Pandora's Box Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: Pandora's Box
Year: 1929
Director: Georg Wilhelm Pabst
Country: Germany
Language: German

Born on November 14, 1906 in Kansas, USA Louise Brooks would become one of the most intriguing women in film during the silent era.  Known mostly for her attractive hair style, she was viewed as incredibly beautiful during her career, unfortunately her beauty made her very unpopular among the elite, mainly because other actors viewed her as competition. She did not follow the norms of society and she really became an enemy when she left Hollywood for Europe. Pandora's Box would be one of her European films.

Director Georg Wilhelm Pabst's film is about the rise and fall of an amoral but naive young prostitute (Louise Brooks) whose incredible eroticism inspires lust and violence in those around her. She is essentially the human form of the greek myth regarding an artifact known as "Pandora's box"

Like Wiene's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Lang's Metropolis and Murnau's Nosferatu, this picture is a high caliber German Expressionist piece. The lighting and design create an impressive and intoxicating atmosphere, full of lust, desire and danger, This is a psycho-sexual melodrama that would likely have never seen the light of day in Brook's home country. It's not as exploitative as the erotic dramas of today, but perhaps because Pabst leaves a lot to the imagination it is still relevant and shocking.

Louise Brooks is both uncompromising and realistic in her role as Lulu. She is a well crafted character who avoids simplistic notions of "good" or "evil". The character is incredibly complex for her time, starkly different than any other female that could be seen in theaters. The film's take on homosexuality was revolutionary and it deserves great praise for that.

In conclusion, Pandora's Box is a remarkable German Silent film that is still enjoyable to watch 84 years after its theatrical release. It has very feminist and LGBT qualities which can be analyzed to death.  Pabst has made one of the greatest silent films to ever be produced, starring one of the most beautiful women to ever grace the screen. Praise it! 5/5