Eyes Without a Face (The Criterion Collection)

A brilliant surgeon attempts to restore his daughter to her former beauty after a terrible car crash leaves her permanently disfigured. Using an experimental skin grafting procedure, Doctor Génessier comes closer and closer to achieving this goal, but modern medicine would never approve of his methods... Georges Franju's French classic ushers in a new era of surgical horror that would bleed in to the B-movie cinema of the 1960's and 70's in films like DR. BLOOD's COFFIN or Jess Franco's THE AWFUL DR. ORLOF. Where these later entries would exploit the theme for all of its gory potential, Franju focuses on the pathos of a character-driven drama that is riddled with grief, remorse, obsession, and despair. Questions of morality and ethics constantly plague the characters as the lines of right and wrong are blurred. We can never be certain whether Doctor Génessier continues his efforts out of the love and guilt that he feels for his daughter, or if it is the obsession with his own success that secretly drives him. We also find that the cost of vanity is eally quite deep, not just for the doctor and his daughter Christiane, but also for his victims. Many of these characters would choose death over disfigurement, devaluing a life lived without beauty. The elegant cinematography disarms the audience when it comes time to perform the surgeries, since the scenes are shot with such clinical precision and convincing special effects as to completely uphold the suspension of disbelief in a thrilling display of the Grand Guignol. Pierre Brasseur provides a flawless performance as Doctor Génessier, however it is Edith Scob who we truly identify with as Christiane. Scob's expressive performance speaks through the thick rubber mask which hides her facial features. EYES WITHOUT A FACE is not only significant for defining a whole new sub-genre in Horror, but it is also an all-around great film, and a timeless classic of world cinema.-Carl ManesI Like Horror Movies

Chilling, French classic is not the trashy, gory horror B-movie it easily could have been, but instead aspired to a surprisingly touching and artistic cinematic work. A creepy, but sad story of respected but mad surgeon's attempting to restore his daughter's face after her auto wreck, with his morbid obsession leading him to work on experimental facial transplants...but how to get the donors? Shocking for it's time, infamous for gruesome scenes of surgery, memorable role of Edith Scob in an iconic mask, symbolic use of animals, a poetic ending, and it's unique stylish tone- often referred to as dreamy, lyrical, or compared to a fairy tale. Macabre but rather beautiful. Compare with Jean Cocteau's films Beauty And The Beast or Orpheus, or even the highly stylish Italian classic Suspiria. Criterion Collection's Blu Ray looks fine and showcases the expressionist photography. Extras include documentaries and interviews, one of which is an extremely graphic (thus extremely disturbing) but remarkably fascinating documentary on a famous Parisian slaughterhouse/abattoir- quite gross. Highly recommended to fans of cult classics and dark fairy tales.

A woman is driving down a highway with someone in the backseat, someone lifeless. The driving woman frequently looks over her shoulder and into the rearview mirror as if she expects someone to stop her progress on the highway. The woman's face displays high levels of anxiety and nervousness, which is similar to criminals expecting to get caught. The trepidation that this opening scene brings the audience is overwhelming in a subtle manner as it does not spray blood or build a suspense that will turn into a startling jump fest.The woman arrives to a small river where she parks the car by the riverbank and opens the back door of the small Citroën. She drags out a lifeless body from the car and dumps it in the river, which will be discovered some days later. The identity of the body appears to be Christiane Génessier (Edith Scob). Christiane is the daughter of a famous surgeon, Doctor Génessier (Pierre Brasseur), as he identifies her body through her disfigured face, which she acquired in a car accident.The beginning sets up a scenario that grabs the audience by the neck with an icy grip that is ready to snap the cervical vertebrae. This prepares the audience for what is to come with fearful anticipation that forces the audience to chip for air as if deep inhalation could disrupt the pending doom. The score of the film enhances the uneasy atmosphere with a carnival like tune which is carefully balanced with visual cues on the screen. The mise-en-scene also plays a significant role in the build up of anxiety and horror as it is full of symbolism.Georges Franju directs a horrific tale regarding obsession for perfection and inhumane behavior, which is narrated through meticulous cinematography. The camera angles, music, the use of light, and mise-en-scene visually triggers fearful emotions within the audience. This leads the audience to experience an outmost terrific horror tale, which is rarely seen in today's pop culture where blood, gore, and disgust rule.

