Die Büchse der Pandora (1929)

Director:

Georg Wilhelm Pabst

Writers:

Frank Wedekind (plays)
Ladislaus Vajda (scenario)
(more)

Release Date:

22 February 1930 (Japan)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Plot:

The rise and inevitable fall of an amoral but naive young woman whose insouciant eroticism inspires lust and violence in those around her.

Plot Keywords:

Violence | Lust | Escape | Rose | Controversy

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Louise Brooks	...	Lulu
Fritz Kortner	...	Dr. Ludwig Schön
Francis Lederer	...	Alwa Schön (as Franz Lederer)
Carl Goetz	...	Schigolch
Krafft-Raschig	...	Rodrigo Quast
Alice Roberts	...	Gräfin Geschwitz - Countess Anna Geschwitz
Daisy D'Ora	...	Charlotte Marie Adelaide v. Zarnikow - braut Dr. Schöns - Dr. Schön's Bride (as Daisy d'Ora)
Gustav Diessl	...	Jack the Ripper (as Gustav Diesel)
Michael von Newlinsky	...	Marquis Casti-Piani (as Michael v. Newlinsky)
Sig Arno	...	Der inspizient - the instructor (as Siegfried Arno)

Directed by
Georg Wilhelm Pabst

Writing credits
Frank Wedekind		(plays "Erdgeist" and "Die Büchse der Pandora")
Ladislaus Vajda		(scenario)
Joseph Fleisler		titles (uncredited)
Georg Wilhelm Pabst		uncredited

Produced by
Heinz Landsmann	....	producer
Seymour Nebenzal	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Stuart Oderman		(uncredited)
William P. Perry		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Günther Krampf

Film Editing by
Joseph Fleisler		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Andrej Andrejew		(as Andrejew)
Gottlieb Hesch		(as Hesch)
Ernö Metzner		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Gottlieb Hesch		(uncredited)

Production Management
Georg C. Horetsky	....	production manager (as Georg C. Horsetzky)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Marc Sorkin	....	assistant director
Paul Falkenberg	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Marcel Tuszkay	....	graphic designer

Production Companies

• Nero-Film AG

Distributors

• Süd-Film (1929) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Moviegraphs (1929) (USA) (theatrical)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1977) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1984) (Finland) (TV) (1992)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• Divisa Home Video (2004) (Spain) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Cult & Classic (Brazil) (VHS)
• Filmmuseum München (????) (worldwide) (all media) (as Film Museum München)
• Grapevine Video (video)
• Janus Films (????) (USA) (all media)
• Sultan Video (VHS)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2002) (Australia) (DVD)
• Video Dimensions (VHS)

Also Known As:

Pandora's Box (UK) (USA)
Lulu
The Box of Pandora (International: English title)

Runtime:

Germany:133 min (restored version) | USA:109 min | Belgium:152 min (Copy with French titles at Brussels Musée du Cinéma) | 131 min (original version) (21.4 fps) | 110 min (VHS version)

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Germany:(Banned) (1933-1945) | Portugal:17 (original release) | Portugal:(Banned) (1936-1945) | Portugal:M/12 (DVD rating) | Norway:(Banned) (1929) | UK:A (1929) | UK:PG (1993) | Australia:PG | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Argentina:13 | Finland:(Banned) (1929) | Sweden:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Nero-Film Studio, Berlin, Germany

Company:

Nero-Film AG

Trivia:

Countess Anna is considered by historians to be cinema's first lesbian character.

Goofs:

Continuity: As Lulu looks at herself in the mirror after the wedding, the wedding dress is off her right shoulder. The position of the dress on her right arm and shoulder varies between shots from when she is confronted by Dr Schon till his death.

Quotes:

Lulu: [referring to the Egyptian] He's acting like he wants to buy me.
Marquis Casti-Piani: I need money badly and you have none to give me... The Egyptian will give me 50 more pounds than the German police... You're in luck.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu (1998)

Astonishingly modern

I had heard "Pandora's Box" called a German Expressionist film, the class to which such great and outlandish films as Wiene's "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari", and Lang's "Metropolis" and the sadly dated but very interesting "Nosferatu" by Walter Murnau, I expected it to have the same elements-- extremely stylized acting and direction, bizarre artificial sets, and a general atmosphere of utter surreality. So I was very surprised at and fascinated with the naturalism of G. W. Pabst's "Pandora's Box", particularly with Louise Brook's celebrated performance as the cheerful, childlike, tragic femme fatale Lulu. Pabst's direction is essentially modern, even without the use of sound. While sometimes the direction and acting in even "Caligari" and "Metropolis" provoke laughter from the bemused audience,"Pandora's Box" holds the viewer spellbound, and its not infrequent humor is intentional. Like other German Expressionist silent films, "Pandora's Box" has a dark message. From the beginning, however, it is far less stylized, and the settings look like they might actually have existed in the 1920's, instead of only in someone's dream world. Nevertheless the film makes excellent use of Expressionistic lighting and chiaroscuro, which highlights the visions of fruitless and immoral frivolity, desperate gambling and unhealthy sexuality.

Altogether, this film is beautiful and absorbing, and even if nothing else, it should not be missed for Louise Brooks' superb performance.