Product Details

• Actors: Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner, Francis Lederer, Carl Goetz, Krafft-Raschig
• Directors: Georg Wilhelm Pabst
• Writers: Georg Wilhelm Pabst, Joseph Fleisler, Frank Wedekind, Ladislaus Vajda
• Format: Black & White, Original recording reissued, NTSC
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Moviegraphs Inc.
• VHS Release Date: June 13, 2000
• Run Time: 110 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302919533
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #207,442 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

G.W. Pabst's 1928 silent masterpiece Pandora's Box stars the luminous and highly photogenic Louise Brooks. She plays the irresistible Lulu, a cabaret star who entices, captures, and eventually destroys all men who cross her path. Her beauty and her fetching charm draw an assortment of repressed and lonely people; Schigolch, a boozy old man who pretends he's her father, Geschwitz, a countess who has also fallen for Lulu, and Schoen, a rich tycoon who carries on an affair with Lulu even though he's to be married. His short solution is to put Lulu in his son Alwa's vaudeville show. As Alwa, too, becomes trapped in Lulu's charms, Schoen's fiancée catches Lulu and Schoen in a backstage embrace. Lulu quickly takes her place as Schoen's bride, only to drive Schoen to suicide during their wedding party. Put on trial for murder, Lulu almost gets out of it by simply batting her eyes at the prosecutor. Still, she is found guilty, and Alwa, who has grown increasingly obsessed, causes a distraction to allow Lulu's escape from the courthouse. Alwa, Lulu, and Schoen become desperate fugitives, eventually ending up in London where Lulu finally meets her match: Jack the Ripper. Pandora's Box offers pure cinematic delights--Pabst's luscious photography, the tense drama of its story line, and most impressively and importantly, Louise Brooks, who gives a performance that is certainly one of the best in the history of cinema. --Shannon Gee

Product Description

Pandora's Box, the masterpiece of G.W. Pabst (The Threepenny Opera, The Joyless Street, Diary of a Lost Girl), and one of the most erotic films ever made, is the story of Lulu, an effervescent chorus girl who destroys anyone whose life she has touched, then is murdered by Jack the Ripper. This brilliant adaptation of Wedekind's plays Erdgeist and The Box of Pandora brings out the erotic power of this singular beauty, who lacking all moral sense and devoid of guile and malevolence, does evil unconsciously. Pabst found his ideal Lulu in American actress Louise Brooks. Her remarkable natural presence and sexuality gives this silent classic a timeless modernity.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Silent Masterpiece., July 18, 2002

By 

F. Gentile (Lake Worth, Florida, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pandora's Box [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Growing up in Rochester, New York, I was lucky enough to spend many occasions at The Dryden Theater, of The George Eastman House, which has one of the largest film libraries and preservations in the world. It was there that I became acquainted with this film. It was not, however, my first introduction to Louise Brooks, though I had no idea at the time that the little old lady I used to deliver prescriptions to was an icon of the dawn of an art form. She lived a modest life in her tiny apartment on the second floor of an old Victorian house (which, at that time, was just an old house), in a run-down, dangerous, city neighborhood. And, when I was told that she had once been a famous actress, I, being the dreamer that I was, found that very glamorous and romantic. Though I would have loved to talk to her about her part in the movie world, a world I readily escaped to in order to avoid the bleakness around me, my then extreme shyness, youth, and the intimidation I now felt in her mere presence prevented me from doing so. She worked a counter at our Sibleys Department store downtown, until age and illness overcame her, and lived in almost total anonymity, forgotten. When I finally saw "Pandoras Box", in the dark on that big screen, it was with an overwhelming feeling of respect and awe at the luminous magic of this actress. Director Pabst was a mentor to Brooks as Von Stroheim was to Dietrich, and in this film he creates Brooks most famous role. Enough has been said about the plot, and the daring for that time characters. So I will only say I recommend viewing this beautiful film not only to enjoy it, but out of respect to something that deserves to be preserved. It is pleasing to see that there are apparently many who still appreciate these early works, when the art form was new, exciting, and creative, three qualities which the current movie industry is almost entirely devoid of. If you want to learn more about the legendary screen presence that was Louise Brooks, read her auto-biography "Lulu In Hollywood", or Kenneth Tynans essay on her, which was what regenerated an interest in this shamelessly forgotten star. Or, best yet, watch her films, of which "Pandoras Box" is the most classic and timeless.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must See, must have film., February 17, 2000

By 

William R. Ray (Arden, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pandora's Box [VHS] (VHS Tape)

If you think silent films are silly or out-of-date, then you must see Pandora's box. This film will hold your interest and will leave an impression on you whatever your movie tastes are. Seduction, deception, decadence and the human condition are all on display. Louise Brooks is absolutely mesmerizing. I can think of few films, either silent or talkie, which bring a character so vividly to life. I recommend it highly (5-stars). You won't be disappointed.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The silent film that aged the best, December 2, 1999

By 

vladb "vladb" (Brighton, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pandora's Box [VHS] (VHS Tape)

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 Bogart 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.