Pandoras Box Limited Edition Blu-Ray

In a role once intended for Marlene Dietrich (The Blue Angel), 22-year-old Louise Brooks (Diary of a Lost Girl), with her fragile beauty and iconic dark bob hairstyle, gives a performance that was decades ahead of its time and immortalized her as an icon. The film was widely condemned and censored when it was released due to its bold treatment of sexuality and female desire, but Brooks's demure yet erotically charged performance remains one of the most modern of the silent film era.Pandora's Box is based on a couple of plays by Frank Wedekind and is about the prostitute Lulu, a free spirit whose open sexuality creates chaos in her wake. When Lulu's latest lover, newspaper editor Dr. Ludwig Schon (Fritz Kortner, The Hands of Orlac), announces his plans to leave her to marry a more respectable woman, Lulu is devastated. In a musical revue written by Schon's son Alwa (Francis Lederer, The Return of Dracula), Lulu seduces Schon once again—only for their meeting to be revealed and Schon's plans for a more socially acceptable marriage to be shattered. Schon has no choice but to marry Lulu and suffers a tragedy on his wedding night. Lulu is brought to trial for the incident and risks several years in prison. With the help of her former pimp (Carl Goetz, Tom Sawyer), a lesbian countess in love (Alice Roberts, The Merry Widower), and Alwa, she flees toward a fate of ever-increasing misery and danger, and finally crosses paths with Jack the Ripper on Christmas Eve.

Pandora's Box, which was reviled and ridiculed at its premiere, has since been recognized as one of the masterpieces of early German cinema. It is a gritty melodrama made with great style, confirming G. W. Pabst as a bold and important director and Louise Brooks as one of cinema's most exquisite and distinctive actresses. The Masters of Cinema series is proud to present Pabst's masterpiece in a new restoration on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK.

LIMITED EDITION BOX SET (3000 COPIES) INCLUDES:*

Hardcover case with artwork by Tony Stella | 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray from a definitive 2K digital restoration | Optional English subtitles | Orchestral score by Peer Raben | New audio commentary by critic Pamela Hutchinson | New visual assessment by author and critic Kat Ellinger | New video essay by David Cairns | New video essay by Fiona Watson | PLUS: A 60-page BOOK with new essays on the film by critics Alexandra Heller Nicholas, Imogen Sara Smith, and Richard Combs; along with archival footage and stills

*All extras are subject to change

PRESS

"Louise Brooks is the poster girl for an entire generation" - Cosmopolitan

"One of the great masterpieces of the silent film era" - Huffington Post

"????? There is something hypnotically unrestrained about Brooks' performance" - Irish Times

"????? It's like lightning in a bottle - unique and endlessly fascinating." - Times

"????? An intensely erotic classic from the silent film era." - Guardian