Eyes Without a Face (Les yeux sans visage)
Directed by Georges Franju
Written by Pierre Gascar, Claude Sautet, Jean Redon et al from Redon’s novel
1960/France
Champs-Elysees Productions/Lux Film
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
[box] Doctor Génessier: Smile. Not too much. [/box]
“Beautiful” is not an adjective usually applied to horror movies.
Dr. Genessier (Pierre Brasseur) is a physician who experiments with tissue transplants in his off hours. Many of these are performed on the kennel of dogs he has stolen. When his reckless driving causes an accident that destroys the beautiful face of his daughter Christiane (Edith Scobe), he has a new project.
His technique actually had some success with Louise (Alida Valli). Now she is his faithful assistant and sets about kidnapping girls with Christiane’s delicate beauty for the doctor’s horrendous facial transplant surgery. In the meantime, Christiane’s simple wish is to go blind or die.
This is a horror movie without monsters or jump cuts. The shivers come mostly from the artfully graphic surgery sequences. Then there are all those enraged dogs. This is a poetic, somberly paced film. The black-and-white cinematography looks exquisite on the Criterion Blu-Ray. Recommended.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGNFynNqJ2A
Film club trailer
Critic Mark Kermode discusses the film
