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The Criterion Collection's Special Edition DVD of the classic 1929 German melodrama.
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Rating:
-This review pertains to the Criterion Collection's 2-disc Special Edition DVD of Pandora's Box-
+5
Georg Wilhelm Pabst's 1929 film Pandora's Box is a masterful melodrama. Based on Frank Wedekind's character Lulu, Pandora's Box is a classic of German cinema detailing the life and downward spiral of a sexually vivacious yet innocent young woman. The original plays (Earth Spirit and Pandora's Box), which served as inspiration, were vast and rambling accounts of Lulu's many relationships. G.W. Pabst felt that theatregoers would lose interest in what would have been for the time a terribly long film, so screenwriter Ladislaus Vajda greatly edited the original stories. Rather than focusing on Lulu's multiple relationships, Vajda uses those with Dr. Schön and his son, Alwa as the principal examples of Lulu's unintentionally destructive sexual appetite. However the eroticism of the film isn't ever directly shown, rather it is implied through longing glances, physical gestures and even in the costume design.
The film tells the story of Lulu, an irrepressible and irresistible young woman, who inadvertently uses her naïve sexual charms to seduce men into giving her what she wants. Though, she is clearly aware of her affect on men (and women), Lulu is oblivious to the disastrous consequences that her unrestrained affection causes. At first her flirtations help her to get ahead and Lulu is given a part in a musical revue, but when one of her lovers, Dr. Schön, tries to kill her in order to keep their affair a secret, he is accidentally killed instead. Lulu must flee the country or else suffer the legal penalty. She spends time on a gambling barge where Dr. Schön's son looks after her, but he has developed a serious gambling habit and they are being blackmailed. A man who knows of Lulu's identity says that he will inform the German authorities of her whereabouts if they do not pay him. After Alwa is caught cheating in a card game, trying to win the money, there is a riot and the boat catches fire and all aboard are evacuated. Alwa and Lulu end up in London where she becomes a prostitute and on Christmas, out of charity, she offers herself to a handsome stranger. This man turns out to be a conflicted killer (Jack the Ripper, in fact) and he murders Lulu. The irony being that Lulu in life was selfish in giving herself away to men and accepting their tokens of affection, all the while their lives fell apart and now Lulu gives herself away out of charity and she pays the price. But it is ultimately this final act that redeems her.
When the film was released it was unfairly criticized. German audiences were outraged that an American actress was playing the quintessentially German Lulu, and most critics felt the film to be emotionally shallow and the story to be disjointed. Only recently has Pandora's Box become so beloved by critics and film historians. The main reason for its current success is the rediscovery of Louise Brooks' naturalistic performance. One must remember that during the silent age many actors were stiff and gave forced performances while Louise Brooks was effortless and breezy, a true breath of fresh air.
The 2006 Criterion Collection edition is spectacular. The film has never looked so sharp nor sounded so good. Included are four different musical scores* and an excellent audio commentary. Also included is a fascinating book about Louise Brooks and the making of the film, a documentary by Hugh Munro Neely, a lengthy interview with Brooks, an interview with Pabst's son and a photo gallery. Overall this 2-disc Special Edition set is a must-have for fans of silent cinema.
* = The six audio tracks are:
1. & 2. Orchestral Score by Gillian Anderson (in both stereo and surround)
3. Cabaret Score by Dimitar Pentchev
4. Modern Orchestral Score by Peer Raben
5. Piano Improvisation by Stéphan Oliva
6. Audio commentary with film historians Thomas Elsaesser and Mary Anne Doane
Here's a link to the Criterion Collection website:
http://www.criterion.com/
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The most important film of director G.W. Pabst & an all-time classic of German cinema. A silent film lover's feast!
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One of the last great works of the silent cinema, G.W. Pabst's PANDORA'S BOX was cruelly-ignored and dismissed by both audiences and critics upon it's original release in 1929. It wasn't until the George Eastman House revived the movie in the 1950s' that it finally started to receive it's full recognition--and resurrected it's luminous star Louise Brooks from an impoverished, destitute existence in New York in the process. Based on two separate German plays written by Frank … more
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Count_Orlok_22
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About this movie
Pandora’s Box
Georg Wilhelm Pabst
Georg Wilhelm Pabst
Germany
1929
133 minutes
Black and White
1.33:1
German
358
Synopsis
One of the masters of early German cinema, G. W. Pabst had an innate talent for discovering actresses (including Greta Garbo). And perhaps none of his female stars shone brighter than Kansas native and onetime Ziegfeld girl Louise Brooks, whose legendary persona was defined by Pabst’s lurid, controversial melodrama Pandora’s Box. Sensationally modern, the film follows the downward spiral of the fiery, brash, yet innocent showgirl Lulu, whose sexual vivacity has a devastating effect on everyone she comes in contact with. Daring and stylish, Pandora’s Box is one of silent cinema’s great masterworks and a testament to Brooks’s dazzling individuality.
Cast Lulu Louise Brooks Dr. Schön Fritz Kortner Alwa Schön Francis Lederer Schigolch Carl Goetz Rodrigo Quast Krafft-Raschig Countess Geschwitz Alice Roberts Dr. Schön's fiancee Daisy d'Ora Jack Gustav Diessl
Credits
Director Georg Wilhelm Pabst Based on a play by Frank Wedekind Screenplay Ladislaus Vajda Cinematography Gunther Krampf Producer Heinz Landsmann Editing Joseph Fleisler Art direction Andrej Andrejew and Gottlieb Hesch
SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET:
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer of the definitive Munich Film Museum restoration
- Four musical scores, each offering its own interpretation of the film
- ...
Director:
Georg Wilhelm (G.W.) Pabst
Genre:
Classics,
Drama,
Foreign,
Gay & Lesbian,
Romance
Release Date:
1929
MPAA Rating:
Unrated
DVD Release Date:
November 28, 2006
Runtime:
133 minutes
Studio:
The Criterion Collection
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By the way, it's funny you just happened to read this. I re-watched the film just the other night. I've been in the mood for silents lately. : )
By the way, when can we expect your review for "Watchmen". You haven't even given it a rating yet, I don't think.