Les yeux sans visage (1960)

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

  (Complete credited 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:

Initial releases of the film were met with negative reactions from film critics. One French critic stated the film was "in a minor genre and quite unworthy of his (Franju's) abilities." Franju responded by saying that the film was his attempt to get the minor genre to be taken seriously.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the initial surgery scene, Doctor Génessier makes cuts around the face and eyes of the young woman (Edna). When he and Louise remove the face, there are suddenly marks and a hole cut around the mouth.

Quotes:

Doctor Génessier: The future, Madame, is something we should have started on a long time ago.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in El Mascarado Massacre (2006)

Masterpiece of the genre

George Franju's "Yeux Sans Visage" is extremely slow yet absolutely riveting. The direction is masterful and Pierre Brasseur is superb as the dedicated doctor whose love for his daughter leads him to commit unspeakable crimes.

The cold, sinister atmosphere of the film will seep into your bones and you may find it hard to look at the screen when the central skin-removal operation takes place - this is an extraordinarily grisly sequence for its time, lent all the more power by the cold, matter-of-fact direction and acting.

In a film full of haunting images, you will find the last one unforgettable.

Why can't modern directors make horror films as good as this? It deals with a potentially lurid, gory subject-matter with masterly subtlety and skill.