---
title: "Pandora's Box: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/pandoras-box/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/pandoras-box"
critics_score: 82
critics_reviews: 9
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): what the critics said

Critics' score 82 from 9 reviews: 8 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative.

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.

## Little White Lies — Caroline Golum

Rating 5/5/5. 31 May 2018. 

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 the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/pandoras-box)

## Time Out — Wally Hammond

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 5 December 2006. 

Hammond presents Pabst’s film as an extraordinary, tragic masterpiece. He singles out its erotic force and its adaptation of two works.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/pandoras-box)

## Los Angeles Times — Mark Chalon Smith

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 14 October 1993. 

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 the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-10-14-ol-45488-story.html)

## Sight and Sound

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 

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 the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/856e9118-c9db-56c4-8da6-3c4a8ba66aed/pandoras-box)

## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez

Rating 4/5. 10 October 2024. 

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 the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/pandoras-box-blu-ray-review-g-w-pabst/)

## The Guardian — Philip French

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 20 May 2007. 

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 the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/may/20/dvdreviews)

## Empire — David Parkinson

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 14 June 2006. 

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 the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/pandora-box-review/)

## The New York Times

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 25 July 2003. 

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 the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/25/movies/film-review-seeking-pandora-s-box-aristocratically-of-course.html)

## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 31 May 2018. 

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 the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/pandoras-box-1929-film-review-by-jennie-kermode)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/pandoras-box.md