Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Pandora's Box Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 27, 2024

Georg Wilhelm Pabst's "Pandora's Box" (1929) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include archival program with Louise Brooks; archival documentary; archival audio commentary by film studies professors Thomas Elsaesser and May Ann Doane; new trailer; and more. With German intertitles and optional English subtitles. Region-A "locked".

Even if one digs very deep into the annals of silent cinema, one would inevitably conclude that Georg Wilhelm Pabst’s Pandora’s Box remains in a category of its own. It is not because it deals with a subject, or subjects, other films from the silent era do not. It is not because it is a visual spectacle whose creativity and brilliance are unmatched. Pandora’s Box remains in a category of its own because its grasp of the human condition is timeless.

It is broken into multiple acts -- the new restoration introduced on this release, which is also a reconstruction job, reveals eight -- that chronicle the rise and demise of the young and gorgeous Lulu (Louise Brooks), whose awareness of the power of her beauty has transformed her into an irresistible, most pragmatic chameleon. Lulu comes from the streets and her goal is to avoid any scenario that sends her back there, so while making ends meet as a dancer and courtesan, she uses the right opportunity to force newspaper magnate Dr. Ludwig Schon (Fritz Kortner) to abandon his fiancé (Daisy D'Ora) and instead marry her. However, Lulu’s ticket to permanent prosperity is canceled on her wedding day, after Dr. Schon sees her in the company of two men promising an even more exciting future and, shortly after, overwhelmed by shame and jealousy, forces her to kill him with his gun.

This is where Lulu's journey back to the bottom of society begins. Having already played with and conquered the heart and mind of Dr. Schon’s son, Alwa (Francis Lederer), Lulu easily earns a courtroom confession that she is innocent. When the jury ignores it, Lulu, assisted by Alwa, her former guardian Schigolch (Carl Goetz), and a few more old street friends, escapes from the courtroom and becomes a fugitive. They board a train heading to Paris, but are blackmailed by a shady character and eventually convinced to hide in a different, far less glamorous place where compulsive gamblers, courtesans, and all kinds of different opportunists coexist in peace without being bothered by the police. But it is not long before Alwa loses all of their money playing poker, and Lulu begins selling tricks to middle-aged men with deep pockets to make ends meet. In a desperate attempt to reset their lives yet again, the two then relocate to London, where a disillusioned Lulu earns a date with Jack the Ripper (Gustav Diessl).

Pandora’s Box does not see its characters as good and bad, strong and weak, moral and immoral. It sees them as flawed human beings who participate in the grand game of life and struggle to make the best plays they can to emerge victorious in different situations. More importantly, it understands that all of them, regardless of their social background, are buyers and sellers.

Lulu sells her beauty, which is her only marketable quality. She can dance, but not well enough to build a career and escape poverty. She is smart, but not properly educated to attract the right bachelor who can give her the cozy life she desires. She has feelings and is not afraid to reveal them, but they are not as strong as her desire to change her environment.

Because Pandora’s Box acknowledges the buyer-seller dynamic without moralistic preaching, and because it acknowledges that despite acting as a chameleon Lulu remains an ordinary girl, its grasp of the human condition is still relevant today. In fact, it is so precise, it makes it impossible not to speculate that all similar films made after it have in one way or another utilized it. (Consider this: Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls produces a kitschy contemporary replica of the decadent environment Lulu attempts to leave, with a star who shares Lulu's philosophy of life, and multiple other characters who think and behave exactly like those around her. All of its drama is fueled by the same buyer-seller dynamic as well. But because Showgirls is too explicit and outlandishly acted, it enjoys a different reputation).

Brooks is considered an icon of the silent film era for a good reason. In front of the camera, she looks astonishingly elegant in a way that other female stars of her generation do not. It is why decades later, top designers in Italy and France routinely used images from various films she made to promote their haute couture brands.

Pandora's Box Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Pandora's Box arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this release:

"This 2K restoration was created from three duplicate elements from the collections of Cinematheque francaise, Gosfilmofond, and Narodny filmovi archiv. Funder 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.

