Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951) - Blu-Ray Review

The postwar era is probably best thought of as the age of Film Noir. Certainly, the movie going public having survived the conflagration of WWII came home forever changed. Movies became in many ways, for lack of a better phrase, more adult. Not to generalize too much, the opulent fantasy and escapism of the early 1940s was not what people wanted. Grit and realism were more where it was at. This is excepting the musical film which was entering a second golden age with the Arthur Freed and Joe Pasternak units at MGM. 

The postwar era also gave us some movies that are mystical, magical and time bending tales. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951) is just one of three made in the postwar era. The other two I am thinking of are The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) and Portrait of Jennie (1948). All three of these films are special favorites of mine. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman underwent a restoration in the 2007-2008 thanks to Martin Scorsese and The Film Foundation, which was highly regarded and shined a light on this little remembered, almost cult film. Released on DVD it soon became a favorite.  The KINO Lorber Blu-ray is available. 

 

In 2019 Cohen Media and The George Eastman House undertook a new restoration of the film. With the advances in technology and utilizing a 1951 dye-transfer Technicolor print (from Martin Scorsese’s collection) we have a film that is much like it was seen at the time of the original release. The Cohen Media Blu-ray shows a much more muted color palette. In mentally reviewing the British Technicolor films I've seen like Blithe Spirit, the color palette is similar. In this Pandora and the Flying Dutchman it only adds to the mystique of the story. This is not to say the color is not lush, it is both warm and muted as well as dazzling. 

 

There are many who may well argue with my opinion that Ava Gardner never looked more beautiful than she does in this film. She and James Mason give the film a feeling, a theme of beauty and both are filled with so much longing and sadness. She as the otherworldly Pandora, lusty, desirable. She is also one who is seeking something, peace or love or excitement that eludes her. Mason as Hendrick, the Dutchman, cursed to roam the seas alone with his ghostly crew, only to come ashore every seven years to seek a woman who would die for him and release him from his torment. The rest of the cast is filled out with Harold Warrender as the narrator Geoffrey Fielding, Nigel Patrick as Stephen, a brief cameo by Marius Goering as Reggie and Mario Cabré as Juan Montalvo. 

 

Perhaps the most compelling star of the film is the cinematography of Jack Cardiff. The film is filled with atmosphere, shadows, light and muted halftone evening shots. Some people may not like it, especially if you expect the vibrant color schemes of something like Rouben Mamoulian’s 1941 Blood and Sand, set in Spain and shot at 20th Century Fox. I find that the cinematography sets the mood as well as adding to the mystery and the leisurely manner in which the story unfolds. Ava Gardner is treated (as are we) to stunning close up after close up of Pandora. In fact, everyone in the film is filmed with such care. The film is pure pleasure to watch. 

 

The Cohen Media Blu-ray includes the original trailer, a restoration side by side comparison, a trailer for the restored film, and a Spanish mini-documentary on the matador Manolette. The second disc is Alfred Lewin’s film The Living Idol (I’ve not watched it yet). There is also a small booklet included with brief commentary on the restoration, I had hoped for something more detailed. I love this film and recommend this Blu-ray without reservations. All screen captures used here are courtesy dvdbeaver.com.

 

Synopsis (via Wikipedia) – spoilers a plenty 

In 1930, fishermen in the small Spanish port of Esperanza make a grim discovery in their nets, the bodies of a man and a woman. The resultant ringing of church bells in the village brings the local police and the resident archaeologist, Geoffrey Fielding (Harold Warrender), to the beach. Fielding returns to his villa, and, breaking the "fourth wall", retells the story of these two people to the audience. 

Esperanza's small group of English expatriates revolves around Pandora Reynolds (Ava Gardner), an American nightclub singer and femme fatale. All the men love her (or believe that they do), but Pandora is unable to love anyone. She tests her admirers by demanding they give up something they value, citing Zeno of Elea's quote: "the measure of true love is how much poison one is willing to drink for it." One of her admirers Reggie (Marius Goring) thus commits suicide in front of Pandora and her friends by drinking wine that he has laced with poison. Pandora shows indifference to his fate. 

Pandora agrees to marry a land-speed record holder, Stephen Cameron (Nigel Patrick), after he sends his racing car tumbling into the sea at her request. That same night, the Dutch captain Hendrick van der Zee (James Mason) arrives in Esperanza. Pandora swims out to his yacht and finds him painting a picture of her posed as her namesake, Pandora, whose actions brought an end to the earthly paradise in Greek mythology. Hendrick appears to fall in love with Pandora, and he moves into the same hotel complex as the other expatriates. 

Geoffrey and Hendrick become friends, collaborating to seek background information on Geoffrey's local finds. One of these relics is a notebook written in Old Dutch, which confirms Geoffrey's suspicion that Hendrick van der Zee is the Flying Dutchman, a 16th-century ship captain who murdered his wife, believing her to be unfaithful. He blasphemed against God at his murder trial, where he was sentenced to death. The evening before his execution, a mysterious force opened the Dutchman's prison doors and allowed him to escape to his waiting ship, where in a dream it was revealed to him that his wife was innocent and he was doomed to sail the seas for eternity unless he could find a woman who loved him enough to die for him. Every seven years, the Dutchman could go ashore for six months to search for that woman. 

Despite her impending wedding to Stephen, Pandora declares her love for Hendrick, but he is unwilling to have her die for his sake, and tries to provoke her into hating him. Pandora is also loved by Juan Montalvo (Mario Cabré), an arrogant, famous bullfighter, who murders Hendrick out of jealousy. But as soon as Montalvo leaves, Hendrick comes back to life as if nothing had happened. He attends the bullfight the next day, and when Montalvo sees him in the audience, he becomes petrified with fear and is fatally gored by the bull. Before dying, Montalvo tells Pandora about his murder of his romantic rival, leaving her confused. On the eve of her wedding, Pandora asks Geoffrey if he knows anything about Hendrick that will clear up her confusion. Once he sees the Flying Dutchman preparing to sail away, he hands her his translation of the notebook. However, the Dutchman's yacht is becalmed and us unable to sail. 

On learning the truth, Pandora swims out to Hendrick again. He shows her a small portrait of his murdered wife. She and Pandora look exactly alike. Hendrik explains they are man and wife and that through her he has been given the chance to escape his doom, but he rejected it because it would cost her death. Pandora is undaunted, however. That night, there is a fierce storm at sea. The next morning, the bodies of Pandora and the Dutchman are recovered. Both souls free at last.