The German film released in 1929 and starring Louise Brooks as Lulu is Pandora’s Box.
Directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst, Pandora’s Box is a silent film adapted from Frank Wedekind’s stage plays Earth Spirit and Pandora’s Box. Brooks plays Lulu, a charismatic and destructive figure whose relationships drive the film’s tragic plot. Her performance became one of the defining screen roles of the silent era.
The film is not a direct retelling of Hesiod’s Greek myth. Its title and central woman evoke the Pandora tradition, but its narrative comes from Wedekind’s modern dramatic works. That distinction matters because the film is often discussed alongside mythic themes without being classified as a literal adaptation of the ancient story.
Pandora’s Box was initially controversial and received mixed responses, but later film historians recognized its visual style and Brooks’s performance. It is now commonly treated as a major work of German silent cinema.