Based on Frank Wedekind’s plays Erdgeist (Earth Spirit, 1895) and Die Büchse der Pandora (Pandora’s Box, 1904), writer/director G.W. Pabst’s Pandora’s Box takes its title from Greek mythology about a woman, Pandora, whose curiousity unleashes misery onto the world. Misery is unleashed upon many who come into contact with Lulu (Louise Brooks) when they give into the darker angels of their nature.
Buy Pandora’s Box Criterion Collection Blu-rayThe beautiful Lulu (Louise Brooks) is the mistress of newspaper publisher, Dr. Ludwig Schön (Fritz Kortner). She becomes upset when he reveals he is going to marry Charlotte (Daisy D’ora), a more respectable choice for a man of his status in society. To pacify Lulu, he suggests she star in the musical revue by his son Alwa (Francis Lederer), who is also in love with Lulu. Ludwig’s desire makes unable to stay away from Lulu, and Charlotte cancels the wedding when she finds out. Ludwig decides to marry Lulu even though he knows it will be his doom.
Ludwig knows himself well as his jealousy is so intense that during the wedding reception he threatens Lulu’s former patron Schigolch (Carl Goetz) and his friend Rodrigo. Fearing Lulu will drive him to murder, Ludwig puts a gun in her hand and orders her to commit suicide. She refuses, and in a tussle that Pabst blocks from the camera view, the gun goes off, killing Ludwig.
Lulu goes on trial and is convicted of manslaughter, but Schigolch arranges for her escape from the courthouse. Alwa discovers her at his home, but rather than turn her into the authorities, his love for her sends the couple on the run. Traveling with a fugitive is not easy, and the pair constantly find themselves in increasingly desperate circumstances with increasingly disreputable people. They are victim to blackmailers who learn their secret. While hiding in London, the writing is literally on the wall as a notice is posted about a serial killer of women is on the loose, a most inopportune turn of events as Lulu has now resorted to prostitution.
Pandora’s Box is a captivating morality tale that blends genres, from doomed love story to crime drama; however, aside from the puritanical views of the times that frowned upon pre-martial sex, Lulu does nothing initially for which she should be punished. Yet, as with many stories, women, such as Lulu, Pandora, and Eve, are scapegoated for the failings of men and are punished alongside them. But it’s not hard to understand why the men, and Countess Augusta Geschwitz (Alice Roberts), fall under Lulu’s spell. Brooks is gorgeous, modern, and exudes a joie de vivre that remains appealing nearly 100 years later.
The video has been given a 1080p/MPEG-4 AVC encoded transfer displayed at the original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. At the onset, a title card states “No original negative nor original print of the film is known to exist. What survives today is the result of inferior duplication completed in the fifties and sixties, struck from severely damaged material full of technical imperfections that seemed to be photographically inscribed forever.” and goes onto explain what took place in order to get this version
Also the following text appears inside the liner notes: “This 2K restoration was created from three duplicate elements from the collections of Cinematheque francaise, Gosfilmofond, and Narodny filmovi archiv. Funded by Hugh M. Hefner, this restoration was a collaboration between the George Eastman Museum, Cinemathequa francaise, Cineteca di Bologna, Gosfilmofond, and Narodny filmovi archiv, and the Deutcshe Kimenathek – Museum fur Film and Fernsehen.”
The blacks have a rich inkiness and contribute to the image’s strong contrast. Film grain is inconsistent but apparent. Also noticeable in the image are shadow delineation and depth. There are some minor scratches and rare blooming whites, but considering the sources available in creating this new restoration, those are minor quibbles.
There are four musical scores, and all had different strengths and weaknesses. Orchestral by Gillian Anderson is in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 fills the surrounds. There are three in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Cabaret by Dimitar Pentchev, which evokes the music from the Weimer era. The Modern Orchestral by Peer Raben may be my preferred track as it paired best with the visuals. The Piano Improvisation by Stéphan Oliva, while enjoyable could at times sound too discordant during emotional moments.
The Special Features are:
- Audio commentary by film scholars Thomas Elsaesser and Mary Ann Doane
- Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu (60 min) – Narrated by Shirley MacLaine, this TCM documentary from 1998 by Hugh Munro Neeley tells the actress’s story. Brooks appears in a 1976 archival interview.
- Lulu in Berlin (48 min) – A 1971 interview of Brooks by producer-directors Richard Leacock and Susan Steinberg Woll.
- Richard Leacock on Louise Brooks (5 min) – Recorded for Criterion in 2006, Leacock spoke about the actress and the previous interview.
- Michael Pabst (34 min) – Recorded for Criterion in 2006, the director’s son speaks about his father and the work.
- An essay by critic J. Hoberman, notes on the scores, Kenneth Tynan’s 1979 “The Girl in the Black Helmet” from The New Yorker, and an article by Brooks on her relationship with Pabst.
A classic of German silent cinema, Pandora’s Box still retains its power as a cautionary story nearly a century later. Kudos to all responsible for this new restoration, which has its own story that is equally compelling. The high-definition video looks quite good considering the sources. The special features allow viewers a deeper dive into the film and its star.
