Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (2020)

Powerful

Lack of good storyline.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Romatic tosh of the campest kind but then it was written and directed by that most florid of film-makers Albert Lewin and told, in contemporary terms, the story of the legend of the Flying Dutchman, condemned to roam the seas until he found a woman willing to die for him. He's James Mason at his most inscrutable and she's' Ava Gardner at her most glamorous and others camping it up in the cast include Nigel Patrick, Harold Warrender and Marius Goring though the main reason to see it is Jack Cardiff's gorgeous cinematography. It's full of beautiful images and the purplest of prose and often feels like a parody of itself. It's now considered something of a cult movie and is really nobody's finest hour, except maybe Cardiff's.

I had heard that this was another exquisitely filmed fantasy by Jack Cardiff. Indeed it is. I saw the TCM version with restored color; some of the color was off. but the color overall was great. The Technicolor was fantastic in spots. It was often moody, eerie. bright, strange contrasts….wow! There were compositions that were quite striking. Some of the costumes, mainly Gardner's clothing, was also eye catching. Thus, I was quite happy with this movie as a visual experience.This was meant to be an ethereal, supernatural, great love fantasy. This gave Cardiff the freedom to stray from the ordinary to weave in his great shots. A far away fantasy is compatible with experimental photography, especially with color: a realistic story would be hindered by such photography. This is the advantage of this film to me. However, it is also a disadvantage; I do not particularly appreciate ethereal, supernatural, romantic fantasy I did like the over-the-top beginning with men throwing themselves at a disinterested Ava Gardner. While I realize that this was to set up her great sacrifice at the end, it was almost comedy. She was testing out the idea that love can be measured by what one was willing to give up for it. Apparently the numerous men in her life did not give up enough (including their lives) to interest her.. Yet, the men just kept coming begging her to marry them. It didn't seem to bother them that she was a very high maintenance gal to begin with and that she didn't disguise the contempt in which she held them. Oh, well. Gardner is pretty and has some unusual "come hither" looks, but why she was such a femme fatale escapes me.She falls for James Mason. Why him? Well, he was immortal. This is ordinarily an advantage, but it is a disadvantage in this movie. She has to die so that he can die (and finds salvation). There is a lot of yadda yadda about this at the end. Talking about love never works well in the movies, but it works least well when the love is ethereal, supernatural, and not photographed in any special way in these scenes. On and on. Boring.Still, this is well worth seeing if color and photography interest you.

A beautiful 1951 fantasy. James Mason plays the Flying Dutchman-Hendrik van der Zee--who is doomed to sail the seas until he finds a woman who will die for him. He meets gorgeous Pandora Reynolds (Ava Gardner) who happens to look just like his dead wife...but he won't tell her he's a ghost. Naturally she falls for him.The plot is predictable and silly (even for a fantasy) and the dialogue is terrible--people make speeches and verbalize ALL their feelings. The pace is also way too slow and they throw in a silly subplot about bullfighter Juan Motalvo (badly played by Mario Cabre). But the film is absolutely beautiful to watch. The colors are deep and rich and every frame is like a beautiful picture. Gardner and Mason were young and look impossibly beautiful. Some of their shots took my breath away! It was shot in Spain and the settings were gorgeous. Also it's beautifully directed and has a wonderful score. Gardner and Mason are as good as anyone can be in this and everybody else--save for Cabre--are very good. So it's beautiful to watch but the silly dialogue (no one talks like the people here) and slow pace made this hard to sit through.

A 1930s Spanish seaport is riveted by alluring saloon singer Ava Gardner (as Pandora Reynolds). A strange yacht brings intriguing "Flying Dutchman" James Mason (as Hendrik van der Zee) into her life. She drifts from Nigel Patrick (as Stephen Cameron) to Mr. Mason. Mason's wife Pamela Kellino (as Jenny) keeps an eye on the co-stars. While the original Pandora's box contained hope, Ms. Gardner's holds desire. She is beautiful and bewitching in Technicolor. Alas, the pace is funereal rather than mysterious; sometimes, it feels like the film is running in slow-motion. Gardner and the location photography by Jack Cardiff are the main attractions.***** Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (2/51) Albert Lewin ~ Ava Gardner, James Mason, Nigel Patrick, Sheila Sim