Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu

The movie tell the life of one of the most beautiful actress of all the times. With an exotic appearance, that mixed sensuality and innocence, she marked the decade of 1920 with herb short hairdo and the small mouth. The movie show that her path was difficult: of a humble origin, inside the USA, going by the acme in the European films, until the decadence, caused by the contempt of her own fellow citizens to her very liberal lifestyle. An important film for any lover of the movies and especially for that wonderful woman's fans.

I have a love-hate relationship with Louise Brooks. She was undoubtedly talented as an actress, dancer, and writer. She was incredibly sexy, with an unforced eroticism that makes the likes of Dietrich and Garbo look overdone. She was shameless and eccentric, and to hell with you if you had anything bad to say about it. She was also vain and vindictive, and occasionally quite mean (an attempt to run a dancing school ended in failure due to Brooks' nastiness towards her students). Earlier in life, she was also rather lazy, squandering acting opportunities due to boredom, pettiness, or in the case of a possible European career, not wanting to learn another language. She created pretty much all of her own problems and was her own worst enemy.

Still, what a woman. This documentary is brief at n hour, but still a good introduction to one of silent film's most fascinating players.

Through stills, archival footage, and interviews (including opinions shared by Louise's relatives) - This intriguing, 1-hour celebrity bio-documentary looks at the highs & lows of the life and career of American film actress, Louise Brooks (1907-1985).

Born (1906) in Cherryvale, Kansas - Louise Brooks (who is viewed as being the quintessential flapper) began her somewhat rocky film career during Hollywood's silent-era (1925).

After appearing in 25 films (both in America and Germany) - Louise Brooks retired from the movie business in 1938 when offers for roles began to steadily decline.

(*Note*) - In 1985 - Louise Brooks (78 at the time) died of a heart attack.

This 1998 film is narrated by Shirley MacLaine (of "John Goldfarb Please Come Home" 1965 fame). Even though this is a quick overview, we get to know Louise Brooks from her own words and those that met her. This is divided into five sections: "Lulu in Toe Shoes" "Lulu in Hollywood" "Lulu in Berlin" "Lulu in Hell" "Resurrection"

There is some great stock footage and, in the end, you feel that you know her better than if she actually talked to you.

At first glance you think of her as some exotic European actress. Who would have guessed that Mary Louise Brooks was an American film actress and dancer during the 1920s and 1930s. She was born in Cherryvale, Kansas, U. S. A.

The next time you watch her movies you will see them through new eyes and a new appreciation for her acting style.

"Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu" is an exceptionally well-crafted and emotionally moving documentary. It is one of the best film documentaries I have ever seen. Barry Paris (author of the definitive biography of the actress) has written a masterful, sympathetic script. And director Hugh Munro Neely has fashioned a well-researched, balanced and finely documented study of this 20th century icon.

Louise Brooks (1906 – 1985) was incredibly photogenic – some have claimed her to be one of the most beautiful actresses of all time. The many photographic images shown in this film highlight Brooks' life and career as a girl growing up in small-town Kansas, as a Denishawn dancer (she danced alongside Martha Graham!), as a showgirl with the Ziegfeld Follies in 1920's New York, as a bobbed-hair flapper in a handful of American silent films, as Lulu - an innocent femme fatale murdered by Jack the Ripper in her most famous film - the now classic German production Pandora's Box, and later in life, as an essayist and author of the bestselling book, "Lulu in Hollywood."

"Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu" features numerous film clips – some of them rare, including Brooks' first appearance in a movie, her first part in a talkie, and her last film, a low budget Western with John Wayne. There are also excerpts from an on-screen interview with the actress conducted later in her life. The film is narrated by Shirley MacLaine (herself a big Brooks fan), and features interviews with actor Francis Lederer, (Brooks' co-star in Pandora's Box), actor Roddy McDowell (a longtime admirer and friend), actress Dana Delany (another fan of the actress), and others who knew Brooks throughout her life. These interviews are well chosen, and help tell the story of her "life, death, and resurrection."

Perhaps the only criticism one could offer is that "Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu" is not long enough! (Pretty much everyone who has seen this film wishes for more.) Another twenty or thirty minutes spent exploring Brooks' time in Europe, her decades of obscurity, her rediscovery, and the cult which has grown up around her would be welcome. Otherwise, this film is highly recommended for anyone interested in Louise Brooks in particular or film history in general.