Pandora’s Box is the 1929 German silent film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst.
The film stars Louise Brooks as Lulu, a charismatic woman whose relationships and choices lead to social scandal and tragedy. It was adapted from two plays by Frank Wedekind, Erdgeist and Die Büchse der Pandora.
Although its title invokes the Greek myth, the film is not a direct retelling of Hesiod’s story. Instead, it uses the Pandora image as a metaphor for destructive desire, social repression, and consequences that unfold after Lulu’s presence unsettles those around her.
The movie initially received mixed reactions but later became celebrated as a landmark of Weimar cinema. Louise Brooks’s performance and distinctive bobbed hairstyle helped make the film internationally recognizable.