Overview
A tale of seduction and downfall unfolds in a world where charm can lead to ruin.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- provocative
- melancholic
- glamorous
- classic film night
- silent cinema showcase
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a stylish, provocative silent classic elevated by Louise Brooks’s magnetic performance and G.W. Pabst’s sophisticated direction.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Lulu is desired, managed, exchanged, and condemned by men who attempt to regulate her sexuality and social position.
Lulu’s passage from wealthy patronage through scandal, escape, and impoverishment structures the film’s tragic arc.
Pabst’s black-and-white staging and Louise Brooks’s controlled physical performance make desire and danger visually immediate.
Lulu manipulates social situations yet is also constrained by the men and institutions that desire and punish her.
Films like Pandora's Box, and why
The Last Laugh
stylish silent-era drama centered on a sexually charismatic woman whose relationships with powerful men produce social and moral catastrophe
Underworld
expressionistic silent melodrama combining erotic transgression, crime, class anxiety, and a destructive femme fatale
M
black-and-white European art cinema about desire, gender relations, and a woman’s downward social trajectory
The Blue Angel
provocative period drama featuring sexual scandal, social hypocrisy, and a morally ambiguous central woman
Movie Details
- Director
- G.W. Pabst
- Release Date
- 1929-01-30
- Runtime
- 141 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (270)
Cast
- Louise Brooks
- Fritz Kortner
- Francis Lederer
- Carl Goetz
- Krafft-Raschig
- Alice Roberts
- Daisy D'Ora
- Gustav Diessl
- Michael von Newlinsky
- Sig Arno
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, Eternal Family
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Pandora's Box about?
- A magnetic woman’s pursuit of freedom and pleasure collides with possessive men, rigid respectability, and an unforgiving social order.
- What is Pandora's Box like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Pandora's Box as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Pandora's Box violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Pandora's Box as moderate.
- What did critics think of Pandora's Box?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a stylish, provocative silent classic elevated by Louise Brooks’s magnetic performance and G.W. Pabst’s sophisticated direction.
- Which films are like Pandora's Box?
- Films with a similar feel include The Last Laugh, Underworld, M, and The Blue Angel.
- How long is Pandora's Box?
- Pandora's Box runs 141 minutes.
- Where can I watch Pandora's Box?
- In United States, Pandora's Box streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, Eternal Family.
