Louise Brooks is stunningly seductive as the gamine protagonist Lulu in "Pandora's Box," the first of two collaborations between her and acclaimed German director D.W. Pabst.
Lulu is a professional mistress, and it's no wonder why. Everyone she meets, young and old, male and female, falls under her erotic spell, and while she does very little in most cases to explicitly court thei... read more
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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 wiD
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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. Schön (Fritz Kortner), finds loyalty to his fiancé impossible because of Lulu's unsurpassed charm. Schön'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. Schön's fiancé discovering he and Lulu embraced, or when Lulu's gleaming eyes mimic Jack the Ripper's polished knife blade, are radically risqué 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
“Louise Brooks is stunningly seductive as the gamine protagonist Lulu in "Pandora's Box," the first of two collaborations between her and acclaimed German director D.W. Pabst.
Lulu is a professional mistress, and it's no wonder why. Everyone she meets, young and old, male and female, falls under her erotic spell, and while she does very little in most cases to explicitly court their attention, she does even less to discourage it. Eventually this leads to some disastrous consequences for herself and everyone around her.
The film is classic for good reason. First and foremost is presence of the beautiful Brooks, who, through Pabst's superior photography, managed to cast her spell as effectively on the viewer as she does the characters in film.
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