Title:Pandora's Box

Date: 1929
Type: Drama
Rating: 4/5
Colour: Black and White Silent
Director: Georg Wilhelm Pabst
Producer: Heinz Landsmann


Comment
This is a great silent German film from the late 1920's that tells the story of Lulu who is the mistress of a man who is engaged, but then marries him, shoots him and goes on the run after being helped to escape from court by her friends. This has a good story with enough twists to keep the viewer engaged. In essence it is a critic of the vices of the period including promiscuity, prostitution, greed, gambling, murder, lust and ambition. The best performance in the film is from American actress Louise Brooks who combines her sexuality with naivety when it comes to relationships. Whilst this is classed a German expressionist film is was produced in a much more realistic style than films like Lange's Metropolis and is notable for one of the first portrayals of a lesbian relationship. This is well worth watching even if you would not normally watch silent black and white films.
Actors
Louise Brooks
Francis Lederer
Alice Roberts
Fritz Kortner
Carl Goetz
Carl Raschig
Gustav Diesel
Oscars
None
Production
Janus Films