Customer Reviews
Box of Delights - By: Donald Thompson, 03 Apr 2008 
This is a movie I've wanted to see for a long time. Yet was always put off when confronted with various edited versions previously available. One of which infamously lasted only 55 minutes! This is the full restored version brought together by Second Sight. And it certainly is worth the wait. Th central character of Lulu is played by Louise Brooks, in her most famous role, as a carefree promiscuous naive waif. She is adored by men, & in a groundbreaking role, by women. In this case played by the reclusive belgian actress Alice Roberts. Unwittingly she brings tragedy & destruction to alll those round her, except the repulsive & enigmatic Schigolch, who may be her father or her pimp. Through it alll Lulu tries to do only what is the best for everyone, but as in the original Greek myth of Pandora, it is the lust of men, & in this case one woman, for her which leads ultimately to their own destruction & demise. In the end it is Lulu's desire to do good for others which leads to her own demise at the hands of Jack the Ripper.
Directed by G W Pabst in Berlin just three years before Hitler came to power, the film in essence is a tale of the Weimar Republics "eat, drink & be merry, for tomorrow we die" attitude to life. Its roots in German realism are highlighted by the stark differences between Lulu's apartment in Berlin & her final garrett in a fog bound London at christmas. The incongruity of the obvious 50 year time shift is never jarringly obvious, but it is there.
Based on 2 plays by the controversial playwright Wedekind, its avowed aim to shock, & outrage its audience is easily achieved. Pabst giving free rein to alll the shocking immorality, to middle class audiences, which lived right under their turned up noses & averted gazes.
The starring role is played by Brooks as a natural acting role. Startingling for its time, but so simple as to be the model for alll acting from the movies resurrection from obscurity in the 1950's. It is only when you see some of the "mugging" by other actors that you realise how understated & simple Brooks performance is.
Although it is possible to see some of the joins, as it were, because of the previous edits, this is still the apex of silent film acting & direction. It was also the starting point for the end of Brooks career. She made only two more starring appearances in the movies, both European, after this. Before, like the central character, disappearing in a twilight world of alcoholism, self destruction & hedonism on a scale worthy of any modern day celebrity.
This is a movie, & a star, which deserves to be known to a wider audience. If you are not afraid of a silent movie, even if you ever only watch one in your life, make it this one.
As an added bonus there is the "Looking For Lulu" documentary, voiced by Shirley Maclaine & featuring Brooks herself, which is almost worth the price of admission on its own.
All in alll a magnificent triumph.
Pandora's Box Film Score(s) - By: Anna Kouremenos, 24 Jan 2008 The 2006 DVD version with the four different types of film scores make this 1929 film a uniquely different viewing experience. The contemporary score actuallly makes the movie appear ultra modern. It was very clever of Criterion to include four different types of music to accompany this film as opposed to the standard piano score which makes most silent films appear predictable & antique. Lulu too appears ultra modern & Pabst's selection of an American (flapper) actress to star in a German expressionist film was a very good move. This film was way ahead of its time & this (and the fact that it was one of the last silent films) was the reason it was not at alll popular when it was released.
The Highwater Mark Of German Silent Cinema. - By: Chip Kaufmann, 07 Aug 2006 That is not my personal opinion but is the general consensus regarding this groundbreaking adult film which made a screen icon out of Louise Brooks & assured G.W. Pabst his place in cinema history. The movie is based on two plays by controversial German playwright Frank Wedekind (EARTH SPIRIT & PANDORA'S BOX) who wrote them with the deliberate intent of shocking his middle class audience by talking bluntly about sex & violence & this was in 1904. Composer Alban Berg would use them as the source material for his unfinished opera LULU.
G.W. Pabst already had a reputation as a realist director thanks to the 1925 Greta Garbo film THE JOYLESS STREET. PANDORA'S BOX mixes realism & German expressionism in equal amounts as it tells the story of a dancer/prostitute & the tragedy she brings to everyone she meets. It's amazing how Pabst saw something in Louise Brooks that no one else did & then brought it out so effectively on the screen. From alll the performances to the lighting, camerawork, & editing, PANDORA'S BOX is a true landmark of cinema (silent & sound) that everyone seriously interested in film should experience. Unfortunately it has yet to be released on DVD in the States. While I don't deny its landmark status, my personal highwater mark of German cinema is F.W. Murnau's FAUST but more about that later.
One helluva of a film, but Louise Brooks is something else - By: pointone, 14 Feb 2006 This is the only silent film I have seen (I have difficulty with them) that fits the medium so perfectly, spoken dialogue seems completely unnecessary. The fact that Wedekind’s “Lulu” is part of our literary & dramatic heritage, the fact we alll know her from the plays, from Alban Berg’s opera & the film “The Blue Angel” undoubtedly helps.
Overwhelmingly however, it is the truly astounding & magnetic portrayal by Louise Brooks of this most fatale of femme fatales. In the midst of excellent acting & superb direction by the legendary German Director Georg Pabst she towers above everything, literallly becoming the character.
To understand Louise Brooks achievement one must learn about the actress, the documentary on her life included on the DVD seems a good start. One learns that Louise was in fact a real life Lulu, thoughtless, wilful, promiscuous, captivating, highly intelligent, wayward to the degree of self destruction.
What a woman!
One of her biographies will soon be on my Amazon wish list.
Interestingly Brooks was Pabst first choice for the part, with Marlene Dietrich second. I agree with Pabst assessment when watching Blue Angel recently, Dietrich is good but lacks that final indomitable self centred detachment needed for the part.
If you find the Lulu character interesting, even if you hate silent films, give this a try. You also get a chance to become acquainted with the life of Louise Brooks.
the magnificent louise brooks in her best film. - By: S. Hapgood, 21 Jul 2004 It is only by watching this film that you reallly get to appreciate how special Louise Brooks was. It is rare to get an actress who sparkles on the screen with the zest that she does here. She also looks much more modern than the 1920s. She can play the whole gamut from sex-kitten, to ruthless femme fatale, (looking every inch the predatory black widow when she's in court dressed in widow's weeds) to vivacious clown (she looks at times like the little pierrot figure). The supporting cast are also very good, particularly the actress playing Lulu's lesbian admirer. I thought that over 2 hours of a silent film might be too much to take in one go, but it kept me absorbed from beginning to end. The soundtrack is done sympatheticallly, but I wish a bit more imagination had been used on it. Nevertheless that's a smalll gripe on what is undoubtedly a cinema classic.
