The Silver Screen Oasis

I've loved Pandora and the Flying Dutchman since I first saw it summer of 2005. There was a good print in NYC at that time, and I caught two screenings at Symphony Space, and then two screenings at the Film Society of Lincoln Center as part of their Technicolor festival. More recently I've been watching it on the Kino DVD. It's my favorite James Mason film, and to me it's more his film than Ava Gardner's. I do hope this restoration will cause a new DVD release -- the current DVD is a bit dark and muddy in places.

I hope the DVD of the restoration comes out soon. The colors and definitions were amazing, and I think all your comments are so insightful, kingrat, especially concerning the script. And Ava did handle the dialogue well, and she was at one of her most beautiful seasons. Thank you.

And thanks to Miss G for the link and professionaltourist for her personal comments.

I truly enjoyed seeing the introduction by Angela Allen, and the first 30 minutes of this film, but had to leave early.
I met Miss Allen the following day at brunch and also visited with her at the last TCM party in Club TCM. She was very
approachable and willing to discuss her experiences with Mason, Ava Gardner, and the director.

She again discussed the tricks they would play on Albert Lewin and his hearing aid.

Sue Sue Applegate wrote:I hope the DVD of the restoration comes out soon.

The restored edition of Pandora and the Flying Dutchman is being released by Kino on August 3rd, both on DVD:


and Blu-Ray:

Thank you for the heads-up; I have added this to my wish list.

DVDBeaver's review of the Blu-ray, including some nice screencaps.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film3/blu-ray_ ... lu-ray.htm

The film Albert Lewin made following Pandora and the Flying Dutchman is even less well-known: Saadia (1953). Both are about beautiful exotic women in exotic settings. TCM could easily have included this in their Arab Images series because the setting is a small town in Morocco. Fortunately, they did show it, although I forgot to send a note to those who might be interested.

Oh, I must have missed Saadia completely. I'd love to see that as well as The Living Idol (1957), Lewin's last official credit (he was supposedly an uncredited contributor to The Naked Maja (1958), though I can understand people running away from being responsible for that movie. Have you had a chance to see The Private Affairs of Bel Ami (1947)? It's fascinating, has a great cast, including George Sanders, Angela Lansbury, Frances Dee and Warren William. It can be seen on youtube in HD:

[youtube][/youtube]

thanks for posting Bel Ami, Moira!

I like Lewin a lot, though his movies can be a bit reliant on narration. Maybe it's just because I love George Sanders, but I enjoy the way his movies flow. They are always interesting character studies.

JackFavell wrote:thanks for posting Bel Ami, Moira!

I like Lewin a lot, though his movies can be a bit reliant on narration. Maybe it's just because I love George Sanders, but I enjoy the way his movies flow. They are always interesting character studies.

I like that aspect too, Jacks, but the visual style of Lewin's movies is always striking, even if they are a bit too rooted in the literary for many people. I always think it was kind of an encouraging sign that someone in Hollywood had a library card!