Diary of a Lost Girl
Written by Rudolf Leonhardt
Directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst
Germany, 1929
In just two collaborations, the German director Georg Wilhelm Pabst and the Kansas-born Louise Brooks created a screen personality that left a permanent mark on the history of film. The iconic Brooks—impeccably dressed, seductively smirking, short, jet-black hair—had been seen in films prior, most notably in Howard Hawks’ A Girl in Every Port (1928), but it was in Pabst’s Pandora’s Box and Diary of a Lost Girl (both released in 1929) that this embodiment of tumultuous 1920s mores struck a strong and enduring chord.
Brooks in these two Pabst features could not be more dissimilar, however. Lulu, the freewheeling temptress of Pandora’s Box, is miles away from Thymian, the young, naive innocent of Diary of a Lost Girl. As this latter feature begins, Thymian enters the picture all in white, in accordance with her recent confirmation.
Written by Rudolf Leonhardt
Directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst
Germany, 1929
In just two collaborations, the German director Georg Wilhelm Pabst and the Kansas-born Louise Brooks created a screen personality that left a permanent mark on the history of film. The iconic Brooks—impeccably dressed, seductively smirking, short, jet-black hair—had been seen in films prior, most notably in Howard Hawks’ A Girl in Every Port (1928), but it was in Pabst’s Pandora’s Box and Diary of a Lost Girl (both released in 1929) that this embodiment of tumultuous 1920s mores struck a strong and enduring chord.
Brooks in these two Pabst features could not be more dissimilar, however. Lulu, the freewheeling temptress of Pandora’s Box, is miles away from Thymian, the young, naive innocent of Diary of a Lost Girl. As this latter feature begins, Thymian enters the picture all in white, in accordance with her recent confirmation.
- 10/27/2015
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
El Dorado
Written by Leigh Brackett
Directed by Howard Hawks
USA, 1966
When El Dorado was first shown in 1966, the Western in its classical form was beginning to disappear from American cinema. John Ford, synonymous with the genre, released his last feature that year, and El Dorado would be the second-to-last film by its own legendary director, Howard Hawks. The Western was evolving and its old masters were giving way to modern innovators. The stylishly self-conscious films of Sergio Leone first signaled the shift (the films of his “Dollars Trilogy” came out in 1964-1966), and it was certified by the critical, ominous, and violent The Wild Bunch, directed by Sam Peckinpah in 1969. Hawks decried the slow-motion bloodletting of Peckinpah. He argued that he could kill four men, get them to the morgue, and bury them before this newcomer could get one on the ground.
With this as the context of its gestation,...
Written by Leigh Brackett
Directed by Howard Hawks
USA, 1966
When El Dorado was first shown in 1966, the Western in its classical form was beginning to disappear from American cinema. John Ford, synonymous with the genre, released his last feature that year, and El Dorado would be the second-to-last film by its own legendary director, Howard Hawks. The Western was evolving and its old masters were giving way to modern innovators. The stylishly self-conscious films of Sergio Leone first signaled the shift (the films of his “Dollars Trilogy” came out in 1964-1966), and it was certified by the critical, ominous, and violent The Wild Bunch, directed by Sam Peckinpah in 1969. Hawks decried the slow-motion bloodletting of Peckinpah. He argued that he could kill four men, get them to the morgue, and bury them before this newcomer could get one on the ground.
With this as the context of its gestation,...
- 3/14/2014
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
This text was begun in mid-to-late 2010. I posted two work-in-progress excerpts on my personal blog in December of that year. Following Scott's death, I decided that it was time to revise and complete it.
***
More often than not, innovation resembles deficiency. Jean-Luc Godard couldn't tell a story, Yasujiro Ozu never learned the 180 degree rule, Robert Bresson didn't know how to direct actors, D.W. Griffith first didn't understand that the audience wanted to see the whole actress and not just her face and then didn't understand how you were supposed to make a talkie—and, toward the end of his career, Tony Scott made movies the wrong way, never letting an image hold long enough for the viewer to figure out just exactly what was going on.
The party line on Tony Scott is that he was a "stylist," a man who made popular, "technically accomplished" and therefore insubstantial films; he...
***
More often than not, innovation resembles deficiency. Jean-Luc Godard couldn't tell a story, Yasujiro Ozu never learned the 180 degree rule, Robert Bresson didn't know how to direct actors, D.W. Griffith first didn't understand that the audience wanted to see the whole actress and not just her face and then didn't understand how you were supposed to make a talkie—and, toward the end of his career, Tony Scott made movies the wrong way, never letting an image hold long enough for the viewer to figure out just exactly what was going on.
The party line on Tony Scott is that he was a "stylist," a man who made popular, "technically accomplished" and therefore insubstantial films; he...
- 8/22/2012
- MUBI
Neve Campbell is gearing up for a starring turn as the silent-film star-turned-elusive actress Louise Brooks. Campbell has purchased Peter Nickowitz and Bill Oliver's screenplay Lulu as a starring vehicle for herself. The script tells the life story of Brooks, who was born in 1906 in Kansas. She went on to star in more than two dozen films, most notably Pandora's Box, A Girl in Every Port and Beggars of Life. Known for her strong-willed ways -- and her trendsetting bobbed hair -- Brooks then moved to Germany, where she starred in several German productions. It was in Europe that she became a recluse, hiding away from the public eye until she was rediscovered in her later years after she was given a typewriter that she used to write a series of essays about her life. The beginning of Campbell's project finds Brooks in her solitude and then traces back the story of her life. It is known that Campbell has wanted to do a film about Brooks for many years. She will now be looking for a director and financier. Campbell is repped by ICM, manager Arlene Forster at her Forster Entertainment and attorney Steve Younger at Manatt, Phelps and Phillips. She next stars in Robert Altman's The Company, which she produced based on her own original idea. Campbell's other upcoming projects include Blind Horizon, with Val Kilmer, Churchill: The Hollywood Years, with Christian Slater, and James Toback's When Will I Be Loved. The writers are repped by attorney Eric Brooks at Bloom, Hergott & Diemer.
- 12/10/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.