Pandora's Box (Büchse der Pandora, Die) (1929)

this is absolutely mesmerising to watch - everything is there in the actors facial expressions and body language - the sexuality and emotional needs of the characters is palpable. The brief script cards every now & then are well and truly sufficient to update the storyline and move you along. I didn't realise this movie went for just over 2 hours, but I couldn't take my eyes away. Louise Brooks is just stunning to watch - her every movement is rivetting and those eyes... The extra footage about Louise Brooks is fascinating and gives an interesting & honest account of her. I would recommend this to anyone who loves theatre and intelligent drama.

Lulu is a tease and plays with the affections of men to further her ambitions in society. It is widely known that she is the mistress of newspaper publisher, Dr Schon, but he calls one day looking very depressed to tell her that he is marrying his fiance, Marie, to avoid any further scandal. Lulu still wants to carry on with the relationship, but she also wants to take up a career as a circus acrobat after being talked into it by Rodrigo, himself an acrobat. It so happens that Dr Schon's son, Alwa, is putting on a theatrical revue. He' s looking over costume designs in his father's office one day when Lulu shows up to see Dr Schon, and seizes the opportunity to charm Alwa, who, with his father's approval, decides to use her in his revue. But on the first night she refuses to go on stage when she sees Schon standing in the wings with his fiance. He's furious, storms over to Lulu and grabs her roughly, but ends up embracing her, while Marie looks on in disgust. This could be the end to Schon's marriage plans. Being a silent movie with fewer subtitles than a present day foreign movie, it sometimes takes a while to put labels to characters and to understand their motives. Louise Brooks plays the seductive, young prostitute with a beguiling innocence, and one can understand her reputation as a brilliant actress of the late 20s and 30s. A suitable soundtrack of original music has been added, but it could be mistaken for Kurt Weill.

Louise Brooks – what a star she was…here in arguably her greatest screen role. Whatever the merits of the rest of the movie, I guarantee that you will not be able to take your eyes off Brooks. Her looks are somehow beyond our expectations of the human norm and she takes on an almost alien form. This sense of being above and beyond the rest of the cast is reinforced by her acting technique being years ahead of the silent era. You can easily imagine her in a modern movie, not something you can say about most stars of the silent age. But enough about the remarkable Ms Brookes, except perhaps to add that in later years she came back to the public attention as an excellent writer. Her collected essays on Hollywood entitled Lulu in Hollywood is essential and enjoyable reading. Pandora’s Box without Ms Brooks would not have made much of an impact on the cinema landscape. Its an odd tale which follows the ups and downs of a femme fatale and the men she leaves in her wake until she meets a tragic end at the hands of no less than Jack The Ripper!

Louise Brooks, as Lulu, the quintessential ‘20s Flapper, is the beautiful centerpiece of this erotic silent German classic. Innocent, yet without morals, her overpowering sexual allure releases human vices causing the destruction of the men attracted to her. Unknown to me before this film, Brooks’ stunning body language, especially her face, convey layers of psychological hues making Lulu unforgettable, enigmatic and relevant to films being produced now. The black and white quality is very good along with the jazzy sound track. Brooks’ rather tragic personal story, Searching For Lulu is included on the DVD narrated by Shirley McLaine. I found this even more fascinating as parallels emerge between Louise’s life and Lulu’s. Four and a half stars.

This is definitely one for the movie buffs, but a reasonable time passer for the rest of us. I watched it in 2x speed, which helped with the unnecessarily slow scenes.

This is a fantastic film: Louise Brooks is completely mesmerising, and the supporting cast are stunning ! -Please make sure to also watch the documentary included on the DVD "Looking for Lulu" .... It has fascinating interviews with her co-actors, friends, family ....... and Louise Brooks herself in the 1970's !

A great classic of early German cinema.

Possibly one for the film buffs and purists only, but for those who love film it simply has to been seen. Remarkably modern in technique, acting and the issues addressed, there is a great deal to enjoy. The luminous presence of Louise Brooks reminds us that she was the first truly great film actress, but the supporting cast are riveting too. Having sat through the 3 hour movie it is still worth watching the documentary. Got to be seen once in your life in my view.

A classic of it's time and type.