-
Imagining a Louise Brooks feature as Lois Lane in Action Comics
In 1938, Action Comics premiered, introducing readers to the iconic character of Superman. But have you ever wondered what it would have been like if Louise Brooks played Lois Lane in the 1920s? And what if the film had been directed by G.W. Pabst, who was known for his innovative style? It’s a fascinating thought experiment to consider how the portrayal of the character might have differed from the traditional image of Lois Lane. During the 1920s, women’s roles in film were still very limited, and the idea of a female reporter was still a novelty. But what if Pabst and Brooks had approached the character with a more feminist…
-
The Weimar Era’s Impact on Pabst’s “Pandora’s Box” and “Diary of a Lost Girl” with Louise Brooks
In the late 1920s, the Weimar Republic in Germany saw a rise in sexual liberation, artistic experimentation, and the questioning of traditional gender roles. It was against this backdrop that G.W. Pabst made his landmark films Pandora’s Box (1929) and Diary of a Lost Girl (1929), both of which starred the American actress Louise Brooks. Pandora’s Box was a critical and commercial success and remains one of the most iconic films of the Weimar Republic era. The film was based on Frank Wedekind’s plays Earth Spirit and Pandora’s Box, which explored themes of sexuality, desire, and societal repression. Pabst saw Brooks as the perfect embodiment of Wedekind’s Lulu character, a…
-
Influence of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud on filmmakers G.W. Pabst and David Lynch
The great Austrian director G.W. Pabst graced the film world with some of the most thought-provoking movies to hit the silver screen. Some of his most intriguing works featured sophisticated inclusion of the kind of psychoanalytical thought that was prevalent at the time. Here’s what connoisseurs of silent films with a penchant for the intellectual should know about Pabst’s use of figures like Sigmund Freud. We will also visit the influence of Carl Jung in David Lynch’s work. ‘Secrets of the Soul’ There is, perhaps, no other film in Pabst’s portfolio that borrows so heavily from the psychoanalytical thinking of the times than Secrets of the Soul. What Pabst left us within…
-
Meet G.W. Pabst, One of Austria’s Greatest Directors
In the blur of the sands of time, certain ghosts from the silver screen rise and fall in and out of obscurity. For those with the gumption to delve into the past, the greats of the silent film world can impart priceless insights. Whether for the sake of filmography research or out of genuine interest in the people themselves, there is always something to discover. Every now and again we like to knock the dust off of the giants of the silver screen and bring them back to life. One such individual, is the mysterious and prolific director, G.W. Pabst. The Great Mr. Pabst Hailing from the heavily forested and…
