Pandora's Box (1929)

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 (plays), Ladislaus Vajda (scenario)

Stars:

Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner, Francis Lederer

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Louise Brooks	...	Lulu
Fritz Kortner	...	Dr. Ludwig Schön
Francis Lederer	...	Alwa Schön (as Franz Lederer)
Carl Goetz	...	Schigolch
Krafft-Raschig	...	Rodrigo Quast
Alice Roberts	...	Gräfin Geschwitz - Countess Anna Geschwitz
Daisy D'Ora	...	Charlotte Marie Adelaide v. Zarnikow - braut Dr. Schöns - Dr. Schön's Bride (as Daisy d'Ora)
Gustav Diessl	...	Jack the Ripper (as Gustav Diesel)
Michael von Newlinsky	...	Marquis Casti-Piani (as Michael v. Newlinsky)
Sig Arno	...	Der inspizient - the Stage Manager (as Siegfried Arno)

Storyline

Lulu is a beautiful young woman who can seemingly work her charms on all of the men around her. She is currently being kept by the rich editor Dr. Ludwig Schön. She is just a plaything however and he is engaged to be married to Charlotte, a woman of his own class. He arranges for Lulu to appear in his son Alwa's musical revue and he too falls for all of her charms. When Dr. Schön and his fiancée go to the theater, Lulu ensures that he is put in a compromising situation and the elder Schön feels he now must marry her, knowing full well it will ruin his reputation. On his wedding day, Dr. Schön reaches his breaking point. His actions cost him his life however and Lulu is convicted of manslaughter. She escapes with the help of her old cronies but together they begin a downward spiral.

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Plot Keywords:

femme fatale | german expressionism | expressionism | bisexual | bisexuality | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

22 February 1930 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Pandora's Box

Filming Locations:

Nero-Film Studio, Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,950, 18 June 2006, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$9,950, 18 June 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nero-Film AG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

133 min (restored) 152 min (Copy with French titles at Brussels Musée du Cinéma) 131 min (original) 110 min (video) 135 min (2018) (restored)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film historians have credited the sudden presence of sound in moving pictures for the commercial struggles of this film.

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Goofs

As Lulu looks at herself in the mirror after the wedding, the wedding dress is off her right shoulder. The position of the dress on her right arm and shoulder varies between shots from when she is confronted by Dr Schon till his death.

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Quotes

Marquis Casti-Piani: May I prove my friendship by offering some good advice? Don't go to Paris - too many prying eyes.

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Alternate Versions

Upon its initial release, the film was cut in numerous different ways to suit different countries:

• In France, Alwa was not Schon's son but his secretary - a change which actually had the effect of implying a homosexual relationship between the two men.
• In the United States, the film was released in a heavily censored 90-minute version, with a happy ending. This ending - in which Lulu joins the Salvation Army - was so unconvincing that when the film played in New York, its distributors placed a disclaimer at the beginning, emphasizing that they were not responsible for the censorship forced upon them, and they apologized for what was termed "an added saccharine ending."
• The film was restored in 1983, but the fact that it originally ran 130 minutes and the restored version is only 110 minutes means that some original footage may be lost forever.

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Connections

Featured in Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood: End of an Era (1995)

User Reviews

Greatest Silent Film

Of all the silent dramas of the '20s, perhaps none is as compelling and inherently watchable as "Pandora's Box" of 1928. Amazingly, despite its age and completely different cinematic conventions, this G.W. Pabst picture continues to influence filmmakers worldwide. Made in Weimar Germany, it stars Louise Brooks, an American actress now considered the quintessential symbol of the flapper era. If not for her presence, the film would probably never have its incredible durability and cult status. She is the inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's Mia Wallace in both personality and sheer appearance. For the source of that chic haircut, look no further than Lulu, the proto-"femme fatale" played by Brooks. In a plot that could have come right out of a modern daytime talk show, she manages to destroy the lives of virtually everyone who loves her. Lulu (an aspiring actress), is simultaneously involved with Dr. Schoen (a prominent, high-society man) and his son, while being pursued by a lesbian admirer. To make matters worse, she is "supervised" by a rather disgusting, shady, pimp-like creature impersonating her father. And that's only the beginning. The girl's circumstances become even more bizarre as the action progresses. Obviously, given such a juicy storyline, the audience could well have been treated with a dose of laughable high camp. But Pabst, through brilliant cinematography (and, incidentally, silence), manages to retain dignity and generate powerful emotions as opposed to sarcasm and mild amusement. Precisely because the characters do not speak, we have an opportunity to witness their expressions and gestures. The camera spends much time on Brooks' face, showing the wide range of her emotions: from playfulness to rebellion to despair and back again. That face is one of the most versatile (not to mention the most beautiful) in the history of cinema. At the conclusion of the film's best scene-- as Dr. Schoen's fiancee catches him red handed in Lulu's dressing room-- her competitor slowly dismounts him with a momentary smirk full of hurt and disdain, yet somehow ballsy and triumphant. Such precious and sophisticated details make "Pandora's Box" a masterpiece. The title itself is mentioned in an inevitable courtroom scene midway through the story, by a prosecutor who crudely accuses the girl of being the root of all evil. This is where the film's sociological implications make it stand out from many of its contempories. Louise does not portray a conniving temptress. On the contrary, the people around her fall prey to their inhibitions, delusions and obsessions. Essentially, she is only an indirect cause of their demise and never fully responsible. Lulu's representation as a victim of nothing but her own zest for love and life in a stagnant, repressive society, is an example of humanist cinema at its finest. Brooks' personal life was no less turbulent than her character's: after a potentially prosperous career and scores of lovers (from Chaplin to Pabst himself), she quit the business, refusing to cooperate with its humiliating limitations and rigid standards. Fortunately for us, her name has been immortalized in an impeccable movie.