Captured by Wedekind as an icon of the 20s sexual empowerment, Lulu went on as the heroine in the last opera of serialist Alban Berg, but she only became real, breathing and beckoning through Louise Brooks' more than human beauty, courage and talent. Pabst crowned the silent era with this masterwork, never to be forgotten.

Spare a thought for Georg Wilhelm Pabst. There are some who regard him as one of the greatest film directors of the 1920s and 1930s, but discussion of his two most famous works – Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl – often ends up focusing on his lead actress, Louise Brooks. In 1929 when the film came out, neither Pabst nor Brooks got much credit for their work. In Germany, critics and audiences disliked the extent to which Pabst changed the original source material, Frank Wedekind's plays Erdgeist and Die Büchse der Pandora. Pabst did anticipate this by referring to his film at the beginning as variations on the theme of the plays. Louise Brooks too came in for criticism, as many people (including some of the cast and crew) felt that it was wrong to cast an American actress in a role that they saw as quintessentially German. As a result, the film was not a commercial success on its release, and it was largely forgotten until critics rediscovered it in the 1950s and realised that they had found a hidden classic. Much of the credit must go to Pabst, who showed mastery in handling a wide array of disparate scenes, including a growing domestic tragedy, the hustle and bustle taking place at the back and front stage of a theatre, the seedy atmosphere of a gambling den, and the murky fog of London streets. The film also incorporates a wide range of genres including drama, melodrama, comedy, thriller and crime. A lesser director would have left a movie of uncertain tone in which the various unconnected scenes are chaotic and messy. Pabst pulls it together offering richness to each scene, and ensuring that variety is mixed with a consistency of style. The consistency is largely underpinned by his leading star, Louise Brooks. Her character Lulu dominates the film. The title is an indirect allusion to her. She appears in almost every scene, and when she is absent the linking scenes all relate to her. It might seem as if Lulu is merely Louise Brooks herself (even the name Lulu sounds like a shortened nickname for Louise). Of course Brooks was not the same as Lulu in real life, but she certainly had many similarities. Like Lulu, Brooks had enormous magnetism. She is one of the best-remembered silent movie actresses. Brooks was barely regarded as an actress at the time, and Pabst may not have helped by only permitting her to show one emotion per shot. What comes across now is her naturalness. She stares boldly out of the screen with a wide smile, and a mouth that promises fun. Even in a silent film she seems strangely modern. Her bobbed hair and bangs became popular at the time, the jet-black tresses contrasting with her pale skin. The basic storyline of Pandora's Box is lurid but bold, and takes in promiscuity, lesbianism, crime, gambling and murder. Lulu is a mistress in early scenes. Later she is a performer on stage. Next she is an enthusiastic bride whose lack of boundaries with other men, even on her wedding night, results in tragedy. Then she is a grieving widow on trial. Following on from this, she is an unrepentant fugitive from justice. She next appears in a gambling den where she is desperately struggling to avoid being sold like a sex slave. Finally she is starving on the streets of London and contemplating prostitution, where she shows a fatal compassion for one client. Lulu is a force of nature, innocent but calculating, dangerous but fun, lively but deadly. She stands outside orthodox morality, and hardly realisse that it exists. Like Pandora she opens the box, and evils fly out. Everyone who comes into contact with her is corrupted, except her father who is already a rogue. A series of tragedies follow in her wake, and she is neither wholly blameless nor wholly guilty for their occurrence. While Lulu's actions may often be wrong, her life serves to expose conventional morality as a fraud. Strip away the public display of monogamous and honest respectability, and we discover a world where people are led by secret carnal urges. Seemingly good people turn rotten. Friends become treacherous. Lulu is exploited for greed or lust, and she plays on the baser desires of others to enjoy a comfortable existence. A glimpse into the nature of this society is offered when Alwa is caught cheating at cards, and the other players are quick to move in and help themselves to his ill-gotten money. In line with conventional morality, Lulu must be punished at the end of the story. However in a final act of subversion, Pabst ensures that Lulu's undoing is caused by an act of unselfish kindness, and not by her calculating manipulation of the gallery of cracked actors who probably deserved their fate at her hands. I wrote a longer appreciation of Pandora's Box on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2021/09/08/pandoras-box-1929/

Louise Brooks is a modern icon in this wildly panoramic film, her eyes state nothing in the openness of what became the film that symbolised Lulu in Hollywood

Movie is a not too subtle morality tale. Everyone Lulu meets, lusts after her, and then gets destoyed. Louise Brooks is the movie. She is sooo pretty and charismatic, that despite Lulu's major character faults, we still root for her.

Masterpiece. The movie which ignites Louise Brooks

A flawed masterpiece which transcends itself because of Louise Brooks.

