Review by Gary Tooze

Production:

Disc:

Video:

Audio:

• Vintage (1947) documentary El Torero de Cordoba (17:26 in HD!)
• Alternate opening titles (2:26 - unrestored in HD!)

• Restoration Comparison (5:49 in HD!)
• Stills Gallery (Film and Production)
• Trailers (U.S., U.S. abridged, UK restoration re-release 2010 in HD!)

Bitrate:

 

Description: Restored under the auspices of Martin Scorsese, Pandora and the Flying Dutchman stars Ava Gardner as the siren of a small Spanish town, the type of woman men kill and die for. She s never fallen for anyone until the arrival of the mysterious James Mason, the actual Flying Dutchman condemned to sail the seas until he finds a woman who would die for him. Featuring stunning color cinematography by Jack Cardiff (Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes).

Pandora and The Flying Dutchman is writer, producer and director Albert Lewin s lushly romantic Technicolor visualisation of the often-told legend of the sea. A glamorous Ava Gardner is Pandora, who falls hard for the charismatic James Mason as Hendrik, a 17th-century seaman eternally condemned to sail the oceans. Unavailable theatrically for many years and never available on Home Entertainment, the film has now been beautifully restored.

Ava Gardner stars as Pandora Reynolds, a predatory creature who destroys the lives of all men who've been unfortunate enough to fall in love with her. Enter Hendrick van der Zee (James Mason), a mystical figure who proves to be Pandora's match. It turns out that van der Zee is the legendary 17th Flying Dutchman, whose spirit is doomed to wander the earth until he is able to find a woman willing to love him with all her heart -- and thereby sacrifice her own life.

 

 

The Film:

From Jonathan Rosenbaum's article for DVDBeaver located HERE

Image :    NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.
 

The majority of the restoration of Pandora and the Flying Dutchman looks absolutely stunning on Blu-ray with only a few aberrations. Colors, which burst forth, and detail both appear to benefit the most from the 1080P transfer and the extensively improved 35mm Technicolor restoration (presented by The Film Foundation, George Eastman House & Douris UK Ltd.) Colors give the visuals some relational depth and the contrast advances the sharpness to a much higher level than I was a anticipating. Certain sequences with Ava Gardner look just mesmerizing. The grain is very even and consistent giving the image quality a perfect textured foil. This Blu-ray has some reference moments considering the film's age and it often rivals the Technicolor look of Black Narcissus or The Red Shoes. There are a few weaknesses - which I won't blame on the transfer. Colors unnaturally shift in a few scenes and there is some damage remaining that was probably not able to be removed. Unfortunately, I didn't catch any in the screen captures but the infrequent speckles and underlying scratches seem frame specific and are generally unnoticeable. This Blu-ray looks VERY strong in my opinion and it was such a pleasant surprise - especially beside the previously released DVD. I expect most fans will be highly impressed with the video presentation.

David tells us in email: "The whole image to me looks "wrong" in the new transfer. Jonathan Rosenbaum ahs also commented questioning the lightiness of the image compared to his memories of it in 35mm. Overall I get the impression this is a restoration which seems to have been done on the cheap, or with far from ideal elements (I.e. no three strip negs or even YCM seps) from which to rebuild a new internegative. Things like the ugly green of sea shots and the weird shade of nursery pea green on the walls of the villa which are contrasted with various reds and lilacs simply don't like like the sorts of things Cardiff would shoot, unless he were going for a sense of menace in the sequences, but the primary color values in this transfer feel "dirty" to me and the entire image throughout seems to have an undercoat of bleaching.

I have to say I believe the Park Circus (which IS fixed Region B) is identical to the Kino. " (Thanks David!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
Listed by Jonathan in our 'Fantasy' film article HERE - this sure is bizarre. You can easily get swept up in the style and Ava but coherency is not at a premium. I really enjoyed my viewing - it is the type of curious film you can get hooked on once you stop trying to figure everything out. The Blu-ray looks and sounds stupendous and I am so very happy to have Pandora and the Flying Dutchman in this format in my collection. I will definitely be showcasing it to, envious, friends. Strongly recommended!  

Gary Tooze

July 23rd, 2010