Pandora's Box - Criterion Collection

Pandora's Box - Criterion Collection
by Georg Wilhelm Pabst

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DVD details

Actor: Carl Goetz, Francis Lederer, Fritz Kortner, Krafft-Raschig, Louise Brooks
Director: Georg Wilhelm Pabst
Brand: Image Entertainment
Cinematographer: Sig Arno
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: German (Original Language); English (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 133 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-11-28
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion

DVD Reviews of Pandora's Box - Criterion Collection

DVD Review: Lu Lu at her best !!!
Summary: 5 Stars

It was a dream come true to find this movie in the Criterion Collection. Pandorax Box is a classic movie and a great story ... I loved watching this movie. This collection is loaded with interviews from people and family members who knew Louise Brooks very well, also included in this DVD Collection is Lulu in Berlin, Looking for Lulu, and also a commentary throughout the whole movie... I also must say that there are four scores to chose from, what other movie has that ??? Just a great DVD for Louise Brooks fans a must have !!! and there are also subtitles in english too... If you are a Louise Brooks fan this movie collection is a must ...

DVD Review: You have to watch this one
Summary: 4 Stars

This movie is incredibly complex, and is best watched with the commentary on, at least for the first time. Otherwise, you're going to be totally bewildered about what is going on. The scenes jump, sometimes jarringly, and it is often difficult to determine what is happening, and where things are going. I believe that the movie would have benefitted from more indications of what the characters are saying- although you can often read Louise's lips- and she seems to be following the script.

Even if you hate the movie- it's worth the money just to see the beautiful shots of Louise Brooks.

One note- "Looking for Lulu" is included in this package, and it's great- even some snippets of Louise later in life.

DVD Review: Exceptional release
Summary: 5 Stars

The scene opens on an upper landing outside Lulu's apartment. A man is reading the meter when Lulu emerges, flirts with him, pours him a glass of schnaps. He is quite charmed until an elderly man appears at the door and Lulu hustles him inside. The scene tells us a lot about Lulu, but not all of our first impressions are correct.

While there are some tense scenes in PANDORA'S BOX, it's not what most people would call a thriller. It is, in fact,
... a tragedy,
... black and white,
... German, and
... silent.
... Obviously, not what most people look for in a popcorn movie.

For all that, however, this film is a great romance and one of the most moving dramas on DVD. It remains a showcase of great dramatic acting, all the more remarkable when actors' voices were not recorded and communication was through glance and gesture. While Louise Brooks' portrayal of Lulu is justly famous, her costars are also extraordinary.

One example: Lulu's lover is Dr. Schoen, the editor of a prestigious newspaper. Their affection is mutual, but because Shoen cannot possibly marry a "modern woman" like Lulu in class-conscious Berlin, he announces his engagement to a woman from a respected family. But when Schoen and his fiancee walk backstage at a musical review in which Lulu plays, there is an exchange of glances. Schoen sees Lulu in costume and his fiancee immediately understands their relationship. No words are exchanged; we see the recognition in the way lips tighten and eyes widen, we see the history revealed in a glance.

Few German films of the late '20s (PANDORA'S BOX was released in 1929) have left clean prints for the DVD era. The Criterion disk is a little cloudy at times and the scenes occasionally seem out of focus and, since the story feels disjointed in places, there may also be missing footage, but this is likely the best restoration we're going to have. Such minor defects do not detract from a deeply moving story and extraordinary performances.

Several alternate musical scores are included. An audio commentary is a somewhat academic discussion of the social themes that inform the film and, in particular, feminist theory of "the gaze" is invoked to explain how Lulu's character is interpreted by the camera. The theory, I think, is interesting enough but is stretched beyond its applicability to this film.

One critic called this the best release of 2006. Yes, indeed!

DVD Review: Die B?cshe der Pandora
Summary: 5 Stars

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. Sch?n 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 na?ve 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. Sch?n, 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. Sch?n'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 St?phan Oliva
6. Audio commentary with film historians Thomas Elsaesser and Mary Anne Doane

Also recommended:
Secrets of a Soul
Diary of a Lost Girl
Lulu in Hollywood
Louise Brooks: Lulu Forever

DVD Review: Louise Brooks: Timeless Icon
Summary: 5 Stars

The only reason I watched this was because I was led to think that this film was highly artistic, and secondly, because of Louise Brooks. I can't say that I was that impressed about the film, but Louise Brook's performance was great. She was so much ahead of her time, and her beauty and appeal would fit into today's modern subcultures as well.

Description of Pandora's Box - Criterion Collection

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 with whom she comes in contact. Daring and stylish Pandora's Box is one of silent cinema's great masterworks and a testament to Brooks' dazzling individuality.Special Features:"Lulu in Berlin" (48 minutes) a rare 1971 interview with BrooksAudio commentary by film scholars Thomas Elsaesser and Mary Ann Doane"Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu" a 1998 documentaryNew restored high-definition digital transferFour different musical scoresA new video interview with documentarian Richard LeacockA new interview with G. W. Pabst's son MichaelNew and improved English subtitle translationKenneth Tynan's famous essay "The Girl in the Black Helmet"New essay by film critic J. HobermanA chapter from Louise Brooks' memoir discussing her relationship with PabstSystem Requirements:Running Time: 133 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre:?DRAMA Rating:?NR UPC:?715515020626 Manufacturer No:?CC1656DDVD

G.W. Pabst's Pandora's Box serves as a filmic window into the decadent Weimar Republic because of its tauntingly beautiful star, Louise Brooks. Brooks, encompassing the very essence of sexual allure and mystery, is iconically linked to her character, Lulu, the dancer-turned-streetwalker who captivates all men in her path with her elusive beauty. Set in Berlin, 1928, Pandora's Box is about Lulu, an aspiring star whose patron, Dr. Sch?n (Fritz Kortner), finds loyalty to his fianc? impossible because of Lulu's unsurpassed charm. Sch?n's son, Alwa, also falls in love with Lulu until a series of tragic incidents render them destitute in London, where Lulu resorts to prostitution and, in a final devastating scene, picks up her final john, Jack the Ripper. In the silent film era, Brooks's expressive face and graceful movements enabled her to epitomize a Roaring Twenties' version of feminism: innocence underpinned by sexual innuendo. Key scenes in Pandora's Box, such as when Lulu thrills at Dr. Sch?n's fianc? discovering he and Lulu embraced, or when Lulu's gleaming eyes mimic Jack the Ripper's polished knife blade, are radically risqu? examples of all-time seductive cinematic moments. The Criterion Collection's beautifully packaged release of Pandora's Box features a thorough booklet of essays and photos, as well as a biographical documentary about Brooks and an interview with Pabst's son, Michael. After languishing in obscurity for many years preceding her death in the '80s, Louise Brooks will now forever be remembered as Lulu, Hollywood's finest vixen. --Trinie Dalton

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