Louise Brooks lights up the screen. This is an early story of great sexuality where the young woman uses all her sexual wiles to captivate whomever she's in league with. She gets in over her head when a businessman is killed. He is in a battle with her over a gun, hoping to create a false suicide, but the gun goes off and kills him. From that point we have a relentless effort to remain undercover and steer clear of the police. The hard thing is she's so beautiful she's constantly attracting attention. Prostitution is never mentioned but it's probably a given. There is also obviously a lesbian character who desires Brooks. It is dark and sad and concludes in a way that makes us wish she drew a better lot. This film was way ahead of its time.

Painfully boring. I'm sure the plot was simple but I could barely keep up in between snoozing. So incredibly dull and I'm not usually someone too put off by the same lent films but eurghhh this.

Pabst has a brilliant eye for scene composition and lighting for black and white. Louise Brooks is stunningly beautiful and a talented actress. However, I can't go as far as to recommend the film. The story is just too implausible, even a bit silly.

The first third of this film I found kind of lightweight, Louise Brooks' absolute magnetism notwithstanding. At different times I was not sure if I was viewing the tale of an irredeemable 'Jezebel' or of a woman using everything in her power to make her way in a world dominated by men who see her as desirable above all else. The last two-thirds of the film proved to be a surprisingly nuanced and poignant portrayal of the downward spiral of the woman and those in her orbit.

It was a decent silent film, with stylish acting and sets and a very modern tone and story but I confess I liked the DVD extras better-especially the TCM biography of Louise Brooks-what a fascinating life!

Pandora's Box is an entertaining, well-shot combination of thriller and melodrama whose exceptional capability to flaunt what were at the time basic codes of morality (especially in Weimar Germany) establishes its position in film history; however, apart from its willingness to push boundaries, there is little to firmly establish Pandora's Box as an all-time classic, and I'm not entirely convinced that many of the more dangerous elements of the film were simply attempts at generating interest through shock value, as Brooks' Lulu floats from encounter to encounter in what is more a game of one-upsmanship than the dark, 'circling-the-drain' narrative that Pabst attempted to evoke. (3/5)

It was awesome to see musicians play the score live! Loved the representation as well (two women and a black man).

Loved it! You can't beat seeing movies like this on the big screen. The story was mesmerizing as Lulu goes from the height of wealthy suitors to the darkness of the streets. The added treat was the live musical accompaniment provided by composer and jazz pianist Cathlene Pineda along with trumpeter Stephanie Richards and guitarist Jeff Parker. In some ways it more mesmerizing than the film.

Best silent film of my life. Truly crush and spiritual.

Pandora's Box is the sort of film an actor would kill to have themselves immortalized in cinematic history in the way Louise Brooks' legendary, seductive (I might be a homosexual, but I'd be damned if I didn't find her transfixing and attractive), inimitable performance as Lulu. Her performance is often hailed as one of the greatest ever captured on film and needless to say, the rumors are true. Louise Brooks as Lulu is one of the greatest performances ever recorded. I'd been curious about silent films and had only seen a very select few before coming across this one. Pandora's Box is always listed as one of the all-time greats of silent cinema, but it certainly comes at a cost (I bought the out-of-print Criterion Collection edition from Amazon for over $90. Now the price is over $120 at the time of this review. I have no regrets about what I paid for it). The story follows a beautiful woman named Lulu whose beauty and actions send her along with others around her in a downward spiral resulting in death, running from the law, broken hearts, and then some as she inadvertently leaves a trail of destruction in her wake. It's a film about desires, the reckless abandon of human nature, otherworldly beauty (Which Brooks certainly exuded) and how others seek to obtain it, morals, and even more. There's a lot to chew on in this superb drama (It also features the first know example of a lesbian character to boot) and it is certainly not only one of the great silent films, but also one of the great classics of the medium as a whole. This is a rare, once in a lifetime sort of performance that lovers of cinema must see as Louise Brooks deserves to be hailed as one of the greatest actors of all time. Pandora's Box is a masterpiece of cinema that should not be missed.

It is hard to evaluate this film. I think it is visually stunning and I appreciate its role in silent film, but I found it slightly hard to follow and overly long.

Only a sadist could like this movies. It's incredibly long and boring. Just because it is old doesn't mean it is still good.

Pandora's Box is an undoubtedly influential and brave movie (for the time), featuring heavy themes, an elaborate storyline, and G.W. Pabst's assured direction.

The plot is not worth describing, being so much nonsense, and don't even mention the characterisation. This film survives solely due to the timeless luminescence of Louise Brooks, who is vivacious, vulnerable and thoroughly seductive. Saw as part of the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival 2016 with live piano accompaniment which highlighted the melodrama.