Les yeux sans visage (1960)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Georges Franju

Writers:

Jean Redon (novel)
Pierre Boileau (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

24 October 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

A brilliant surgeon, Dr. Génessier, helped by his assistant Louise, kidnaps nice young women. He removes...

Plot Keywords:

Assistant | Surgeon | Transplant | Plastic Surgery | Stockings

Cast

Pierre Brasseur	...	Docteur Génessier
Alida Valli	...	Louise
Juliette Mayniel	...	Edna Grüber
Edith Scob	...	Christiane Génessier
François Guérin	...	Jacques Vernon
Alexandre Rignault	...	Inspector Parot
Béatrice Altariba	...	Paulette
Charles Blavette	...	L'homme de la fourrière (as Blavette)
Claude Brasseur	...	Un inspecteur
Michel Etcheverry	...	Le docteur Lherminier - médecin légiste / Forensic surgeon
Yvette Etiévant	...	La mère
René Génin	...	Emile Tessot
Lucien Hubert	...	Un homme au cimetière
Marcel Pérès	...	Un homme au cimetière

Also Known As:

Eyes Without a Face (UK)
House of Dr. Rasanoff
Occhi senza volto (Italy)
The Horror Chamber of Dr. Faustus (USA) (dubbed version)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1962) | Australia:M (2007) | France:U (2007) | UK:15 (2007) | UK:18 (1995) | UK:X (1959) (cut) | Argentina:16 | France:-16 | USA:Unrated

Company:

Champs-Élysées Productions

Trivia:

During the original release of the film an English film critic for The Spectator was nearly fired for writing it a positive review, while the general critical reaction had been poor.

Goofs:

Continuity: License plate changes numbers between shots as the doctor is backing up and pulling into his garage for the first time. As he walks through the garage, into the house, you can see the original plate '7769' on his assistant's car.

Quotes:

Louise: She trusts you this time. I trust you.
Doctor Génessier: Me, I'm hoping, that's all.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Middleman: The Palindrome Reversal Palindrome (#1.12)" (2008)

Dark, desolate and diverting

This film is dark and somber with a spare, eerie music score that suits perfectly the macabre, surreal story. A brilliant but deranged surgeon, having caused his daughter's disfigurement in a car accident, loses touch with reality and tries to restore her beauty in a most repulsive manner. Undeterred by failure, the mad doctor continues his gruesome work, hoping to find a miracle cure that will reconstruct the girl's facial features and also relieve him of his tremendous burden of guilt. The once-lovely girl realizes that she will never enjoy a normal life or see her beloved fiancé again, and her mute telephone calls to him just to hear his voice show how empty and lonely her life has become. There are some scenes that are horribly graphic but quite well done and a few moments that are poignant and touching amid the cruelty and butchery of the movie's central theme. Each character in this grim, unhappy feature is victimized in some fashion, but in spite of its subject matter, this cult classic is lean, first-rate storytelling.