Saturday, October 17, 2009

The 1940 Sea Hawks


I'll take this film over any of those Pirates Of The Caribbean Films any day.
from an amazon reviewer
The Sea Hawk is, perhaps, my favorite Errol Flynn film, with it's rousing sea battles, incredible swordplay, chaste romance, and political intrigue, as well as a brilliant Korngold score, and Michael Curtis' sharp direction. As a video, it has had almost as circuitous a journey as Captain Thorpe had, returning to England from Panama!
When CBS/Fox first released the film to VHS, in the 80's, the only existing prints had been edited, both for theatrical re-releases in the late 40s, and for television. This was the 'accepted' version of the film, even though it was widely known that The Sea Hawk was several minutes longer back in 1940.
Then, a copy of the ORIGINAL print was found, in England, and CBS/Fox quickly repackaged it, and released it as UNCUT. This is the version we see today, right down to the 'British Board of Censors' Approval, at the start of the film. The best known additions to the film were Queen Elizabeth's stirring speech (written as a slap at the Nazis); a brief, almost leering scene, as Thorpe prepares to have a lovers' rendevous; and, most importantly, a sepia-tinted version of the Panama scenes, that captures the sweltering heat of the jungle!
The additions make The Sea Hawk even MORE enjoyable for both film buffs and Flynn fans! If you haven't seen it, yet, you're in for a treat!

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