Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (Deluxe Edition) (1951)

This is one of a handful of films from this period of saturated color and the gorgeous cinematography of Jack Cardiff. Many of these films incorporate within their story and script elements of literature, art, mystery and timeless love that transcends death. This one delivers all.

Ava Gardner's character is beautiful and untouchable in this film, her heart is as cold as the statues she caresses, her attention as bloodthirsty as the bullfights of her ex-lover... one of many we discover. Her requirements of a lover are that she be given all, and of course, no one can deliver. The story begins in one of these trite vacation atmospheres playground of the very rich dilletantes. We are told she was a singer not a very good one by her own admission. We are treated to Gardner's real singing voice, which is not cultured, but unique and husky (too bad they didn't let her sing all her own stuff in SHOWBOAT it's the right voice for that character). She seems to get by on her beauty, which is immense, and her capriciousness. She is not particularly likable, but she doesn't pretend to be better than she is, and that is interesting. Then a mysterious boat appears, with a sad handsome man who is working on a painting of Pandora... which bears a resemblance to her.

At this point the movie moves from the mundane into the magical, with tormented love at its most operetic. This movie was an artistic enterprise, with high emotions, high risk. If F.Scott Fitzgerald's characters interbred with Greek mythology, this is the child they would create. It has some faint awkward moments of voiceover and explanation, but it is magical in it's look, and moreover, it is, like many other Jack Cardiff films, simply one-of-a-kind. The perfect rainy day movie. Very watchable.

than the first time I saw it. The new remastered DVD is awesomely clear, color crisp and Ava G as always beautiful.

And Leonard Maltin, you said: "Sorry to say, a big Technicolor bore, one of writer-director Lewin's misfires, about a woman who destroys the lives of all the men around her; then mystical, otherworldly Mason materializes." ... aside from that did you like it? LOL.

Not boring, yes about a selfish lady who finds a reason to not be selfish. geeeeee what a concept.

Seriously, if you like mystical possibilities, beautiful women, and scenery... buy this, you'll like it.

Buy Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (Deluxe Edition) (1951) Now

Ava Gardner is absolute ravishing as the character of Pandora, the object of men's desires and a woman who is searching for the meaning of her own life, until she meets a man named Hendrik, a man who may be the answer that she has been looking for.

To describe the 1951 film "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" may be a little difficult. It's definitely a dramatic film, a love story but with a twist of fantasy mixed into it. The film was definitely uncharacteristic for a film released during its time. But by saying that, I don't want to dismiss this film as fantasy kitsch, nor do I want to portray Ava Gardner as the ultimate sex kitten and that is why this film should be watched. "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" is much more than that. It's a magical film in which characters encounter fate, destiny, tragedy and focuses on a unique love shared by two individuals.

"Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" is written and directed by Albert Lewin ("The Picture of Dorian Gray", "Saadia", "The Living Idol") and stars James Mason ("Heaven Can Wait", "Lolita", "A Star is Born", "Georgy Girl", "The Verdict"), Ava Gardner ("Mogambo", "The Night of the Iguana", "On the Beach"), Nigel Patrick ("The League of Gentleman", "Raintree Country", "Breaking the Sound Barrier") and Harold Warrender ("Ivanhoe", "Conspirator", "Time Bomb").

VIDEO:

"Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" is presented in 1080p (1920 x 1080p). It's important to note that this film is 60-years-old and prior to watching this Blu-ray release, I have had the movie on DVD from KINO courtesy of their "Glamour Girls" DVD box set.

The original picture quality of this film was very dark and even murky, showing its age. The Blu-ray release is a major step forward in the restoration of this film. The 2009 Technicolor restoration not only shows us how the film was meant to be seen, but no longer are the scenes that were too dark an issue. You can actually see the detail indoors. May it be the detail of the wood or the tiles, the skin uplclose to even seeing outdoor details, especially during a scene with Stephen and Pandora riding in the race car. Before, the scene was so dark that you couldn't see much detail but now on Blu-ray, you can see the detail on the road, where the car is driving to and for the indoor scenes, you can see everything quite nicely.

May it be detail of the home, the vehicles or the clothing, the detail can be seen in HD quite nicely.

With that being said, the film is not perfect. You will see color fluctuations at times and slight flicker. You can see normal skin tones star to turn greenish and back (for a very short while). Also, where many niche companies tend to want to remove and limit any dust or scratches that can be seen on the Blu-ray, you can see them clearly in HD.

