G. W. Pabst adapted Frank Wedekind’s Lulu plays for the screen in the 1929 film Pandora’s Box.
The director’s full name was Georg Wilhelm Pabst, and he is commonly credited as G. W. Pabst. His film draws chiefly on Wedekind’s plays Earth Spirit and Pandora’s Box, which center on the character Lulu and her destructive relationships.
The movie belongs to the late silent-film era and is associated with the German New Objectivity movement. It uses expressive settings and carefully controlled performances rather than simply illustrating the ancient Greek story. The title invokes Pandora as a cultural metaphor for unleashed consequences.
This adaptation should not be confused with the 1951 film Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, directed by Albert Lewin. The two films share the name Pandora but have different plots, casts, directors, and historical sources.