--- title: "Pandora's Box" year: 1929 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/pandoras-box" fi1m_id: "pandoras-box" imdb_id: "tt0018737" tmdb_id: 905 wikidata_id: "Q700736" fi1m_score: 88 critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 9 published: "2026-09-25T00:16:46.793118+00:00" updated: "2026-09-25T00:16:53.480021+00:00" region: "CA" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Pandora's Box (1929) Directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst · 2h 21m · Drama, Crime, Romance ## Identity Pandora's Box - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/pandoras-box - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** pandoras-box - **IMDb ID:** tt0018737 - **TMDB ID:** 905 - **Wikidata ID:** Q700736 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018737/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/905, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q700736 **Fi1m score: 88** · Critics 82 from 9 reviews *In a sentence:* Half of Berlin queues up to tell Lulu what she means; she just keeps dancing > Pabst’s silent film about a dancer and the men who ruin themselves over her is carried by Louise Brooks, who acts as if the rest of 1929 had not been invited. It sags in the middle and it moralises, and we would still send you to it. ## Synopsis Berlin, the late 1920s. Lulu (Louise Brooks) is a dancer kept in a comfortable flat by Dr Ludwig Schön (Fritz Kortner), a newspaper publisher who has just become engaged to Charlotte von Zarnikow (Daisy D’Ora). Lulu is not told to move out, she is asked to be discreet, and she has never been discreet in her life. Schigolch (Carl Goetz), a shabby old man she calls her first patron, turns up with the strongman Rodrigo Quast (Krafft-Raschig) and a plan to put her in a trapeze act. Schön’s son Alwa (Francis Lederer) writes her into his revue instead, with Countess Geschwitz (Alice Roberts) designing the costumes and watching Lulu rather more closely than the sketches. On opening night Lulu spots Schön in the wings with his fiancée, and refuses to go on. ## Review Georg Wilhelm Pabst directed *Pandora’s Box* and wrote it with Ladislaus Vajda, with the editor Joseph Fleisler also credited as a writer. The material is a fable: Lulu, a dancer with no visible past and no plans, passes through the lives of a publisher, his son, a countess, a strongman and a scavenging old man, and each of them comes out worse. At 141 minutes it is long for a silent film and it feels long in one stretch, which we will come to. It is also one of the few films of its period we would put in front of someone who thinks they do not like silent films, because the woman at the centre of it does not seem to know she is in one. That is Louise Brooks. Everyone else in the cast acts in the manner of the day, with the hand to the brow and the slow turn to camera, and Brooks simply stands there with her black helmet of hair and looks at people. In the dressing-room scene, where Lulu has refused to perform and Dr Schön (Fritz Kortner) comes to shout her onto the stage, her face goes from fury to delight to something like pity in the space of a few cuts, and none of it is signalled. We felt caught, as though we had been watching a real person through a door. When the door does open, and it does, we understood the whole film in her expression before the intertitle arrived to explain it. Günther Krampf shoots her in close-up more than anyone else in the picture, and lights her from the side so the hair is a hard black shape and the face is almost white. The backstage sequence is the best-made thing in the film: Fleisler cuts among stagehands, dancers in feathers, a drum, Sig Arno’s stage manager waving both arms, and Lulu sulking in a corner, and the rhythm gets faster as the curtain gets closer. Bohumil Heš puts Lulu in pale satin and the Countess Geschwitz (Alice Roberts) in a tailored dark jacket and tie, so that when they stand together you can read the whole relationship from the clothes. The men are drawn in a thicker line. Kortner plays Schön with his jaw locked and his hands working, and it is effective without being subtle. Carl Goetz’s Schigolch is the film’s sly comic turn, a man who can find a drink in any room and asks nothing of Lulu except that she keep him. Krafft-Raschig’s Rodrigo is all chest. Francis Lederer’s Alwa is the weakest of them, a boy who loves Lulu the way a boy loves a poster, and the film knows it. Alice Roberts gets less than she deserves; Geschwitz is the only character who wants nothing