7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.8 |
Albert Lewin's hauntingly romantic film of the famed legend of The Flying Dutchman stars Ava Gardner as Pandora Reynolds, a nightclub singer on vacation in Spain, with whom all men fall hopelessly in love.
Starring: Ava Gardner (I), James Mason (I), Nigel Patrick, Sheila Sim, Harold WarrenderForeign | 100% |
Drama | 50% |
Romance | 49% |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.34:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: LPCM 2.0
None
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Forget Avatar’s distant planet, with its crazy flora and blue mega-fauna—this is the Pandora you’ll want to watch. I can almost guarantee you’ve never seen a film quite like Pandora and the Flying Dutchman. On the surface, it’s a big, mid-century Hollywood Romance-with-a-capital-R, but under the control of writer/director Albert Lewin—a one-time English professor who was friends with famed artists Man Ray and Max Ernst—the film reveals itself as a quasi-literary, surrealism-influenced undertaking, one that takes on a languid, dream-like tone that undercuts its chest-heaving melodrama. The film is a true oddity, combining the magical realism of myth come to life with a setting straight out of a Hemingway novel—the coast of Spain in the 1930s, home to a “lost generation” of British and American ex-pats. It also features deliriously sumptuous Technicolor cinematography by cameraman Jack Cardiff, a master of the medium whose previous D.P. credits include the Powell and Pressburger masterpieces, Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes.
"The Moving Finger writes: and, having writ, moves on..."
Several of cinematographer Jack Cardiff's films have made their way to Blu-ray recently, and while Pandora's restoration isn't quite as comprehensive as those done for Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, or The African Queen, the George Eastman House should be commended for a truly stunning remaster. The nearly 60-year-old film looks fantastic here, especially when compared to Kino's murky 2000 DVD release. Given a 1080p/AVC encode and framed fairly closely to its original 1.37:1 aspect ratio, Pandora is a Technicolor dream on Blu-ray—sharp, vivid, and relatively clean. Really, the only thing keeping Pandora from looking just as good as Black Narcissus or The Red Shoes is the amount of damage to the print. You'll notice occasional vertical scratches, specks of debris, white flecks, and mild color fluctuations throughout, with the print issues seeming more prevalent in some scenes than in others. Still, you'll be too busy soaking in the newfound color and clarity of Jack Cardiff's cinematography to pay any mind. As the screenshots attest, this is a beautiful, almost painterly film, with intense primaries—like the blood on a dagger or the blue of the sea beyond Pandora's window—and rich, creamy skin tones. The day-for-night scenes have decent black levels and shadow delineation, considering how they were shot, and contrast is spot-on. Clarity too is exceptional, as you can easily make out the texture of the sand on the beach, the intricacies of the bullfighter's bejeweled and bedazzled costume, and fine texture on the actors' faces. The film's natural patina of fine grain is fully intact, and there are no DNR, edge enhancement, or compression problems to report. Simply put, Pandora is a joy to watch.
Pandora's audio is delivered via an uncompressed Linear PCM 2.0 track that's surprisingly rich
and free of the tinny quality you sometimes associate with mid-century movies. Alan Rawsthorne's
music, in particular, sounds full and lively, with real presence and depth. The effects—from the deep
tolling of a church bell to the roar of Stephen's racecar—are handled well, and the dialogue is always
clear and easy to understand. The various elements of the soundtrack are balanced perfectly, and
aside from a few crackles and mild hisses, the mix is fairly clean. I defy you to listen to the song that
Pandora sings at the piano for Reggie and not be moved.
Do note that there are no subtitles options on this disc.
Alternate Opening Titles (1080p, 2:26)
The prints for the U.K. market were slightly different, showing a quote from the Rubaiyat of Omar
Khayyam instead of a prologue about the legend of the Dutchman.
El Torero de Cordoba (1080p, 17:26)
This documentary, from 1947, is a retrospective for the career of Manuel Rodriguez Manolete, a
famous Spanish bullfighter who inspired the character of Maltova, and who died at age 30 from
wounds sustained in the ring. He killed over 1,000 bulls in his career, though, so you can't really
say that he didn't have it coming.
Comparison of Restoration (1080i, 5:49)
Here, we compare several scenes from an unrestored Technicolor negative with the new restored
1080p master. It goes without saying that there's a huge difference!
Theatrical Trailers (1080p, 2:58, 2:01, and 1:32)
Includes two trailers for the film's original U.S. release and a trailer for the film's 2010 U.K. re-
release.
Stills Galleries
Kino has assembled two user-directed galleries here. Film Stills includes 32 stills and publicity
photos, and Production Stills features 32 behind-the-scenes shots.
A marriage of big Hollywood romance and magical surrealism, Pandora and the Flying Dutchman is in a category all by itself. This alone makes the film worthwhile—be prepared to soak in its dreamy, unhurried tone—but there are countless reasons to watch, from Jack Cardiff's evocative cinematography and the script's conscious literariness to James Mason's God-directed anger and Ava Gardner's cold, almost cruel beauty. For fans of mold-breaking 1950s cinema, Pandora comes highly recommended.
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