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Die Büchse der Pandora

  • 1929
  • 6
  • 1h 49m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
12K
YOUR RATING
Louise Brooks in Die Büchse der Pandora (1929)
Watch Trailer
Play trailer1:02
1 Video
99+ Photos
CrimeDramaRomance

The rise and inevitable fall of an amoral but naive young woman whose insouciant eroticism inspires lust and violence in those around her.The rise and inevitable fall of an amoral but naive young woman whose insouciant eroticism inspires lust and violence in those around her.The rise and inevitable fall of an amoral but naive young woman whose insouciant eroticism inspires lust and violence in those around her.

  • Director
    • Georg Wilhelm Pabst
  • Writers
    • Frank Wedekind
    • Ladislaus Vajda
    • Joseph Fleisler
  • Stars
    • Louise Brooks
    • Fritz Kortner
    • Francis Lederer
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.8/10
    12K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Georg Wilhelm Pabst
    • Writers
      • Frank Wedekind
      • Ladislaus Vajda
      • Joseph Fleisler
    • Stars
      • Louise Brooks
      • Fritz Kortner
      • Francis Lederer
    • 109User reviews
    • 64Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:02
    Watch Trailer

    Photos179

    Louise Brooks and Michael von Newlinsky in Die Büchse der Pandora (1929)
    Louise Brooks and Francis Lederer in Die Büchse der Pandora (1929)
    Louise Brooks in Die Büchse der Pandora (1929)
    Louise Brooks and Krafft-Raschig in Die Büchse der Pandora (1929)
    Francis Lederer in Die Büchse der Pandora (1929)
    Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner, and Francis Lederer in Die Büchse der Pandora (1929)
    Louise Brooks and Gustav Diessl in Die Büchse der Pandora (1929)
    Louise Brooks and Fritz Kortner in Die Büchse der Pandora (1929)
    Louise Brooks in Die Büchse der Pandora (1929)
    Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner, and Alice Roberts in Die Büchse der Pandora (1929)
    Louise Brooks in Die Büchse der Pandora (1929)
    Louise Brooks and Gustav Diessl in Die Büchse der Pandora (1929)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Louise Brooks
    Louise Brooks
    • Lulu
    Fritz Kortner
    Fritz Kortner
    • Dr. Ludwig Schön
    Francis Lederer
    Francis Lederer
    • Alwa Schön
    • (as Franz Lederer)
    Carl Goetz
    Carl Goetz
    • Schigolch
    Krafft-Raschig
    Krafft-Raschig
    • Rodrigo Quast
    Alice Roberts
    Alice Roberts
    • Gräfin Geschwitz
    Daisy D'Ora
    Daisy D'Ora
    • Charlotte Marie Adelaide v. Zarnikow - braut Dr. Schöns - Dr. Schön's Bride
    • (as Daisy d'Ora)
    Gustav Diessl
    Gustav Diessl
    • Jack the Ripper
    • (as Gustav Diesel)
    Michael von Newlinsky
    Michael von Newlinsky
    • Marquis Casti-Piani
    • (as Michael v. Newlinsky)
    Sig Arno
    Sig Arno
    • Der inspizient - the Stage Manager
    • (as Siegfried Arno)
    Karl Etlinger
    Karl Etlinger
    • Verteidiger
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Georg Wilhelm Pabst
    • Writers
      • Frank Wedekind
      • Ladislaus Vajda
      • Joseph Fleisler(uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Despite being replaced by Louise Brooks at the last minute for the role of Lulu in Die Büchse der Pandora (1929), Marlene Dietrich managed to snag another coveted role. Her removal from "Pandora's Box" freed her up to play one of her most iconic roles, Lola Lola in Josef von Sternberg's Der blaue Engel (1930).
    • Goofs
      While the actual identity of Jack The Ripper may never be known he would've most likely been at least sixty years old if he were still alive in 1929.

      The actor playing him is clearly in his early thirties.
    • Quotes

      Dr. Ludwig Schön: I'm getting married!

      Lulu: You won't kiss me just because you're getting married?

    • Alternate versions
      A 133-minute version, distributed by Janus Films from Film Museum München, was broadcast in America on the IFC channel in 2006. It has an unidentified orchestral score, including a 2-minute overture at the start, and it listed the credits in German, some of which were translated into English. With German inter-titles and English subtitles. This version was released on a British Region 2 DVD).
    • Connections
      Edited into Geschichte(n) des Kinos: Fatale beauté (1994)

    User reviews109

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    A natural in action
    Louise Brooks may have never studied acting, but every actor should study her. How much they can learn is questionable though. This dancer/chorus girl turned film star was one of those rare creatures who probably couldn't have told you what she was doing, even if she thought long and hard about it (and Brooks was an intelligent, articulate woman.)

    Like a great natural athlete, she simply could do it, and do it better than almost anyone else. Pandora's Box is the greatest existing record of her technique and remarkable talents.

    On the surface, a run of the mill story of a femme fatale who destroys the men around her, this G. W. Pabst film is complicated, dark, moody, and seemingly packed with contradictory messages. Well acted and well directed by Pabst, it nonetheless would have been forgotten decades ago, had it not been for its star.

    Brooks was one of the most beautiful, most photogenic woman to ever appear on the screen. From some angles, her face is so remarkable it almost doesn't seem real.

    Her personality exceeds her beauty and it was the perfect personality to capture the childish, petulant, self centered, yet sweetly innocent kid who is the embodiment of every pretty girl who wants what she wants, regardless of the consequences.

    Pabst' film, based on two German stage plays, is also a fascinating look at male sexual obsession, at men unable to control their lust who want to destroy the object of that lust before she destroys them.

    Yet all the messages aside, it is simply Brooks totally natural performance that in the end will be remembered here.

    Ironically, Brooks was really no more than a starlet in her American silent film days and it took her three European films to elevate her name above the title. And those films were hardly seen in the U.S. in their day. Yet today, women whose names were household words in America in the silent era, like Coleen Moore and even Clara Bow, are all but forgotten, while the Brooks legend grows stronger each year.

    While Brooks has benefitted from a well written biography and the adoration of much of the press, a close examination of Pandora's Box proves she was much more than just hype.

    This movie is one of the great treasures of the cinema, and Louise Brooks is one of the most talented and most fascinating actresses to ever appear in movies, on either side of the Atlantic.
    helpful•40
    3
    • tprofumo
    • Dec 26, 2002

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    FAQ17

    • How long is Pandora's Box?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 22, 1930 (Japan)
    • Country of origin
      • Germany
    • Languages
      • None
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Pandora's Box
    • Filming locations
      • Nero-Film Studio, Berlin, Germany(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Nero-Film AG
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $53,485
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $9,950
      • Jun 18, 2006
    • Gross worldwide
      • $62,971
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 49 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Silent
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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