Press Release Criterion Press Release: Pandora's Box (1929) (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

​

One of the masters of early German cinema, G. W. Pabst seemed to have an innate talent for discovering actresses. And perhaps none of his female stars shone brighter than Kansas native and onetime Ziegfeld girl Louise Brooks, whose legendary persona was defined by Pabst’s lurid, controversial melodrama Pandora’s Box. Sensationally modern, the film follows the downward spiral of the fiery, brash, yet innocent showgirl Lulu, whose sexual vivacity has a devastating effect on everyone around her. Daring and stylish, Pandora’s Box is one of silent cinema’s great masterworks and a testament to Brooks’s dazzling individuality.

FILM INFO​

• Germany
• 1929
• 141 minutes
• Black & White
• 1.33:1
• German
• Spine #358

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES​

• New 2K digital restoration
• Four musical scores, by Gillian Anderson, Dimitar Pentchev, Peer Raben, and Stéphan Oliva
• Audio commentary by film scholars Thomas Elsaesser and Mary Ann Doane
• Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu (1998), a documentary by Hugh Munro Neeley
• Lulu in Berlin (1971), a rare interview with actor Louise Brooks, by Richard Leacock and Susan Steinberg Woll
• Interviews with Leacock and Michael Pabst, director G. W. Pabst’s son
• PLUS: An essay by critic J. Hoberman, notes on the scores, Kenneth Tynan’s 1979 “The Girl in the Black Helmet,” and an article by Brooks on her relationship with Pabst
  
  New cover by Eric Skillman
  
  October 15, 2024

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Thank you for supporting HTF when you preorder using the link below. As an Amazon Associate HTF earns from qualifying purchases. If you are using an adblocker you will not see link.

https://www.amazon.com/Pandoras-Box...2693529011&rnid=2693522011&s=movies-tv&sr=1-6

 

[Robert Crawford]

I’m betting this BD is derived from the same scan that was used for the 2023 MOC BD release. I see no reason to double dip.

 

[SD_Brian]

I was this close to ordering the MOC version over the weekend! Miraculously, this announcement came before I hit the checkout button.

 

[Traveling Matt]

Finally an upgrade from the DVD, but it's so disappointing this isn't in 4K.

 

[SD_Brian]

it's so disappointing this isn't in 4K.

Another instance where there's no 4K there, so a UHD release wouldn't have added anything more than a higher price tag.

 

[Traveling Matt]

Another instance where there's no 4K there, so a UHD release wouldn't have added anything more than a higher price tag.

Maybe? I thought of that. But I also thought it's almost certain this is the film's final disc release and it's standard Blu-ray.

 

[SD_Brian]

Maybe? I thought of that. But I also thought it's almost certain this is the film's final disc release and it's standard Blu-ray.

The restoration was only done in 2K, so standard Blu-ray should suffice.

 

[Patrick McCart]

Great to see this upgraded.

As for 4K, as lovely the new restoration looks, it doesn't have 4K worth of image data. Caligari got a 4K mostly because it's from camera negatives and original prints, while this is from 3rd and 4th generation elements.

 

[Traveling Matt]

Great to see this upgraded.

As for 4K, as lovely the new restoration looks, it doesn't have 4K worth of image data. Caligari got a 4K mostly because it's from camera negatives and original prints, while this is from 3rd and 4th generation elements.

That's right, I remember that now. I've been waiting for an upgrade so long I forgot. Lol.

 

[titch]

I’m betting this BD is derived from the same scan that was used for the 2023 MOC BD release. I see no reason to double dip.

View attachment 226686

It'll be exactly the same master. The MOC Limited Edition is superb.

 

[Dick]

I’m betting this BD is derived from the same scan that was used for the 2023 MOC BD release. I see no reason to double dip.

View attachment 226686

 

[Dick]

I’m betting this BD is derived from the same scan that was used for the 2023 MOC BD release. I see no reason to double dip.

View attachment 226686

Except that almost nothing else about the two releases is duplicated. Different commentary, different documentaries, different booklet. I own this box also (it's awesome!), but I'll have my eye on the Criterion as well...during B&N's November sale.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Except that almost nothing else about the two releases is duplicated. Different commentary, different documentaries, different booklet. I own this box also (it's awesome!), but I'll have my eye on the Criterion as well...during B&N's November sale.

I guess but I'm good with the MOC release.

 

[Stefan Andersson]

Discussion of errors in the MoC edition here:

Pandora's Box Masters of Cinema Blu-Ray coming in October - Page 2 - NitrateVille.com

Relevant quotes from various posts:

"When Lulu stuffs some money into the meter reader’s hand, he is so distracted that he lets two coins drop onto the carpet and doesn’t even realize it. The digital clean-up software registered those two falling coins as defects and erased them. So we do not see anything fall out of his hand."

"the name Alice Roberte continues to be misspelled Alice Roberts."

"an important bit of information goes untranslated in the English subtitles. The Marquis Casti-Piani recognizes Lulu on the train, and finds a newspaper photo of Lulu with the words REWARD in the headline above it. He writes something along the lines of "Received With Thanks, Casti-Piani" above the headline, and hands it to Alwa, who reacts, and so on.
The English subtitle for that shot of the handwritten words above the headline only translates the word REWARD, not the handwritten note above it. I had to check the Criterion DVD to make sure I was remembering it correctly."

 

[battlebeast]

I’m actually excited to see this. I never heard of Louise Brooks until I saw the doc HOLLYWOOD, and I never new she was such a huge star.

I’ve been reading today about this film, and apparently Roger Ebert thought very highly of it, and Quentin Terantino calls it one his ten best.

Marlina Dietrich was almost cast.

Having done a HUGE swath of research into THE BROADWAY MELODY, I learnt a lot about silent films and have a new appreciation for them. So this should be fun.

 

[Robert Harris]

Great film.

 

[katarianig]

Maybe? I thought of that. But I also thought it's almost certain this is the film's final disc release and it's standard Blu-ray.

Probably. I haven't really seen CDs of this movie for sale anywhere.

 

[Walter P. Thatcher]

Except that almost nothing else about the two releases is duplicated. Different commentary, different documentaries, different booklet. I own this box also (it's awesome!), but I'll have my eye on the Criterion as well...during B&N's November sale.

Using the MOC box as reference, Eureka's release has a 133-minute running time, while Criterion's edition lists its edition as 141 minutes.

 

[battlebeast]

Using the MOC box as reference, Eureka's release has a 133-minute running time, while Criterion's edition lists its edition as 141 minutes.

I think that has something to do with PAL/NTSC, no?