Essay by Thomas Gladysz (3)
 
As a psychological study, some found Pandora’s Box a disappointment, regretting Pabst’s seeming retreat from the social and political engagement of his earlier works. Critics and censors were likewise taken aback by what was then considered a frank portrayal of sexuality. Even from afar, the poet H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) writing in the English film journal Close Up, noted the controversy when she stated the film was “passed by the German censors after a stormy discussion of several hours duration.”