Reviews of silent film releases on home video. Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett and the Silent Era Company. All Rights Reserved.

Pandora’s Box (1929)

Louise Brooks remains one of the silent era’s most enduring icons. Yet her American film career was short and largely undistinguished. It took a trip to Germany to make this film to forever place her name in the books of silent film history. Pandora’s Box retains a place on the short list of the greatest films of the silent era.

When German director G.W. Pabst wanted to make a film version of the passionately-loved German play Die Büchse der Pandora, his greatest obstacle was effectively casting an actress in the part of the play’s central character, the prostitute Lulu. Several well-known German actresses were considered, but the role ultimately went to an American actress. The thought of the Kansas-born Brooks playing the beloved part of Lulu enraged some staunch Germanics. Yet, nationalities aside, the casting of Louise Brooks as Lulu turned out to be an artistic gamble that brilliantly paid off.

Brooks’ performance has the right balance of innocence and worldliness. And it is a masterful portrayal of the childish shallowness of Lulu, who is largely untouched by the ebb and flow of dark fate churning around her. Yet, to be minutely picky, there are shots where it seems as though Brooks is also only instinctively responding to Pabst’s off-camera direction, that she is unsure of which direction to take her performance until prompted. We ultimately don’t care about such things. We are captivated by Lulu as hopelessly as the film’s men who follow her to feed off her aura. And we love Louise Brooks.

— Carl Bennett

The film is accompanied by four optional music scores composed and performed by Gillian Anderson, Dimitar Pentchev, Peer Raben and Stéphan Oliva.

Supplemental material includes audio commentary by film scholars Thomas Elsaesser and Mary Ann Doane; two documentaries, Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu (1998) and Lulu in Berlin (1971), which includes a rare filmed interview with Brooks; an interview with Lulu in Berlin director Richard Leacock; an interview with G.W. Pabst’s son, Michael; and an insert booklet featuring an essay by critic J. Hoberman, and notes on the music scores.

This is our recommended North American home video edition of the film.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region A Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region A Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
This Region A Blu-ray Disc edition is also available directly from . . .

The film is accompanied by an orchestral music score by Peer Raben.

Supplemental material includes new audio commentary by critic Pamela Hutchinson; a visual appreciation by author and critic Kat Ellinger; new video essays by David Cairns and Fiona Watson; featurette on the restoration of the film with an interview with Martin Koerber; stills gallery.

This is our recommended European home video edition of the film. North American collectors will need a region-free Blu-ray Disc player to view this BD edition.

United Kingdom: Click the logomark to purchase this Region B Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.co.uk. Support Silent Era.

The film is accompanied by an orchestral music score by Peer Raben.

Supplemental material includes new audio commentary by critic Pamela Hutchinson; a visual appreciation by author and critic Kat Ellinger; new video essays by David Cairns and Fiona Watson; stills gallery; 60-page book with essays by critics Alexandra Heller Nicholas, Imogen Sara Smith and Richard Combs.

North American collectors will need a region-free Blu-ray Disc player to view this BD edition limited to 3000 sets total.

United Kingdom: Click the logomark to purchase this Region B Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.co.uk. Support Silent Era.

The film is accompanied by four optional music scores composed and performed by Gillian Anderson, Dimitar Pentchev, Peer Raben and Stéphan Oliva.

Supplemental material includes audio commentary by film scholars Thomas Elsaesser and Mary Ann Doane; two documentaries, Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu (1998) and Lulu in Berlin (1971), which includes a rare filmed interview with Brooks; an interview with Lulu in Berlin director Richard Leacock; an interview with G.W. Pabst’s son, Michael; and an insert booklet featuring an essay by critic J. Hoberman, and notes on the music scores.

This is our recommended DVD home video edition of the film.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
This Region 1 NTSC DVD edition is also available directly from . . .

This high-quality DVD edition features a new high-definition digital video transfer from the definitive Munich Filmmuseum restoration print, created from a composite of 35mm prints and digitally cleaned using the MTI Digital Restoration System. Much of the source prints’ shortcomings have been corrected, including the occasional print warping and jittery image instability. The results are magnificent in direct comparison to previous home video editions mastered from average-quality duplicate prints. Some flaws do still remain including vertical emulsion scratches, which are few, and the occasional speckling — however, this edition is such an improvement over previous laserdisc and videotape editions, with its balanced greytone range, intact highlight details and open shadows, it is a joy to watch — especially on a high-definition monitor.

The English language subtitles have been retranslated for improved transliteration, and the presentation is accompanied by four different music scores. A traditional orchestral score by Gillian Anderson is presented in both Dolby 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo mixes. Three other scores — a modern-style orchestral score by Peer Raben, a cabaret-inspired score by Dimitar Pentchev, and a solo piano score by Stéphan Oliva — are presented in Dolby 2.0 stereo. All are excellent listening.

Among the supplementary materials are audio commentary by film scholars Thomas Elsaesser and Mary Ann Doane; two documentaries, Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu (1998) and Lulu in Berlin (1971), which includes a rare filmed interview with Brooks; an interview with Lulu in Berlin director Richard Leacock; and an interview with G.W. Pabst’s son, Michael.

Also included in the package is a booklet featuring Kenneth Tynan’s famous essay “The Girl in the Black Helmet,” a chapter from Brooks’ autobiography on her relationship with Pabst, and a new essay by critic J. Hoberman.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
This Region 1 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued and is . . .

North American collectors will need a region-free PAL DVD player capable of outputting an NTSC-compatible signal to view this edition.

This Region 0 PAL DVD edition has been discontinued and is . . .

North American collectors will need a region-free PAL DVD player capable of outputting an NTSC-compatible signal to view this edition.

This Region 2 PAL DVD edition has been discontinued and is . . .

Other silent era G.W. PABST films available on home video.