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

The Kino 'full resolution' captures are lost.

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (July 2020): Cohen Media have transferred Albert Lewin's magical 1951 Pandora and the Flying Dutchman to their own Blu-ray. Plus they have added a second disc of the director's 1957 rarely-seen The Living Idol on it's own single-layered Blu-ray (see captures at the bottom of this review.) 

We always had some suspicions about Kino's 10-year old Blu-ray of Pandora and the Flying Dutchman and the claims that it was "... extensively improved 35mm Technicolor restoration (presented by The Film Foundation, George Eastman House & Douris UK Ltd.)"

David told us in email about the Kino Blu-ray: "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!)

The Cohen Blu-ray also states "Restored by George Eastman House in cooperation with The Douris Corporation.
Restoration funded by The Film Foundation, the Rome Film Festival, and the Franco-American Cultural Fund (a partnership of the Directors Guild of America, Societe des Auteurs, Compositeurs et Editeurs de Musique, the Motion Picture Association of America, and the Writers Guild of America, West). "

But they also add: "The color grading of this 2019 PANDORA & THE FLYING DUTCHMAN restoration is significantly different from previous home video releases. Technicolor historians at the George Eastman Museum used a vintage 1951 dye-transfer Technicolor print from Martin Scorsese's personal collection and a period 16MM IB Technicolor print for color reference in order to more closely replicate the true look of an original release print. No digital sharpening was utilized.
2019 restoration completed by Cohen Film Collection, with the support of OCS.
Additional color correction and digital clean-up performed by The Eastman Museum. Special thanks to Prasad Corp. and Audio Mechanics for their assistance with this restoration."

So what we see is that the beginning 10+ minutes of the Cohen 1080P HD presentation is bathed in yellow-golden hues (which I cannot account for there accuracy), but the rest of the presentation is highly notable for its bolder colors and richer contrast. Interiors may have a shade of blue-green leaning but overall it looks magnificent - a huge step-forward from the 2010 Kino Blu-ray with brighter and more vibrant colors. It does appears to be slightly cropped on the right and bottom edges showing a sliver more on the left side. In side by side comparison the Kino looks vertically stretched (thinner faces) with the Cohen offering a slightly different appearance. I lean to the Cohen being more accurate. Texture seems less-prominent - related to background and looking a shade clunky, but I see no evidence of digitization. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman does have the cinematography of the great Jack Cardiff.

NOTE: We have added 86 more high resolution (1920 X 1080) Blu-ray captures of Pandora and The Flying Dutchman and 42 high resolution Blu-ray captures of The Living Idol (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE  

On their Blu-ray, Cohen, strangely, offer only a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround track (24-bit) in the original English language. The film had mono and that should have, at least been an option. The faux surround is not a distraction and there is some depth in the car scenes on the beach.  It is another advancement in the film's audio and score by Alan Rawsthorne (The Captive Heart, The Man Who Never Was) plus the beautiful How Am I to Know? sung by Ava Gardner at the piano is marvelous. Some may recognize the Sailor's Song based on "Canticas de Santa Maria" and Chopin's Etude #1 In A Flat, Op. 25/1, CT 26. All sounding quite rich and consistent. Where the Kino offered no subtitles there are optional English (SDH) subtitles on the Cohen Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Cohen Blu-ray has some of the same supplements as the Kino; the 17-minute Death of Manolete documentary - recounting the career of Manuel Rodriguez Manolete, the celebrated Spanish Bullfighter who was the inspiration for the ill-fates character Montalvo in Pandora and the Flying Dutchman. Cohen also offer the alternate opening credits sequence, and original, 'Hedda Hopper' and restoration trailers plus a restoration comparison but, sadly, no commentary. I can image that many would love to dive into the unspoken meanings while simultaneously interpreting the mythologies present in Pandora and the Flying Dutchman. There is the second Blu-ray of The Living Idol. It is also restored but has light scratches and speckles in most frames (see the very bottom of this review for more flagrant - but frame-specific damage.) Other than that The Living Idol - a mystery / horror - is a very odd-but-cool film and looks pretty decent in 1080P. I had never seen it before. Plenty of depth and great colors in the 2.35:1 widescreen. There is a trailer as an extra and it also offers optional English subtitles.  The Cohen package offers a 12-page leaflet with color photos, chapter stops and notes on the restoration.

Albert Lewin's magical and mysterious Pandora and the Flying Dutchman is a timeless film. It has Ava Gardner at her most beautiful - captured angelically by Jack Cardiff's camera. The film offers one of the more unique stories of its (or any) era. It stands as a mythological-romance -fantasy of which there are few to compare. The new Cohen restoration Blu-ray does wonders for the film's hypnotic allure. It as a strong visual influence and impact on the viewer. The surround option and lack of commentary are not really satisfied by the second disc inclusion of The Living Idol, but it does make for a 'B' start to a double-feature film night. Even with imperfections, this is one of my favorite Blu-ray packages of this year - the only way to see the essential Pandora and the Flying Dutchman in your home theater. That is a strong recommendation!  

Gary Tooze