But by no means do I expect a smaller company like KINO to spend over a million dollars or more for restoration like the major film companies have done with their timeless classics. If anything, what KINO managed to do in bringing this classic to Blu-ray and showing us how much better it looks from its DVD counterpart is quite amazing and if you loved the film, you're going to love it on Blu-ray. This is probably the best this film will ever look in a video release.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

"Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" is presented in an uncompressed Linear PCM 2.0. Dialogue is clear and understandable and through the restoration feature on the special features, you can see how the restoration of the film really brought out the audio for the film. From the dialogue to the music of Alan Rawsthorne, audio-wise, the film sounds good for a 60-year-old film.

There is one caveat and that is there is no subtitles. There is some dialogue spoken in a foreign language and I wish those were subtitled but I guess it was non-essential as the subtitles were not part of the original part of the film but for those who are not able to hear, the lack of subtitles is actually disappointing as English subtitles are typically a standard in any release.

SPECIAL FEATURES

"Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" comes with the following special features:

* Alternate Opening Titles(2:28) Prints for the UK market varied slightly from the American release. Instead of the prologue about the Flying Dutchman, the UK version featured a quote by Omar Khayyam.

* "El Torero de Cordoba" (17:28) A 1947 documentary about the career of Manuel Rodriguez Manolege, the Spanish bullfighter who was the inspiration for the character Montalvo. Presented with burned-in English subtitles.

* Comparison of Restoration (5:49) A featurette that shows how much the 2009 Kino restoration looks versus its original 35mm (unrestored) Technicolor print.

* Theatrical Trailers Featuring the US Release trailer, US Release (abridged and B&W) trailer and the UK 2010 re-release trailer.

EXTRAS:

"Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" comes with a slipcase.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" was a film that I never expected to be released on Blu-ray from KINO. As there are so many other films in the company's catalog that can easily be considered for release on HD. But I'm happy we did get a release because this film is quite magical and definitely unique when compared to many films released at its time.

Ava Gardner is just beautiful and ravishing in her her role as Pandora Reynolds and even in reality, the actress was the object of desire for many of Hollywood's top actors as she was married and had relationships with Mickey Rooney, Howard Hughes, Artie Shaw and Frank Sinatra.

While Gardner brought the beauty and believability to the character of Pandora, James Mason was very convincing as the Flying Dutchman, Hendrick van der Zee. A professional performance that you would expect from a well-revered thespian, even a Shakespearean actor, Mason does a fantastic job in his role.

But the biggest surprise was the story. I was expected some type of vampish movie of men just going crazy over a woman that they can't have which was quite cliche during that time and in cinema decades earlier. But what I didn't expect is the twist of Hendrick as being the actual Flying Dutchman and is an accursed man who wants to finally die in peace but needs a woman willing to die for him. As macabre as it may sound, the way the film was written and how Pandora is always searching a meaning to her life and finds a connection with Hendrick made this love story about fate and destiny and overall, a story that I truly enjoyed.

So, I'm grateful to see such a film being released on Blu-ray as it truly is a film that stands out compared to other early '50s films. And I hope KINO continues with releasing more classics on Blu-ray!

Overall, "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" is a film worth watching and for those who owned it on DVD previously, this Blu-ray version is a significant improvement in picture quality and audio quality that you will definitely want this release. No more darkness, no more murkiness, not to say that this Blu-ray release is perfect but it is the definitive version to own of the film at this time. Definitely recommended!

Read Best Reviews of Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (Deluxe Edition) (1951) Here

The fantasy / romance premise for this film is an interesting one, but the execution of the plot leaves quite a lot to be desired and much of the dialogue is quite lame and stilted. The plot has been covered well by others, no need to add more about that. James Mason's central character is the best thing about the film. He is extraordinary (as usual). Ava Gardner is very lovely to look upon (although her gowns are far closer to 1951 than to the 1930 time frame), but her acting is rather lackluster (as usual). However, far worse performances are given by Mario Cabre' and Sheila Sim (extreme under-playing and over-playing respectively). The Spanish location photography is great, as to be expected from the legendary cinematographer, Jack Cardiff. The direction is adequate, but no better. The telecine transfer on this DVD is poor in places, with color timing way off at times (sometimes with a purplish cast) and falls seriously short of what a Technicolor print can deliver. The print this was transferred from has considerable damage at the start and end of reels (can't be missed with scratches, dirt, and multiple cue marks). There are several splices, most producing a loud pop in the audio. Some simple re-making of the splices or blooping them would have helped a lot. Some scenes are way too dark to easily watch, and generally the picture is very grainy.

Want Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (Deluxe Edition) (1951) Discount?

I highly recommend this movie. It's a great story, really romantic. Beautiful actress Ava Gardner, is just wonderful in it, and so is actor James Mason. They make a great on screen couple. It's a film definitly worth seeing. It definitly deserves all the stars it can get.

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