G. W. Pabst’s 1929 German silent film featuring Louise Brooks as Lulu is titled Pandora’s Box.
The film is an adaptation of two stage plays by Frank Wedekind: Earth Spirit and Pandora’s Box. Brooks plays Lulu, a charismatic and destructive figure whose relationships drive the story. The title invokes the mythological image of a force that releases consequences, although the film is a modern drama rather than a direct retelling of the Greek myth.
Pabst’s film is especially associated with Brooks’s performance and with the visual style of late German silent cinema. It was made during the Weimar era, a period known for ambitious and formally distinctive films.
The movie should not be confused with Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, a separate 1951 film directed by Albert Lewin. Nor is it the same as later films, albums, and television episodes that use the phrase as a title.