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Johanna Spyri (1827-1901) was an author of children's stories. Born Johanna Louise Heusser in the rural area of Hirzel, Switzerland, as a child she spent several summers in the area around Chur in Graubünden, the setting she later would use in her novels. Her first book titled A Leaf on Vrony's Grave, was published in 1871 and the following year further stories for both adults and children appeared, among them the tale of Heidi (1880) that became an instant and enduring success. Her husband and her only child, a son named Bernhard, both died in 1884. Alone, she devoted herself to charitable causes and wrote over fifty more stories before her death in 1901. Amongst her other works are: Uncle Titus and His Visit to the Country (1881), Toni, the Little Woodcarver (1882), Gritli's Children (1883) and Moni the Goat-Boy (1886). ... Read more

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Made at the very end of the silent era, Pandora's Box is one of the last flowerings of German cinema's greatest decade. It also marked the highpoint of two careers: Austrian director GW Pabst and American actress Louise Brooks. A merge of two linked plays by the decadent German playwright Frank Wedekind, it's the story of Lulu, the archetypal femme fatale (the same plays served as source for Alban Berg's masterly 1935 opera). At once sensual and innocent, a force of uninhibited sexuality, Lulu brings ruin on all her lovers both male and female, and ultimately upon herself.Pandora's Box on DVD is a clean, crisp transfer in the classic 4:3 ratio, and the mono soundtrack brings out all the detail of Peer Rubens' Kurt Weill-inflected score, stylishly performed by the Kontraste Ensemble. Dialogue intertitles can be read in either English or German. We also get an outstanding 60-minute documentary, Looking for Lulu, about Brooks' life and career: warmly narrated by Shirley MacLaine, it features excerpts from an interview with Brooks from 1976. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Still fascinating today
The story is timeless and still holds your attention today. I was amazed as to how modern the film is its self. Probably the best know of G.W. Pabst's works. Being a film from the silent era gives this film a collector's value; yet five minutes into viewing and you do not realize it is silent.

LuLu (Louise Brooks) an amoral entertainer in 1928 Berlin, is having fun taking men for all they have and snubbing those that may care for her. After moving to London she is still in the habit of entertaining men at her place. She is about to open Pandora's Box as she has no idea who she has lured up to her place.

If you are looking for an ending with a moral statement you will be disappointed as it is more of a Quid pro quo.

If it is not already included on the media you picked for this film there is an available separate documentary Produced in 1998 for Turner Classic Movies called "Looking for Lulu", narrated by Shirley MacLaine, which is almost as interesting as this film.

Louise Brooks - Looking for Lulu

landmark silent classic
One of the last great works of the silent cinema, G.W. Pabst's PANDORA'S BOX was cruelly-ignored and dismissed by both audiences and critics upon it's original release in 1929. It wasn't until the George Eastman House revived the movie in the 1950s' that it finally started to receive it's full recognition--and resurrected it's luminous star Louise Brooks from an impoverished, destitute existence in New York in the process.

Based on two separate German plays written by Frank Wedekind ("Der Erdgeist" and "Die Büchse der Pandora"), Louise Brooks plays Lulu, a beautiful young dancer, full of life and vitality, and with a special talent in luring respectable men to ruin. Lulu is involved with an older newspaper magnate, Schön (Fritz Kortner), despite his engagement to another woman. Their affair blows wide open when his fiancee discovers them in a very compromising position; and Schön is forced to marry Lulu in order to avoid a scandal. On their wedding night, Schön tries to force Lulu to shoot herself, but in the ensuing struggle it's Schön who ends up dead, and Lulu is sentenced to five years in prison. Her friends create a distraction in the courtroom and Lulu flees the country with a "borrowed" passport. Accompanied by Schön's son Alwa (Franz Lederer), Lulu runs to London where her ultimate downfall is just around the corner...

Louise Brooks, with her shiny black bobbed hair and lithe dancer's body, was the ultimate 1920s jazz baby, a hoofer from the Midwest who never wanted to become a movie star, but unwittingly created one of the most haunting characters in movie history with Lulu in PANDORA'S BOX. Brooks made only a handful of movies (most of her early silents have sadly been lost forever), but we can be thankful PANDORA's BOX is still here, as vibrant and as vital as it was when first released back in '29.

