Brand New 2K Master! Esther Williams (Million Dollar Mermaid, The Unguarded Moment) and Jeff Chandler (Foxfire, Female on the Beach) set the screen ablaze in this romantic South Seas noir directed by Richard Wilson (Al Capone, Pay or Die!). On a small Mediterranean island live Costanza (Rossana Podestà, Ulysses), her father Urbano (Eduardo De Filippo, The Gold of Naples), and beachcomber Moore (Chandler), whom she plans to marry. Into this Eden come two plane crash survivors, supermodel Laura (Williams) and her playboy friend Wally (Carlos Thompson, Mistress of the World). The beautiful Laura becomes a bad influence, especially when love triangles start to develop. Breathtakingly shot in CinemaScope by Italian cinematographer Enzo Serafin (Journey to Italy).

For thoughts on Raw Wind In Eden, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/GklBQOIHPaE?t=2844]

Video Quality

Kino Classics presents Raw Wind In Eden with a gorgeous Blu-Ray in 2.35:1 from a new 2K master that is quite something. This transfer maintains the natural film grain of the presentation with only brief instances of it seeming a bit on the thick side. The picture has fleeting moments of softness, but the gorgeous island hues are well saturated with the bright colors popping off the screen. Skin tones are natural and consistent with subtle facial features easily noticeable in closeup. Instances of print damage such as nicks and lines still occasionally flash on the screen, but it is clear that there has been significant cleanup with overall clarity and detail appearing strong. The Cinemascope presentation is often breathtaking with image stability and delineation being handled well. Black levels hold up admirably with very little in the way of crush. Kino Classics has done a top notch job with this presentation.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a fair DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that serves this film pretty well. Dialogue comes through without issues and exists in perfect harmony with all competing elements. All of the sound effects and music appear to be faithful to the intent of the creative team. This track shows no major age related wear and tear such as hissing or popping. The fidelity of the Hans J. Salter score makes it a winner as it complements the narrative. Despite the strength of this element, nothing ever overpowers the dialogue or other important information. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film. Kino Classics maintains their consistent quality here.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Film Historian David Del Valle and Film Historian/Filmmaker Daniel Kremer provide a very informative commentary track in which they discuss how this fits into the career of Esther Williams, how Universal took on many starlets who had aged out of previous studio contracts, the cinematography of Enzo Serafin, the background of the ensemble players, the scarcity of the film on home entertainment and much more.

Trailers: The two-and-a-half minute trailer for Raw Wind In Eden is provided here. There are also trailers provided for The Unguarded Moment, Female On The Beach, Foxfire, Man In The Shadow and Ten Seconds To Hell.

Final Thoughts

Raw Wind In Eden has been a relatively difficult film to find over the years due to its lack of home entertainment releases, which is a shame considering what a delightful time it offers. Esther Williams is radiant in the lead role as she gets to navigate a range of different emotions with honesty. There are certain characters that can be a bit frustrating in the story, but that is by design of their purpose. The cinematography and other craftwork seems to be of the highest quality, elevating this one even higher on the scale of artistic merit. Kino Classics has released a new Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation and an informative commentary track. If you like an island romance or are an Esther Williams fan, give this one a spin as soon as possible. Recommended

Raw Wind In Eden is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.