USA 1998
d: Hugh Munro Neely
Second Sight Films (Region 0 uk)
sc: Barry Paris
c: John C. Luker II (Color)
m: Nigel Holton
p: Elaina Archer, Hugh Munro Neely (Timeline Films)
w: Shirley MacLaine, Louise Brooks, Dana Delany, Francis Lederer, Roddy McDowall
rt: 59:48 min
dvd-rl: 24 Jun 2002
ar: 1.33:1 (4:3 Academy Ratio)
sd: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
st: --
supp: Supplement only to "Die Büchse der Pandora" (1929, Second Sight, R0)
One of the film world's most colorful and unusual careers is highlighted in the world premiere of "Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu", a TCM original documentary that traces the life and career of the Kansas-born actress who became an international star before fading into obscurity. In her all-too-brief days of glory, Brooks (1906-1985) symbolized the Jazz Age and defined the look of the 1920s flapper. Fiercely independent, outspoken and openly contemptuous of the 'film factories' of Hollywood, she made career decisions that many considered reckless. And yet she would be described (by the French critic Ado Kyrou) as 'the only woman who had the ability to transfigure no matter what film into a masterpiece.' TCM's salute includes the premiere of the newly-restored version of "The Show-Off" (1926), an early Brooks comedy. This and other silents established her image as a saucy vamp with huge brown eyes and a trademark haircut known as the 'Brooks bob.' Late in the 1920s Brooks astonished Hollywood by quitting her studio, Paramount, and heading for Germany to film "Pandora's Box" (1929) for Viennese director G.W. Pabst. Her performance as Lulu, described as 'the most entrancing nymphomaniac in film history,' made Brooks the toast of Europe. By the time she returned to America in the early 1930s, however, she had become persona non grata in Hollywood and was relegated to supporting roles in such films as "God's Gift to Women" (1931), starring Frank Fay. In the mid-1950s, after Brooks had been all but forgotten by the film-going public, the rediscovery of "Pandora's Box" and other Brooks films led to her 'resurrection' as a cult favorite. In the mid-1970s she wrote a sparkling and successful book, 'Lulu in Hollywood', in which she reminisced about her life and other screen personalities.
— Turner Classic Movies viewer's guide 'Now Playing'
