quite harsh and the witches !.. Well, the witches are seriously macabre and the weird and the cheap looking but effective visuals that surround them in their big scene make them appear like what I imagine a very bad fever induced nightmare might be. I'm not sure who the director was aiming for with this but it came as quite a shock to me when I was a kid and still prompts an involuntary shiver in places.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
It was nothing. I kill a giant every morning before breakfast. Starts my day right.
16 Feb 2011
By Spike Owen
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
It's the fairy tale land of Cornwall, England, and the Black Prince Pendragon (Torin Thatcher) plans to abduct Princess Elaine (Judith Meredith) so as to gain control of the land. However, his plans are at first thwarted when farmers boy Jack (Kerwin Matthews) slays the giant sent by Pendragon to claim the Princess. But Pendragon is not to be denied and a battle between good and evil commences.
There's quite a back story to this United Artists feature film. It's loosely based on the traditional tale "Jack the Giant Killer" and features the use of stop motion animation. The mere mention of stop motion automatically brings to mind the great name of Ray Harryhausen. In 1958 director Nathan Juran had helmed The 7th Voyage of Sinbad with both Matthews and Thatcher starring as the good and evil characters respectively. A big success for Columbia, Harryhausen had offered it to UA producer Edward Small who turned it down, much to his regret. So here, four years later, he gathered the same crew for what essentially is a retread of the plot of Sinbad's seventh in the hope of replicating said success. Harryhausen, however, said no, perhaps understandably, so his creatures were created for "Jack" by Project Unlimited under the watchful eye of one time Harryhausen understudy Jim Danforth. While the other effects, filmed in "Fantascope" come courtesy of Howard A. Anderson and Augie Lohman.
Columbia sued Small on the grounds of plot similarity, thus holding up the release of the film in the UK for several years (it wasn't banned as some people seem to think). Once released the film was panned by the critics and many parents were outraged that the film was too violent and scary for youngsters.... Read more ›
There's quite a back story to this United Artists feature film. It's loosely based on the traditional tale "Jack the Giant Killer" and features the use of stop motion animation. The mere mention of stop motion automatically brings to mind the great name of Ray Harryhausen. In 1958 director Nathan Juran had helmed The 7th Voyage of Sinbad with both Matthews and Thatcher starring as the good and evil characters respectively. A big success for Columbia, Harryhausen had offered it to UA producer Edward Small who turned it down, much to his regret. So here, four years later, he gathered the same crew for what essentially is a retread of the plot of Sinbad's seventh in the hope of replicating said success. Harryhausen, however, said no, perhaps understandably, so his creatures were created for "Jack" by Project Unlimited under the watchful eye of one time Harryhausen understudy Jim Danforth. While the other effects, filmed in "Fantascope" come courtesy of Howard A. Anderson and Augie Lohman.
Columbia sued Small on the grounds of plot similarity, thus holding up the release of the film in the UK for several years (it wasn't banned as some people seem to think). Once released the film was panned by the critics and many parents were outraged that the film was too violent and scary for youngsters.... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
NOT the new version of the film starring Ewan McGregor
Despite the release date being misleadingly displayed as 2013, this is actually the original 1962 version of the film. Read more
Published 1 month ago by PsyGroover
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Old Film...
Great old film used to watch this every time it was on the television in the 70s , in the same vein as the Sinbad films.
Published 2 months ago by G. R. Naylor
1.0 out of 5 stars
silly me !!
thought this was the new jack, found out the new one is jack the giant slayer ! with ewan mcgregor,due out sometime soon i hope,sent this to the charity shop,
Published 2 months ago by Mr. Iain A. Collins
4.0 out of 5 stars
brings back memories
i first saw this film when i was just 10 years old, apart from being a good film it reminds me of where i was when i watch it. such happy days.
Published 2 months ago by benidormbrian
5.0 out of 5 stars
film fantasy
The same director and lead actors from the 7th voyage of Sinbad. Pretty much in the same fairy tale vein but a classic in its own right - 5 stars.
Published 2 months ago by Mr. I. K. Willis
4.0 out of 5 stars
torin thatcher classic actor vs kerwin mathews
following the 7th voyage of sinbad.this is one of the thatcher/matthews brillant productions. i am not sure if ray harryhausen was involved. Read more
Published 5 months ago by allan barlow
4.0 out of 5 stars
Giant killer
I enjoyed this film , i had never seen it before and i am a fan of this type of movie .Yes it hasn't the budget that The 7th voyage of sinbad had . Read more
Published 7 months ago by I CUMMINS
5.0 out of 5 stars
FAO DS.
Haven't bought this dvd yet and don't recall ever seeing this film on the tele, however i shall be getting it based on the favourable reviews i've read here- oh and DS, i know this... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mr Fish
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great film, a decent xfer, deserves to be better known.....
This is a film I really like so am a bit biased in this review. The new release by 101 films is to be welcomed, after all for it to be released is obviously better than chasing... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Neil H. Smith
3.0 out of 5 stars
How could you not love this film!
The evil sorcerer Pendragon wants to rule the Kingdom of Cornwall, to achieve this he needs to kidnap the King's daughter Elaine. Read more
Published 11 months ago by misterkraig
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