splash  In January 2026, Flicker Alley and the San Francisco Film Preserve released Focus on Louise Brooks, a Blu-ray compilation of the actress’ early performances, including her film debut in Herbert Brenon’s The Street of Forgotten Men. The 1925 melodrama has been fully restored and is being made available for the very first time on home video, joined by extant materials from three additional Brooks features, which are also making their home video debut. The other three films on the disc are The American Venus (1926), Just Another Blonde (1926), and Now We’re in the Air (1927). More information on this new release can be found on the Flicker Alley website.

Thomas Gladysz and the Louise Brooks Society has long been involved in this project, which had been ten years in the making.The LBS assisted with the preservation of both The Street of Forgotten Men and Now We’re in the Air, while Gladysz penned the booklet essay and contributed audio commentaries. This single-disc, multi-region Blu-ray is a treasure trove of rare Brooks performances with extant material from her earliest films brought together in one place, newly restored, and presented in a deluxe edition. For more about each title, see the LBS filmography pages about each film linked below.

  • The Street of Forgotten Men /  1925 / Directed by Herbert Brenon / 75 minutes / Famous Players-Lasky Corporation (LBS pages on the film)
    Restored from a 35mm nitrate negative preserved at the Library of Congress, the film’s missing second reel has been reconstructed using film stills as well as text and dialogue based on a copy of the original script, preserved by the New York Public Library. It features a musical score by Stephen Horne.
  • The American Venus (Extant Materials) / 1926 / Directed by Frank Tuttle / 8 minutes / Famous Players-Lasky (LBS pages on the film)
    Although most of Paramount Pictures’ beauty contest comedy The American Venus no longer survives, all extant material (including trailers, test footage, and a Technicolor fragment) have been gathered. Brooks’ first creditted role places her opposite Esther Ralston, Ford Sterling, Lawrence Gray, and the 1925 Miss America Fay Lanphier (all of whom are seen in the surviving material).
  • Just Another Blonde (Fragment) / 1926 / Directed by Alfred Santell / 32 minutes / First National (LBS pages on the film)
    Brooks plays against type in director Alfred Santell’s Coney Island rom-com, starring as bookish Diana O’Sullivan opposite Dorothy Mackaill in the title role. The surviving footage includes segments from five of the original six reels. Also included on the disc is the film’s original trailer, which contains footage not otherwise seen.
  • Now We’re in the Air (Fragment) / 1927 / Directed by Frank R. Strayer / 23 minutes / Paramount Pictures (LBS pages on the film)
    This high flying World War I comedy delivers a double dose of Brooks, setting her as twin sisters Griselle and Grisette opposite hapless aviators played by Wallace Beery and Raymond Hatton. Sadly, only Grisette’s role still exists today in the film’s surviving 22 minute sequence.
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The Street of Forgotten Men The American Venus The American Venus
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The American Venus Just Another Blonde Now We’re in the Air

 

Focus on Louise Brooks presents Louise Brooks as she hasn’t been seen in nearly 100 years. Besides the above mentioned films, this new release also contains new musical accompaniment and a generous selection of bonus materials.

  • Restoration Demo – A look at the painstaking process that went into preserving the films included in this set

  • Audio Commentaries – Informative audio tracks are included with film scholar Pamela Hutchinson on The Street of Forgotten Men, with author and film historians Thomas Gladysz and Kathy Rose O’Regan on Just Another Blonde, and with Thomas Gladysz and Robert Byrne on The American Venus and Now We’re in the Air.

  • Looking at Lulu – Explore the fascinating behind the scenes life of Louise Brooks with an extended featurette with historian Pamela Hutchinson

  • Image Galleries – Featuring production stills and promotional material

  • Booklet Insert – An essay by film historian Thomas Gladysz, and restoration notes by Robert Byrne

  • English closed captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing, as well as subtitle tracks in English, Spanish, French, and German

  • Blu-ray Authoring by David Mackenzie of Fidelity In Motion

  • All Region Encoding (A,B,C)

Focus on Louise Brooks features early performances by the actress few have ever seen. She is lively, coy, flirty, drop-dead gorgeous and a joy to behold. And like Clara Bow, Brooks has got “IT”. If all this isn’t enough to tempt you… there is a gorgeous limited edition spot gloss slipcover only available at the Flicker Alley website and select indie retailers.

Focus on Louise Brooks Focus on Louise Brooks booklet cover Focus on Louise Brooks tray art Focus on Louise Brooks alt cover
standard cover booklet cover tray art limited edition slipcover

 

Focus on Louise Brooks has received a handful of reviews; here are a few of the best reviews.

Maltin, Leonard. “Catching Up with Blu-rays.” leonardmaltin.com, March 23, 2026.
— “But the surviving footage gives us plenty of time to ogle Louise at her prettiest. Brooks expert Thomas Gladysz speaks about all of this on the audio track and a booklet reveals all the painstaking work that went into the restorations.”

Kaufman, J. B. “Movie of the Month: Just Another Blonde (1926).” J. B. Kaufman: Film Historian, Author, March 2026.
— “Our friends at the San Francisco Film Preserve and our friends at Flicker Alley have teamed up to produce an important new Blu-Ray package, Focus on Louise Brooks, which serves as a lavish celebration of Brooks’ early career. This is an event for film enthusiasts, for several reasons.”

Dillard, Clayton. “Review: ‘Focus on Louise Brooks’ on Limited Edition Flicker Fusion Blu-ray.” Slant, February 13, 1926.
— “The importance of this collection lies as much in its historical record as in the individual films.”

Barrett, Michael. “Silent Film Restoration Is an Act of Love.” PopMatters, February 12, 1926.
— “… a lovely package in a beautifully designed cardboard slipcase, pitched squarely at fans and fetishists of Louise Brooks. Anyone, however, may profit from a peek at its pleasures.”