Louise Brooks remains one of the silent era’s most enduring icons. Yet her American film career was short and largely undistinguished. It took a trip to Germany to make this film to forever place her name in the books of silent film history. Pandora’s Box retains a place on the short list of the greatest films of the silent era.

When German director G.W. Pabst wanted to make a film version of the passionately-loved German play Die Büchse der Pandora, his greatest obstacle was effectively casting an actress in the part of the play’s central character, the prostitute Lulu. Several well-known German actresses were considered, but the role ultimately went to an American actress. The thought of the Kansas-born Brooks playing the beloved part of Lulu enraged some staunch Germanics. Yet, nationalities aside, the casting of Louise Brooks as Lulu turned out to be an artistic gamble that brilliantly paid off.

Brooks’ performance has the right balance of innocence and worldliness. And it is a masterful portrayal of the childish shallowness of Lulu, who is largely untouched by the ebb and flow of dark fate churning around her. Yet, to be minutely picky, there are shots where it seems as though Brooks is also only instinctively responding to Pabst’s off-camera direction, that she is unsure of which direction to take her performance until prompted. We ultimately don’t care about such things. We are captivated by Lulu as hopelessly as the film’s men who follow her to feed off her aura. And we love Louise Brooks. — Carl Bennett

This high-quality edition features a new high-definition digital video transfer from the definitive Munich Filmmuseum restoration print, created from a composite of 35mm prints and digitally cleaned using the MTI Digital Restoration System. Much of the source prints’ shortcomings have been corrected, including the occasional print warping and jittery image instability. The results are magnificent in direct comparison to previous home video editions mastered from average-quality duplicate prints. Some flaws do still remain including vertical emulsion scratches, which are few, and the occasional speckling — however, this edition is such an improvement over previous laserdisc and videotape editions, with its balanced graytones range, intact highlight details and open shadows, it is a joy to watch — especially on a high-definition monitor.

The English language subtitles have been retranslated for improved transliteration, and the presentation is accompanied by four different music scores. A traditional orchestral score by Gillian Anderson is presented in both Dolby 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo mixes. Three other scores — a modern-style orchestral score by Peer Raben, a cabaret-inspired score by Dimitar Pentchev, and a solo piano score by Stéphan Oliva — are presented in Dolby 2.0 stereo. All are excellent listening.

Among the supplementary materials are audio commentary by film scholars Thomas Elsaesser and Mary Ann Doane, two documentaries, Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu (1998) and Lulu in Berlin (1971), which includes a rare filmed interview with Brooks, an interview with Lulu in Berlin director Richard Leacock, an interview with G.W. Pabst’s son, Michael.

Also included in the package is a booklet featuring Kenneth Tynan’s famous essay “The Girl in the Black Helmet,” a chapter from Brooks’ autobiography on her relationship with Pabst, and a new essay by critic J. Hoberman.

Beyond doubt this is the best available edition of Pandora’s Box on DVD home video and the first to be released on DVD in the United States, and we highly recommend it.

USA: Click the logomark at right to purchase a Region 0 NTSC DVD of this edition from Amazon.com.
Canada: Click the logomark at right to purchase a Region 0 NTSC DVD of this edition from Amazon.ca.

This edition also contains the documentary Looking for Lulu, narrated by Shirley MacLaine, and an interview with Louise Brooks.

United Kingdom: Click the logomark at right to purchase a Region 0 PAL DVD of this edition from Amazon.co.uk.

This edition also contains a documentary and interviews among its supplementary material.

United Kingdom: Click the logomark at right to purchase a Region 2 PAL DVD of this edition from Amazon.co.uk.
USA: Click the logomark at right to purchase a Region 2 PAL DVD of this edition from Amazon.com.

About Louise Brooks:
Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu (1998)

Other silent era G.W. Pabst films available on home video:
Diary of a Lost Girl (1929)
The Joyless Street (1925)
The Love of Jeanne Ney (1927)
Secrets of a Soul (1926)
The Treasure (1923)
The White Hell of Pitz Palu (1929)

Other GERMAN silent era films available on home video.