Pandora's Box (Die Buchse der Pandora)

Georg Wilhelm Pabst, Germany, 1929, 133 minutes

Pandora’s Box was one of the last silent films ever made. It stars Louise Brooks, a minor Hollywood star who decided to pack in her studio contract to make a film she really cared about in Weimar-era Germany with G.W. Pabst, arguably one of the greatest directors of the silent era. Based on the plays of Franz Wedekind, the film tells the story of the beautiful Lulu, cabaret star and mistress to the wealthy Dr. Peter Schon. In the course of the narrative, she manages to blackmail Peter into marriage, play on the desires of the bewitched Countess Geschwitz, seduce her stepson, have brushes with the law and prostitution, and meet a truly ominous end.

Though the story is complex, it’s incredibly well-conveyed by the silent medium. The utmost care was taken in the crafting of this film, with most of the story being told entirely through action, with few dialogue cards. The play of expressions Brooks demonstrates in her role as Lulu have lead many to wonder why she never made the transition to sound pictures. Interestingly, Brooks went on to become an accomplished writer and painter, ending her days pleasantly in New York City, sought after by eager young biographers. Though she is less well known than her contemporaries, Theda Bara and Clara Bow, Brooks gives the performance of a lifetime as the definitive 1920s vamp in Pandora’s Box. An example of silent cinema at its peak.

Review by Sarah Artt
Written for EUFS Programme Spring 2003