from Lulu but Lulu, and Pabst keeps her on the edge of the frame. The second half travels, and it slows. There is a trial, with Karl Etlinger’s defence attorney pleading against a prosecutor who compares Lulu to Pandora, and then a stretch on a gambling ship where the Marquis Casti-Piani (Michael von Newlinsky) trades in her as if she were cargo. We were bored on the ship, and then irritated, because the film had stopped watching Lulu and started explaining her. The script wants her to be a force of nature that men bring ruin upon themselves by touching, and the intertitles keep saying so. Brooks keeps quietly disagreeing. She plays a woman who likes people and does not think ahead, and that is a good deal more frightening than a myth. The last reels are set in London fog, and Gustav Diessl appears as a stranger who befriends Lulu. We will say nothing about what happens except that Krampf lights it with a single candle and that it is tender for far longer than we were braced for, and the tenderness is what horrified us. It is a silent film, so it is only as good as whoever is playing under it. Give it a decent accompaniment and one sitting. The first ten minutes, Lulu in her flat teasing the meter reader, will tell you whether Brooks has you. In our experience she does. *Fi1m score 88, published 25 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics treat Pandora’s Box as a classic, and the reviews are close to unanimous. Nearly every one comes back to Louise Brooks as Lulu: expressive, commanding, and the main reason the film still holds. Pabst’s direction gets almost as much credit, in particular the close-ups, the fluid camera and the lighting, which several critics describe as unusually modern for 1929. The film’s erotic charge and its moral unease come up repeatedly, as does the final sequence. The spread is narrow and there is no outright dissent. The one clear reservation comes from Empire, which finds the restored, uncut version slow in places while still calling it bold and compelling. A few of the later reviews, written around reissues, spend as much time on the restoration’s contrast and sharpness as on the film itself, which suggests critics now take its standing as settled and are arguing about the print. ## Straight answers **Is Pandora's Box worth watching?** *Pandora's Box* is worth watching, and we scored it 88, chiefly for Louise Brooks, who plays Lulu as if nobody had told her silent films were meant to be acted broadly. It runs 141 minutes and sags badly in the gambling-ship stretch, and the intertitles moralise where Brooks does not. Give it one sitting and a decent musical accompaniment, and the first ten minutes will tell you whether she has you. **How long is Pandora's Box, and what is it rated?** *Pandora's Box* runs 2h 21m. It is a drama and crime film. **Where can I watch Pandora's Box in Canada?** *Pandora's Box* is streaming on Tubi in Canada. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Pandora's Box, and is it suitable for children?** *Pandora's Box* has no UK certificate and is unrated in the US, and it is an adult drama rather than a violent one: a kept woman, a publisher's jealousy, a countess who watches her too closely, and a run of men who ruin themselves over her. Very little is shown, but the subject matter and the late-film tenderness that turns to horror are not for children. Older teenagers with patience for a silent film will be fine. **How does Pandora's Box compare to Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans?** *Pandora's Box* and [*Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans*](https://film.one/film/sunrise-a-song-of-two-humans) are both late-1920s silents lit for the night, and Murnau's is the tighter and gentler of the two, a marriage told with a moving camera and a small cast. Pabst's film is longer, colder and uneven, but it has Louise Brooks, and no performance in *Sunrise* matches her. Start with *Sunrise* if you are new to silents; come to *Pandora's Box* for the woman at its centre. **What should I watch after Pandora's Box?** After *Pandora's Box*, try [*Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans*](https://film.one/film/sunrise-a-song-of-two-humans) (1927, Fi1m 88): Murnau’s silent about a marriage and a city, for anyone who liked Krampf’s night light. Then [*Mulholland Drive*](https://film.one/film/mulholland-drive) (2001, Fi1m 92): Lynch’s Hollywood dream of a girl who arrives from nowhere and undoes everyone. ### Reviews we read (9) - **Little White Lies**, Caroline Golum (5/5/5): The critic says the reissue reaffirms the film’s classic status. She particularly praises Louise Brooks’s iconic performance and Pabst’s intimate close-ups. