1929, 141 minutes
Directed by G. W. Pabst
TWO DAYS ONLY
The Silent Classic Restored
One of the masters of early German cinema, G. W. Pabst had an innate talent for discovering actresses (including Greta Garbo). And perhaps none of his female stars shone brighter than Kansas native and onetime Ziegfeld girl Louise Brooks, whose legendary persona was defined by Pabst's lurid, controversial melodrama Pandora's Box.
Sensationally modern, the film follows the downward spiral of the fiery, brash, yet innocent showgirl Lulu, whose sexual vivacity has a devastating effect on everyone she comes in contact with. Daring and stylish, Pandora's Box is one of silent cinema's great masterworks and a testament to Brooks's dazzling individuality.
“ONE OF THE MOST COMPLETE, ECSTATIC, IMPETUOUS AND RECKLESS PERFORMANCES ANYONE HAD EVER GIVEN ON SCREEN! [Brooks] makes Marlene Dietrich in THE BLUE ANGEL seem coy and calculated… Brooks is a flame fluttering in the wind of her own breath. She is danger as it had not been seen or felt before.”
– David Thomson, Moments That Made the Movies