The recent restoration of Pandora's Box, the acclaimed 1929 silent film starring Louise Brooks, will receive an American theatrical release through Janus Films on February 14th. (This release is meant for exhibitors like the Toronto Silent Film Festival - who will be screening this version of the film on April 12. See the prior LBS blog. )
Seemingly, hopefully, a Criterion Collection DVD / Blu-ray can't be far behind - though no specific release information has been posted. I emailed Janus but have yet to hear back. More information about this exciting news can be found HERE.
Unless I am mistaken, this same version of the film was recently released on Blu-ray in the UK by Eureka Entertainment. (See my Pop Matters article on that release). It was restored from the best surviving 35mm elements at Haghefilm Conservation under the supervision of the Deutsche Kinemathek with the cooperation of George Eastman Museum, the Cinémathèque Française, Cineteca di Bologna, Národní filmový archiv, and Gosfilmofond. As I stated in my Pop Matters article, in all likelihood, this restoration is the best version of the film we may see in our lifetime.
However, I noticed one significant difference. Notably, the Eureka release run time was given as 133 minutes. The run time on this version is given as 141 minutes. Below is the Janus Films trailer for those who would like a sneak peak.
While I am very excited that this 2009 restoration of Pandora's Box will be screened and hopefully released in the United States, I am concerned about some of the SLOPPY writing found in the press materials.
The Louise Brooks Biography included in the Press Notes, for example, is riddled with factual errors. I count five or six. Here is one: Louise Brooks did NOT join the Denishawn Dance Company in Los Angeles, as the biography states. She went to New York City, as stated in the Barry Paris biography and as depicted in The Chaperone.
Likewise, the Production History essay makes a few questionable (read inaccurate) conclusions, as when it claim that "in 2012, the seventeenth San Francisco Silent Film Festival screened Pabst’s completely restored masterpiece in all its glory." Yes, it was glorious. I was there. But to state that the film is "completely restored" suggest this is the film Pabst released in 1929. IT AIN'T. As they stand, these notes should be corrected asap.
I hope that they do not accompany any home video release. As with the marred Eureka release (see this 1-12-2024 LBS blog), the film world doesn't need any more inaccurate information. In this day and age, getting it right is important. Facts matter. And getting it wrong has repercussions. I could imagine someone defending their claim that Brooks went to Los Angles in 1922 or that Pandora's Box is now complete since they saw it on the Janus website, or in the liner notes to a later release. Look what happened to the London Times, when they reviewed the Eureka release and made use of the publicity materials they were no doubt given. They got it wrong because the company they got their press materials from got it wrong.
Want to read more about the film? Visit the Pandora's Box filmography page in the Louise Brooks Society website.
THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2024. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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