Eyes Without a Face
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Synopsis
At his secluded château in the French countryside, a brilliant, obsessive doctor (Pierre Brasseur) attempts a radical plastic surgery to restore the beauty of his daughter’s disfigured countenance—at a horrifying price. Eyes Without a Face, directed by the supremely talented Georges Franju, is rare in horror cinema for its odd mixture of the ghastly and the lyrical, and it has been a major influence on the genre in the decades since its release. There are images here—of terror, of gore, of inexplicable beauty—that once seen are never forgotten.
Picture 9/10
The Criterion Collection upgrades their edition of Georges Franju’s Eyes Without a Face to 4K UHD, presenting the film on a dual-layer BD-66 disc in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1. The SDR 2160p/24hz ultra high-definition presentation is sourced from a 4K restoration taken from a scan of the 35mm original camera negative. A standard Blu-ray is also included, featuring all supplements and a 1080p presentation of the film. Though the artwork slightly differs the disc otherwise replicates Criterion’s 2013 release.
Revisiting that twelve-year-old Blu-ray, I think it still holds up reasonably well, dated aspects of the master and all. This new 4K edition, however, represents a significant and sharply defined upgrade. Even going back to the DVD era, restoration work on the film has always been strong, but this new presentation looks especially clean and stable, free of major marks or scratches. Detail is impressive outside of a few intentionally soft shots, while the grain is rendered beautifully, lending the image an organic, film-like texture that I love to see, and a very clear step-up from the Blu-ray.
Grayscale is also markedly improved, with a broader range and cleaner delineation that delivers a far more photographic picture. Blacks remain deep but reveal more nuance and shadow detail, while highlights are bright without clipping out detail, grain even ramining intact. Though HDR might have expanded that range even further, I still felt the SDR presentation looks excellent; terrific, even. (That said, I am curious to see how Umbrella’s and BFI’s Dolby Vision releases will compare.)
Despite that little caveat, it's a wonderful-looking upgrade overall, and it's the best I've yet seen the film look.
Eyes Without a Face - Screen Captures
Audio 6/10
The film’s French soundtrack is presented in lossless monaural PCM. There’s a slight edge to the score at times, but otherwise the track is clean and stable, with solid range and fidelity. Dialogue comes through clearly, and there are no noticeable signs of damage or distortion.
Extras 6/10
All of the features from Criterion’s previous edition have been carried over and are included on the standard Blu-ray disc. The most substantial supplement remains Franju’s first film, Blood of the Beasts, a 22-minute documentary about the Paris slaughterhouses. It’s a difficult watch regardless of one’s views on the subject, and Franju’s detached, matter-of-fact presentation (simply observing the process without judgment) only heightens its impact. As Edith Scob notes in her interview on this disc, Franju was fascinated by dissection, and that interest is certainly reflected here. This is not a film for the squeamish.
The short receives a high-definition presentation that still looks natural and filmic, offering a sharp image that perhaps captures its gruesome details a little too well. It doesn’t appear much restoration work was done, as the source print still shows wear comparable to the DVD edition, but the transfer itself is solid and film-like.
Accompanying the short are excerpts from two interviews with Georges Franju totaling about three minutes. He briefly discusses why he made Blood of the Beasts and explains why he avoided shooting in color; it would have been “far too horrible to watch” if he had.
Recorded for the 2013 Blu-ray edition is a 9-minute interview with actress Edith Scob, who played Christiane. She recalls how she was cast and what it was like filming Eyes Without a Face, particularly the challenges of wearing the mask and dealing with the dogs on set. She also mentions the makeup effects (shot out of focus because Franju thought they looked too fake) and reflects on the director’s peculiar interests and style. Short but valuable, it’s a great inclusion and a welcome addition to the set.
Criterion also includes a 6-minute excerpt from a 1985 French television program, Le fantastique, featuring Franju conversing with a host dressed as a mad scientist on a laboratory set. He discusses his philosophy of horror—believing the best examples come from the natural world and aren’t meant to be overtly frightening—and touches on censorship and Eyes Without a Face.
Next is a 7-minute excerpt from the documentary Les grands-pères du crime, exploring the collaboration between authors Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, who wrote the novel that inspired Eyes Without a Face and other classics like Vertigo and Diabolique. The segment features interviews with both writers, who discuss their partnership and creative process.
The disc concludes with two theatrical trailers: the original French version and the American one, which promoted the film as part of a double bill. The included booklet also appears unchanged, featuring essays by Patrick McGrath (on the film itself) and David Kalat (on Franju and his influences).
Still not an especially lavish edition, but it offers a strong selection of material that provides context for the film and its director’s career.
Closing
Criterion delivers a striking 4K upgrade for Georges Franju’s masterpiece, paired with a solid collection of supplements.
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