Pandora's Box- the once controversial and heavily censored
1929 German film which introduced the screen's "first unequivocal
lesbian," is set to screen twice in Cardiff, England.
The two screenings, sponsored by Chapter Cinema, are set to take
place on February 19 and 21 at Cinema 1. Additionally, each showing of
the classic silent film will include a post-screening discussion by
Lavender Screen, Cardiff’s lesbian and bisexual movie club.
Pandora’s Box tells the story of Lulu, a lovely, amoral, and
somewhat petulant show-girl whose flirtations lead to devastating
encounters. Lulu is played by Louise Brooks, an American actress who was
recruited for the iconic German role.
Close Up, an English film journal of the time with a keen
interest in adventuresome German film, noted "The long search at last is
ended. Lulu has been found. . . . Having literally searched the whole
of Europe for a suitable type for Lulu in The Box of Pandora
(adapted from the book by Wedekind), having interviewed hundreds and
tested scores, in Germany, France, Sweden, Austria, Hungary, G. W. Pabst
has at last found, in America, the type for which he had been seeking
in vain. Lulu will be no other than Louise Brooks, the well-known junior
Paramount star. The search for Lulu has been almost the principal topic
of interest in Germany for a couple of months. Everywhere one went one
heard ‘What about Lulu?’ ‘Is Lulu found yet’ . . . Lulu is found. And
now, after long delay, Pandora will be filmed by Nero Film."
In another piece, Close Up observed, "Louise Brooks is not
chosen because she is Louise Brooks but because, for whatever reason,
she looks likely to find it easier than anyone else might, to sink into
and become a visual expression of Lulu in Pandora’s Box."
The film was based on two turn-of-the-last-century plays by Frank
Wedekind, a German writer not without troubles brought about by his
writings. Wedekind's other major work is Spring Awakening, which recently has been transformed into a rock musical which has also drawn its own share of raised eyebrows.
Lulu has been described, variously, as a vamp or femme fatale, but in
fact she is a kind of innocent. As one writer put it, her “sinless
sexuality hypnotizes and destroys the weak, lustful men around her.” And
not just men, as the Cardiff group points out. Lulu’s sexual magnetism
knows few bounds, and this once controversial and heavily censored
German film features what is described as cinema's first lesbian
character. The Countess Anna Geschwitz, a lesser character covertly in
love with Lulu, is played by Alice Roberts, a Belgian actress.
The film made its world premiere February 9, 1929 at the
Gloria–Palast in Berlin. German reviews of the time were mixed. The same
held true when the film played in various European capitals. A large
part of the critical disregard for the film stemmed from the fact that
it was censored - due to its provocative subject matter. The poet Hilda
Doolittle (H.D.), writing in Close Up, stated the film “ . . . passed by the German censors after a stormy discussion of several hour duration.”
When Pandora’s Box opened at a small art house in New York City in December of 1929, American newspaper and magazine critics were also ambivalent. Photoplay,
one of the leading American film magazines, noted “When the censors got
through with this German-made picture featuring Louise Brooks, there
was little left but a faint, musty odor. It is the story, both spicy and
sordid, of a little dancing girl who spread evil everywhere without
being too naughty herself. Interesting to American fans because it shows
Louise, formerly an American ingénue in silent films, doing grand work
as the evil-spreader.”
Another English film journal of the time, The Bioscope,
echoed those sentiments. "The picture starts well. Then comes the scene
when Lulu refuses to go on the first night of the revue. This is
unconvincing. . . . Louise Brooks does all that is possible in the role
of Lulu. Her performance, combined with the masterful characterization
of the wealthy man by Fritz Kortner, makes the early scenes definitely
dramatic and effective."
After more than a few decades of obscurity, Pandora's Box is now regarded as one of the great masterpieces of the silent era. Ticket availability and further information about the Cardiff screening of Pandora's Box can be found at http://www.chapter.org/25868.html
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