I've just finished creating a BIG new page on the Louise Brooks Society
website devoted to Louise Brooks physical media. Though it took me a
couple of weeks to build -- working on it a little bit each day, the page itself has been years in the making,
as I have been collecting and documenting all manner of physical media
for some time.
The "Film of Louise Brooks -- physical media"
page features more than 125 examples of VHS, Laser Disc, DVD, PAL and
Blu-ray releases from around the world. As I mention on the page
itself, I recall there once was a Beta Tape release of a Brooks’
film, but I
can’t seem to track it down. There may have also been a 9mm film
available of one
of Brooks’ westerns. Does anyone know? I would like to make this page as
complete as possible.
Though I was able to document (via WorldCat records) that a
particular film was released sometime in the past, I
was not always able to track down a cover image. Other times, I came
across a cover image, but was not able to determine which year a particular
released was issued. And sometimes, I couldn't determine the release label, or studio. The Louise Brooks Society needs your help in filling in the details....
perhaps you have one of the releases with incomplete information in
your collection? Or perhaps I got the name of the releasing
company wrong. I think that may well be the case with some of the
European releases. Please visit the "Film of Louise Brooks -- physical media" and see if you can fill in any of the information that is missing. Or perhaps you have an old VHS tape of Laser Disc or DVD that I missed altogether.
This
page surprised me, as I hadn't realized there had been so many
different releases of each of Brooks surviving films. Not
surprisingly, Pandora's Box stands as the actress' most popular
film in terms of physical media, with some 36 releases from around the world dating as far back as
1983. As a matter of fact, another of Brooks' films, Diary of a Lost Girl, was also released in the early 1980s -- each while Louise Brooks was still alive!
The "
Film of Louise Brooks -- physical media"
page features releases that are both familiar and obscure. I had never heard of the Foothill Video company, nor the German Language Video Center release of
Diary of a Lost Girl way back in 1984. Along with the
United States, I found multiple films have been released in England, France,
Italy, and Spain -- but I suspect I missed some from Germany. I've even managed to document a few physical media releases
from Australia, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, and Switzerland.
In
the early 1990s, when I first came across Louise Brooks and became
determined to see everyone of her surviving films, I used to go to the local Tower
Records in San Francisco and flip through the bins hoping to find
something new. There just wasn't much to find.... Seemingly, only the KINO releases were distributed to the shops I frequented. Then I discovered that other films could be ordered through mail-order from the like of Video Yesterday, Unknown Video, and Grapevine Video. And the rest is history.... The first few Louise
Brooks films I ever bought were on VHS tape. I still have them, along with dupes of films that hadn't been released yet (and still haven't). Images of those
early, first purchases are found on this page.
BTW: I also wanted to mention that "Film of Louise Brooks -- physical media" is page number 260 on the still growing Louise Brooks Society website. While waiting for judgement day, I've kept busy working on my longstanding website, which this year celebrates 30 years online. Check it out. In the meantime, I wonder which DVD or Blu-ray will be next added to "Film of Louise Brooks -- physical media" ? I have a good idea, it it will be a doozy!
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 © 2025. Further unauthorized use
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