228. Pandora's Box; movie review

PANDORA'S BOX
Cert PG
125 mins
BBFC advice: Contains mild violence, threat, sex references

I would love to travel briefly back to the time of silent movies just to see the audience reaction.
Were they spellbound by thrillers such as G.W. Pabst's Pandora's Box and was the obvious over-acting palatable?
Interestingly, Mrs W went on a sign language course a few years ago and the teacher told her to show more emotion in her work.
In other words, deaf people pick up deeper meaning from the emphasis of expression in the same way that silent movie-goers did nearly a century ago.
Pabst's film is now considered a classic but was not as revered when it was released and only became fully appreciated after its lead, Louise Brooks became recognise nearly three decades later.
The movie is based on a Frank Wedekind book (I read his work and saw a play of his for A level) and was controversial because it implies lesbian love.
Indeed, Brooks' character Lulu is so impishly beautiful that she is attractive to men and women but she has a flaw which makes it impossible for her to avoid playing with metaphorical fire.
Firstly, she becomes involved with a much older newspaper editor (Fritz Kortner) while also having the glad eye for his son (Francis Lederer).
At the same time, she strings along a former patron (Carl Goetz) and his protege (Krafft-Raschig).
However, her beauty, desire for wealth and apparent lack of conscience combine to cause heartache and worse for her and those around her.
In common with many silent movies, Pandora's Box makes superb use of light, darkness and, in particular, shadow.
It is astonishing that even though there is no sound, other than an evocative soundtrack, it is 90 years old, and the acting is necessarily overplayed, it still punches harder than many thrillers released today.
Its restoration is truly impressive and those who care about movie history should go and watch it.

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Reasons to watch: The restoration of a classic silent thriller
Reasons to avoid: You really have to concentrate on the subtitles

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 8/10

The big question - What is the original of the phrase Pandora's Box?

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