I've been a connoisseur of these films for nearly 4 decades, rewatching them all more regularly than any other. As a small child, 7th Voyage was easily my favorite due to:
A) Bigger, scarier monsters... especially the cyclops and dragon. They were just big, brutish things, that made the island of Collosa seem so real and so scary. I remember watching with a high degree of tension all throughout that a Cyclops would jump out at any minute.
B) Herrmann's score is very powerful and complements the tone perfectly. It's got a bigger and brighter feel to it.
C) Kerwin Matthews just seems a lot friendlier, happier, more of a blank-slate hence easier for children to relate to.
D) I found Golden Voyage just too dark and scary.
However as an adult I've grown away from 7th Voyage and more toward Golden due to:
A) GOLDEN has a more mystical, spookier atmosphere, aided a lot by Rosza's very Arabian flavored music.
B) GOLDEN has a much stronger cast in fleshed-out characters - Tom Baker comes off as much more unhinged, his relationship with his henchmen is a little more interesting, his "give and take" relationship with his magic is more complex, and his motives just feel more believable. He doesn't do weird things like Thatcher did (such as ignoring his prized magic lamp after the fight with Harufa in favor of stealing the tiny princess). John Philip Law exudes both pathos and machismo and Caroline Munro is easily the most attractive & best-costumed female lead in a Harryhausen film.
C) GOLDEN has a much stronger and less conventional plot. I also appreciate that it doesn't have as long and slow of a "back in Baghdad" scene that ate up the first half of 7th Voyage. The monster action is a little later in coming, but when it does it's more organic, creative and seamlessly interweaves with the plot threads (though I do still find it a little weird that that Griffin just comes in out of nowhere).
D) While I love the creatures in 7th, the monsters in GOLDEN feel a little more "alive". The Centaur demonstrates curiosity (after the rock slide), sexual intrigue (upon seeing Munro), protectiveness, loyalty, pure rage (at the sight of the Griffin), and sorrow. I still feel a little sad when it dies. Also the Centaur's entrance (though so late in the film) with his hoof sounds slowly growing in volume while we look at the tunnel entrance is just so damn cool. And the sword-fight with Kali is timelessly impressive on a technical level, just so beyond what visual effects today are capable of.
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