The 1929 film Pandora’s Box is based on Lulu, the central character in Frank Wedekind’s plays.
G. W. Pabst’s silent film draws mainly from Wedekind’s two dramatic works, Earth Spirit and Pandora’s Box. Louise Brooks plays Lulu, a charismatic woman whose relationships and choices drive the film’s tragic story.
Wedekind’s Lulu plays were controversial because they challenged conventional ideas about sexuality, morality, and social respectability. Pabst’s adaptation is not a literal filming of every event in the plays; it reshapes the material into a cinematic narrative.
The film is often remembered for Brooks’s performance and for its importance in silent cinema. It is separate from the ancient Greek Pandora myth: the title refers to the idea that Lulu’s presence releases destructive consequences, while the character herself comes from Wedekind’s modern drama.