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/pandoras-box) - **Time Out**, Wally Hammond (90/100, inferred): Hammond presents Pabst’s film as an extraordinary, tragic masterpiece. He singles out its erotic force and its adaptation of two works. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/pandoras-box) - **Los Angeles Times**, Mark Chalon Smith (85/100, inferred): Smith regards the film as a subtle, impressively crafted silent classic. He especially praises Louise Brooks’s vivid, captivating performance and the film’s striking final sequence. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-10-14-ol-45488-story.html) - **Sight and Sound** (85/100, inferred): The critic praises the film as a classic, highlighting Louise Brooks’s captivating performance as Lulu. They also single out Pabst’s meticulous direction and the fluid camera work and expressive lighting. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/856e9118-c9db-56c4-8da6-3c4a8ba66aed/pandoras-box) - **Slant Magazine**, Ed Gonzalez (4/5): Gonzalez praises the film as a modern, morally unsettling masterpiece. He singles out its visionary chiaroscuro and the Criterion transfer’s improved contrast and sharpness. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/pandoras-box-blu-ray-review-g-w-pabst/) - **The Guardian**, Philip French (80/100, inferred): French regards Pandora’s Box as the better of two great silent films. He praises Brooks’s expressive performance and the films’ subtle, fluent maturity. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/may/20/dvdreviews) - **Empire**, David Parkinson (70/100, inferred): Parkinson finds the restored, uncut film bold and compelling despite occasional slowness. He especially praises Louise Brooks’s captivating performance and Pabst’s technically accomplished visual style. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/pandora-box-review/) - **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The page could not be accessed, so the critic’s verdict is unavailable. No praise or complaint can be verified from the accessible text. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/25/movies/film-review-seeking-pandora-s-box-aristocratically-of-course.html) - **Eye for Film**, Jennie Kermode (90/100, inferred): Kermode considers the film a highly accomplished classic that still stands out among its era’s treasures. She especially praises Louise Brooks’s commanding performance and Pabst’s striking visual style. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/pandoras-box-1929-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) ## Details - **Director:** Georg Wilhelm Pabst - **Director:** Georg Wilhelm Pabst - **Screenplay:** Ladislaus Vajda, Georg Wilhelm Pabst - **Writer:** Joseph Fleisler - **Cinematography:** Günther Krampf - **Editor:** Joseph Fleisler - **Costume design:** Bohumil Heš - **Producer:** Seymour Nebenzal, Heinz Landsmann - **Cast:** Louise Brooks as Lulu; Fritz Kortner as Dr. Ludwig Schön; Francis Lederer as Alwa Schön; Carl Goetz as Schigolch; Krafft-Raschig as Rodrigo Quast; Alice Roberts as Countess Anna Geschwitz; Daisy D'Ora as Charlotte Marie Adelaide von Zarnikow; Gustav Diessl as Jack the Ripper - **Runtime:** 2h 21m - **Release (Canada):** 15 October 2024 - **Genres:** Drama, Crime, Romance - **Box office:** $885,533 - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1kZaoHqEuU ## Where to watch in Canada - Tubi: free, hd *Checked 2026-09-25.* Also available in: AT, CA, DE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Diary of a Lost Girl* (1929): Pabst and Brooks again, the same year, with the fable swapped for a reformatory - *Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans* (1927), Fi1m 88: Murnau’s silent about a marriage and a city, for anyone who liked Krampf’s night light — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/sunrise-a-song-of-two-humans.md) - *The Earrings of Madame de...* (1953): Ophüls follows a woman through the men who misunderstand her, with a better ending - *Belle de Jour* (1967): Deneuve as another woman everyone insists on explaining, and Buñuel refusing to help - *Mulholland Drive* (2001), Fi1m 92: Lynch’s Hollywood dream of a girl who arrives from nowhere and undoes everyone — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/mulholland-drive.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/pandoras-box