Once lost Louise Brooks films to have Blu-ray release

At last it can be told.... Flicker Alley and San Francisco Film Preserve have announced the release of Focus on Louise Brooks, a single-disc Blu-ray compilation of the iconic star’s early performances, including her film debut in Herbert Brenon's The Street of Forgotten Men. This exceptional 1925 melodrama has been fully restored and is being made available for the very first time, joined by extant materials from three additional Brooks features, The American Venus (1926), Just Another Blonde (1926), and Now We’re in the Air (1927). More information on this new release can be found HERE.

The Louise Brooks Society has long been intimately involved with this project, which was ten years in the making. This multi-region Blu-ray contains a treasure trove of early & rare Brooks performances with extant material from her earliest films brought together in one place, newly restored, and presented in a deluxe edition. Fore more about each title, see the LBS pages about each film.

• The Street of Forgotten Men /1925 / Directed by Herbert Brenon / 75 minutes / U.S. / Famous Players-Lasky Corporation (LBS pages on the film)
  
  
• The American Venus (Extant Materials) / 1926 / Directed by Frank Tuttle / 8 minutes / Famous Players–Lasky (LBS pages on the film)
  
  
• Just Another Blonde (Fragment) / 1926 / Directed by Alfred Santell / 32 minutes / First National (LBS pages on the film)
  
  
• Now We’re in the Air (Fragment) / 1927 / Directed by Frank R. Strayer / 23 minutes / Paramount Pictures (LBS pages on the film)

Besides the above mentioned films and the rarely seen trailer of Just Another Blonde (which contains footage not seen in the surviving fragment), Focus on Louise Brooks also contains a generous selection of bonus materials. 

• Restoration Demo - A look at the painstaking process that went into preserving the films included in this set

• Audio Commentaries - Informative audio tracks are included with film scholar Pamela Hutchinson on The Street of Forgotten Men, with author and film historians Thomas Gladysz and Kathy Rose O’Regan on Just Another Blonde, and with Gladysz and Robert Byrne on The American Venus and Now We’re in the Air.

• Looking at Lulu - Explore the fascinating behind the scenes life of Louise Brooks with an extended featurette hosted by historian Pamela Hutchinson 

• Image Galleries - Featuring production stills and promotional material

• Booklet Insert - With an essay by film historian Thomas Gladysz and restoration notes by Rob Byrne

• English closed captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing, as well as subtitle tracks in English, Spanish, French, and German

• Blu-ray Authoring by David Mackenzie of Fidelity In Motion

• All Region Encoding (A,B,C)

And if that isn't enough to tempt you... There is a gorgeous limited edition spot gloss slipcover only available at the Flicker Alley website and select indie retailers. No major retailers will be stocking this item. Pre-order your copy today! The listed release date is January 13, 2026.

 

Louise Brooks may well be the only actress in the history of film who's uncredited bit part in her film debut nevertheless got her a review, in the Los Angeles Times, no less. As another newspaper stated following the release of Just Another Blonde, “Louise Brooks, who is said to be Clara Bow’s only rival as cinema’s most ravishing flapper, is a convincing argument in favor of modernism.” Amen.

Focus on Louise Brooks presents Louise Brooks as she hasn't been seen in nearly 100 years. She is lively, coy, flirty, drop-dead gorgeous and a joy to behold. She is, indeed, something else. This new release is a disc silent film and Louise Brooks fans will want to own. Pre-order your copy today!

Focus on Louise Brooks represents the first entry in a new Flicker Fusion series that will explore newly restored films, some lost and/or fragmentary, ripe for rediscovery, and featuring some of early cinema’s biggest names. I'll end this post with a few screen grabs which may tempt you further.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If this disc succeeds, who knows what else might be released. Do your part, and Pre-order your copy today! 

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original content copyright © 2025. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.