This copy of Eyes Without A Face is used, but in perfectly good condition with the extra pamphlet intact. Package arrived quickly.

Compre el bluray de Eyes without a face. Llegó al día siguiente de que hice mi compra, y en perfecto estado. Había escuchado que era un must see en cuanto a las películas de suspenso y fue cierto: la disfruté de principio a fin, la música en particular me gustó mucho.En cuanto al formato, sólo trae un disco y viene en inglés con subtítulos en inglés. Nada en español.Estoy completamente satisfecha y feliz

One of the best horror films ever made, IMO. BLOOD OF THE BEASTS short is also on the disc,as powerful as ever. Also some shortclips of G.Franju on French TV giving his thoughts and theory on horror films. The film transfer looks absolutely great here. Terrific film, terrific DVD.

Cet admirable film de Georges Franju n'a pas pris une ride depuis sa sortie en 1960, date où je le vis pour la première fois.L'édition Criterion est en tout point digne du film, et la version présentée est plus complète que celle de Gaumont en France, en effet une scène de quelques minutes où l'on voit Blavette apporter à Brasseur un chien errant pour ses expériences, puis Brasseur mettre le chien en cage et contempler les autres chiens captifs, est bizarrement absente de l'édition Gaumont.Que ce soit en DVD ou en BluRay, l'édition Criterion est donc LA référence en ce qui concerne "Les yeux sans visage"...

Les yeux sans visage (AKA: Eyes Without a Face) is directed by Georges Franju and collectively written by Franju, Jean Redon, Pierre Boileau, Thomas Narcejac and Claude Sautet. It stars Pierre Brasseur, Edith Scob, Alida Valli, Juliette Mayniel and Francois Guerin. Music is by Maurice Jarre and cinematography by Eugen Schufftan.Dr. Genessier (Brasseur) is wracked with guilt over the car accident he caused that saw his beloved daughter Christiane (Scob) suffer horrendous facial injuries. He has a notion to perform xenograft surgeries on female victims and transplant the face onto that of Christiane…It sounds like a classic mad scientist movie, the sort where Peter Lorre stalks around the place with a devilish grin on his face, only the French version! Eyes Without a Face isn’t that sort of horror film, haunting? Yes, but there is no killing for joy or sadism here, it’s done for love, to assuage guilt whilst advancing science. Oh it’s still madness, but there’s a real sadness to Dr. Genessier’s actions, touchingly so, and with Franju a master of hauntingly lyrical splendour, it’s a film as beautiful as it is troubling.Christiane is a living doll, a slow moving angel forced to wear a porcelain mask to hide her badly burned face. As she glides around the Gothic halls of the Genessier house – and the lower tier corridors of the hospital that’s annexed to the house - Franju never wastes a chance to poeticise a scene, using slow and long takes in silence that imbue the story with a sense of the foreboding. Even when there is dialogue, it’s always in hushed tones unless it involves the police, who are naturally suspicious of the good doctor Genessier.A number of evocative scenes are truly arresting, gorgeous in construction and meaning, none more so than the very final scene that closes the pic down. But the most talked about scene is the one of horror, the surgery procedure that we actually see, a magnificent breath holding sequence, gruesome but once again, done in the name of love! The tragedy of which is palpable. From the opening of the film as Louise (Dr. Genessier’s assistant played by Valli) drags a dead body to a lake, to a moving sequence as Christiane visits the caged dogs that serve as guinea pigs for her father’s experiments, the blend of horror with fairytale like sadness is beautifully rendered.Tech credits are very high. Schufftan’s photography is graceful and sombre, whilst Jarre’s musical score, particularly the macabre carnival tune he uses, is coming straight from the aural chambers of the surreal. Brasseur is terrific as Genessier, again playing a doctor (he was wonderful the year before in Head Against the Wall), Genessier is a tortured soul with ice cold blood running through his veins, and Brasseur nails it. The French Laird Cregar? Yes. That’s a justifiable compliment. In truth all performances are high in quality, with props to Scob who has to wear the immobile mask and act just with her sad puppy dog eyes.As the doves fly, this is what it sounds like when dogs – and a porcelain angel – cry. Indeed. 9/10