PANDORA'S BOX is filled with lots of haunting imagery, the provocative storyline genuinely shocked audiences of the times (the film was heavily-edited following it's American debut). Perhaps most importantly, it preserves the heady atmosphere of pre-war Weimar Berlin, just a few short years before Hitler took power. According to sources, Pabst was just about to sign a young unknown called Marlene Dietrich until Brooks (in self-imposed exile from Hollywood) became available for the part.

If you're a fan of silent cinema, PANDORA'S BOX will be an essential title. If you want to begin exploring the slender catalogue of Louise Brooks films, it's a great place to start.

This DVD from Daro Film Entertainment includes the fully-restored print with dual German and English title cards; in addition to the fabulous TCM documentary "Looking for Lulu", narrated by Shirley MacLaine.

A great film, but wait before you buy...
...since Criterion is releasing their version in November 2006.According to their website, the DVD will include two documentaries on Louise Brooks. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A "Must" for Wayne fans
My wife bought me this book over 20 years ago and it is falling apart from overuse. I always read Eyles' review and background notes before watching a John Wayne movie. He list all the movies in chronolgical order giving us story lines, scenes to look for and general insights into the film and its cast. At the back of the book he lists all of the credits for each movie. If you are not a big John Wayne fan, this book will make you one. ... Read more

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This book an EXACT reproduction of the original book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR?d book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Two Volumes In One. ... Read more

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Two Volumes In One. ... Read more

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Two Volumes In One. ... Read more

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A captivating group of adventure stories about a boy named Duncan and His Duffel Bag. Acclaimed author Trude Brooks teaches children about developing friendships with animals, adjusting to new situations, dealing with issues that arise.She takes the reader to mysterious far away lands to experience new, magical, and exciting adventures in such places as Talkatoo Cavern a most beautiful and fanciful land where animals talk and need to do good deeds to earn their voices; Damanhur, Italy; Coober Pedy, Australia to name a few.Duncan is a boy who meets Wally-the-Walligator, Blue Footed Boobie, and Angora The-Angry-Cat. They become his loyal friends and often travel with him through dangerous places.Wherever Duncan goes he meets new characters, and they have a special mission to accomplish. His friends the Top-Notch Hot Shots are musicians who play music in an old Sequia tree. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Similar in theme to Heidi
I foolishly gave my weatherbeaten hardcover of this book as a gift to a friend of mine when I was thirteen. If only I had known how valuable it was! It's a lovely book, very similar in story and theme to Heidi. Written with the same innocent descriptive tone, but with a few different plot points. Spyri uses a light touch on serious topics, so this book can be a little sad, but never actually scary. Books like it are The Secret Garden, The Little Princess, and of course, Heidi. ... Read more

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WARNING: CONTAINS ADULT MATERIALFrom Italy, (very) large format softcover book/magazine, out of print Glamour International Magazine features lots of risque art! Hard to find back issue: # 10 is 30+ pages of adult art, cartoons and fun. ... Read more

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The Mill on Halfway Brook recounts the life and times of families who settled near Halfway Brook in the heavily forested original Town of Lumberland, Sullivan County, New York. It spans the years from 1800 to 1880, and is the first in the series, Memoirs of Eldred, New York, 1800-1950.

The principal families in the book (Eldred, Austin, Leavenworth, and Myers) built their homes in what became the hamlet of Eldred, in the Town of Highland. Some of their friends and kinsfolk (the Clarks, Gardners, Hallocks, Hickoks, Sergeants, Van Tuyls, and others) lived in nearby hamlets (Barryville, Pond Eddy, Glen Spey, Narrowsburg, Tusten, or Bethel). The story includes references to the neighboring Pennsylvania towns of Shohola, Lackawaxen, and Mast Hope.

The Mill on Halfway Brook follows the main occupations of the community, including lumbering, tanning, river rafting, working for the D&H Canal Company, and bluestone quarrying. The Civil War chapter mentions many of the men from the Town of Highland who fought in the war, and has major excerpts from 50 letters written by Corporal Sherman S. Leavenworth.

The narrative weaves vignettes of townsfolk, preachers, Congregational and Methodist Churches, regional and national events with historical information, censuses, an 1875 biography, Church records, andfamily land documents. The book has 300 photos and postcards, 17 old and new maps, and 200 letters (1845-1880). The Mill on Halfway Brookis fully indexed, with names of over 900 people, places, and events. ... Read more