Review of Pandora's Box DVD

A review of the new Pandora's Box DVD appears in Sunday's New York Times. The article notes that the DVD will be released on November 10th.

G. W. PABST’S tragic fable, from two plays by Frank Wedekind about a prostitute whose love for — and conquest of — a married man begins her spiral of decline, is one of the most beautifully filmed of all silent movies. Pabst’s unobtrusive but masterly compositions and disarmingly delicate lighting effects are the stuff of rapture. Then again, when Louise Brooks is your star, it’s your duty to place her in a context of perfection. Brooks plays the doomed, exquisite Lulu, who, with her sable bob and mischievous, calculating smile, became an enduring symbol of jazz-age freedom and joyousness. If beauty and saucy charm were all Brooks had to offer, she would have ended up a caricature. But this performance is so vital and so infinitely shaded that it inspires wonder each time you see it.

Brooks’s Lulu is an image of relaxed modernity: she may be willful, petulant and manipulative, but she is also a woman striding toward an uncertain future in a world that doesn’t provide easy comforts.

On the night of her disastrous wedding to the rich Dr. Schön (Fritz Kortner), who believes he adores her but really wants to possess her, she stands in front of the mirror, preparing to remove her wedding finery. The first thing to come off is a new strand of pearls, which represent the safe, pampered life she has been striving for. She lets the glowing beads pool in the palm of her hand, and we see her face in the mirror, an ivory moon framed by darkness. The faint smile that crosses her lips is not one of greed or catlike satisfaction but of quiet relief: she has set herself up for a life without worry and strife, not yet knowing that such a life is impossible. We have seen how frivolous and thoughtless she can be, and we have witnessed her gentle treachery, but judging her is unthinkable. We can’t trust Lulu; we can only believe her.

In addition to a new, restored transfer of the film, this two-disc set has four different musical scores (two of which were commissioned for this release) and a booklet that includes an essay by J. Hoberman, the Village Voice film critic, and Kenneth Tynan’s essential Brooks profile, “The Girl in the Black Helmet.” (Criterion Collection, Nov. 10, $39.95.)     STEPHANIE ZACHAREK

I just saw Lulu

I've just returned from the Victoria Theatre, where I had the great pleasure of seeing the Silent Theatre production of Lulu. (Tonight was it's San Francisco debut.) I liked it very much. The acting was terrific, the music superb. And the approach - of staging a play as a silent film, was engaging and clever and well done. Kyla Louise Webb, the young actress who played Lulu, was especially good. I plan to see this production at least once more while it is here in San Francisco.

Before things started, I took a few snapshots outside the theater. There were Lulu posters in the display cases, etc.... Also, parked out front was the theater company tour bus, which they named "Pandora's Bus." According to the play's director, who I had the pleasure of meeting before the play started, the company were touring around San Francisco earlier in the day attracting attention to their production.



I recommend that everyone who has a chance to see this production do so. You will like it. For more info on the company, also check out their MySpace account at www.myspace.com/silenttheatre It has additional pictures, music from the play, and more.

[ A footnote: this production marks a kind of homecoming for Lulu. The German author Frank Wedekind (1864 - 1918) - author of the plays which serve as the basis for this prodction as well as the G. W. Pabst film and Alban Berg opera - was actually conceived in San Francisco. For a time, Wedekind's parents lived in gold rush San Francisco. His mother was a saloon entertainer. And, while she was pregnant with the future writer, Wedekind's parents decided to make a visit to Germany. Benjamin Franklin Wedekind was born there, and the parents stayed put. ]

Lulu in alt weeklies

Lulu, which opens tomorrow in San Francisco, got short write-ups in the two local weeklies. The SF Weekly carried a short article and pic, as did the San Francisco Bay Guardian. Here is what the SFBG had to say.

LuLu
Based on Pandora’s Box, an 1890s German play and later a 1928 film that featured early silver screen starlet Louise Brooks, the new play Lulu follows a sexy female character who drives both men and women mad with the passion she inspires. Presented by the Silent Theatre Company, the production endeavors to re-create the early style of cinema, with no spoken dialogue and costuming and sets colored only in black and white, which are heavily inspired by the German expressionist style that was prevalent at the time. (Sean McCourt)

Through Sept. 17    Tues-Sat, 8 p.m.; Sun, 7p.m.         Victoria Theater  2961 16th St., SF    $20

(415) 863-7576    www.victoriatheatre.org    www.silenttheatre.com

I plan to be there opening night !

On this day in 1926

On this day in 1926, Louise Brooks looms large on movie screens in the San Francisco Bay Area. The recently released comedy, The Show-Off, is being shown in San Jose and Oakland, while The American Venus (released some seven months earlier) plays in revival in nearby Berkeley. We've always liked her here!

Diary of a Lost Girl

I am currently reading Margarete Bohme's 1905 novel, The Diary of a Lost Girl (in English translation). I am enjoying it. It is very different from the film, but also interesting as a period piece.

Speaking of which, I just came across a related video clip on YouTube. It features the clips from the 1929 Louise Brooks film, The Diary of a Lost Girl, set to music by the Dresden Dolls. (The song is "Neccessary Evil.")

Just added Louise Brooks events

Just added - more Louise Brooks events in 2006:

October 13 and 15, 2006: The Music Box Theatre in Chicago will screen Pandora's Box, with live musical accompaniment, as part of Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" series.  (more info)

November 6, 2006: The seldom shown 1926 comedy, Love 'em and Leave 'em, will be screened at Museum of the City of New York. This special event is sponsored by the Silent Clowns Film Series. The film will be preceded by the 1926 Hal Roach comedy short Love 'em and Weep starring Stan Laurel and Tyler Brooke.  Live piano accompaniment by Ben Model.  ( more info )

November 8, 9, 10, 2006: The Slovenska kinoteka - the film archive located in Ljubljana, Slovenia - celebrates the centenary of Louise Brooks with a series of screenings.   ( details to come )

November 20, 2006: A new 35mm print of Pandora's Box will be shown in the student union at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. The film starts at 7 pm.   ( more info )

December 8 - 10, 2006: The Detroit Institute of the Arts will screen Pandora's Box in the Detroit Film Theater. ( more info )

These and many other Louise Brooks Centenary events can be found at www.pandorasbox.com/features/centenary.html