Restoration supervisor: Martin Koerber.
Restoration: Haghefilm Conservation BV, Amsterdam."

The release introduces a new 2K restoration, which as highlighted above is also a complex reconstruction job. I did several comparisons with Criterion's DVD release from 2006.

While certain surface imperfections remain, the overall quality of the visuals is much better, often even dramatically better. Why exactly? The improvements are in different areas, but are not consistent because of the condition of the elements that were used. Because of this, different areas look better, or much better, for different reasons. I am going to list several. For example, there are significant improvements in terms of image stability, so while some light jerkiness may be spotted in a few places, the constant image jumps and shifts from the previous presentation are gone. Delineation, clarity, and depth are superior. Fluctuations remain, and in some areas trained eyes will easily notice that content is merged from different sources, but there is just a lot more to see now. All visuals, even the most problematic ones, have a superior organic appearance. In fact, this is probably the most significant improvement because the entire film now looks like film. The previous presentation gives it a video-ish quality. The grayscale of the visuals is much better, too. Shadow nuances, other darker nuances, and all kinds of different highlights look significantly better. While uneven grain is better exposed and resolved as well. So, considering the history and available materials, I think that the new 2K restoration is an all-around winner.

Pandora's Box Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are four standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (for the orchestral score), DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (for the cabaret score), DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (for the modern orchestral score), and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (for the piano improvisation score). Optional English subtitles are provided for the German intertitles.

I am little surprised that no one bothered to create a modern, perhaps electronic, soundtrack for Pandora's Box, considering how influential the film has become among younger viewers. The four scores listed above are interesting, but I think that all of them are underwhelming in different ways. I stayed the most with the piano score, though in the latter stages of the film, where the drama intensifies, in some areas the harmonies became too abstract. All four tracks reproduce studio recordings, so their dynamic ranges vary in different ways. The modern orchestral score seems to be the most diverse one.

Pandora's Box Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by film studies professors Thomas Elsaesser and May Ann Doane. It initially appeared on Criterion's DVD release of Pandora's Box from 2006.

• Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu - this archival documentary takes a closer look at the life and legacy of Louise Brooks. It was produced by Hugh Munro Neely for Turner Classic Movies in 1998. In English, not subtitled. (60 min).

• Lulu in Berlin - presented here is an archival interview with Louise Brooks conducted by producer-directors Richard Leacock and Susan Steinberg Woll at the star's apartment in Rochester, New York, in 1971. A portion of the interview is dedicated on the production of Pandora's Box. In English, not subtitled. (49 min).

• Richard Leacock on Louise Brooks - in this archival program, Richard Leacock recalls his encounter and interview with Louise Brooks that he was lucky to conduct decades earlier. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• The Shadow of My Father - in this archival program, Michael Pabst discusses his relationship with his father, director Georg Wilhelm Pabst, Pandora's Box, and Louise Brooks' famous character. The program was produced for Criterion in 2006. In German, with English subtitles. (35 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a trailer for the recent 2K restoration of Pandora's Box. With English intertitles. (2 min).

• Booklet - a 94-page illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic J. Hoberman, notes on the scores, Kenneth Tynan's 1979 "The Girl in the Black Helmet," and an article by Louise Brooks on her relationship with Georg Wilhelm Pabst, as well as technical credits.

Pandora's Box Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

They say that the Weimar Republic was a place that frequently revealed striking contrasts and eventually collapsed under the weight of its decadence. There is plenty of evidence that the former is true, but I am unsure about the latter. Some of these contrasts define the reality in which Lulu exists, and what I find most interesting is that many of them are replicated in our reality. So, even though Pandora's Box comes from the silent era, it is a film that can easily connect with younger viewers who typically avoid silent films. Criterion's Blu-ray release introduces a wonderful new 2K restoration that makes it possible to experience Pandora's Box in an entirely new way. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.