Eyes Without a Face (film)

Eyes Without a Face
Movie poster tinted red. It depicts Christiane Génessier's head wearing her mask staring away. In the bottom right corner, Doctor Génessier is suffocating a female victim. Text at the top of the image includes the two leads and the film's title. Text at the bottom left of the poster reveals further production credits.
French theatrical release poster
FrenchLes yeux sans visage
Directed byGeorges Franju
Adaptation byBoileau-Narcejac
Jean Redon
Claude Sautet
Dialogue byPierre Gascar
Based onLes Yeux sans visage
by Jean Redon
Produced byJules Borkon
Starring
CinematographyEugen Schüfftan
Edited byGilbert Natot
Music byMaurice Jarre
Production
companies
Distributed byLux Compagnie Cinématographique de France[1]
Release dates
  • 2 March 1960 (1960-03-02) (Paris, France)
Running time
90 minutes
Countries
  • France
  • Italy[1]
LanguageFrench

Eyes Without a Face (French: Les Yeux sans visage) is a 1960 French-language horror film directed by Georges Franju. A French-Italian co-production, the film stars Pierre Brasseur and Alida Valli. Based on the novel of the same name by Jean Redon, it revolves around a plastic surgeon who is determined to perform a face transplant on his daughter, who was disfigured in a car accident. During the film's production, consideration was given to the standards of European censors by minimizing gore. Although Eyes Without a Face was cleared by censors, its release in Europe caused controversy. Critical reaction ranged from praise to disgust.

In the United States, an edited and dubbed version of the film, titled The Horror Chamber of Dr. Faustus, was released by Lopert Pictures in 1962 as a double feature with The Manster. The film's initial critical reception was not overtly positive, but subsequent theatrical and home video re-releases improved its reputation.[2] Modern critics praise Eyes Without a Face for its poetic nature as well as for being an influence on other filmmakers.

  1. ^ a b c "Les Yeux sans visage" (in French). Bibliothèque du film. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  2. ^ Schneider 2005, p. 365.