Eyes Without a Face (1962)
93%RT Audience Score: 87%
Awards & Nominations: NA
A horrific tale of guilt and obsession, Eyes Without a Face is just as chilling and poetic today as it was when it was first released.
Eyes Without a Face is a horror movie that will make you scream, but not in the way you might expect. Instead of relying on jump scares and gore, this classic film uses cinematic poetry to create an eerie and unsettling atmosphere. With remarkable practical effects and a haunting soundtrack, Eyes Without a Face is a weird masterwork that will leave you feeling both disturbed and impressed. So if you’re in the mood for a horror movie that’s more than just blood and guts, give this one a try. Just don’t blame us if you have trouble sleeping afterwards!
Production Company(ies)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Stanley Kubrick Productions,
Distributor
Rialto Pictures, United Artists, Lopert Pictures Corp.
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Studios de Boulogne, Avenue Jean-Baptiste Clément, Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
1962
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.66 : 1
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Runtime:1h 24m
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Language(s):French
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Country of origin:France, Italy
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 31, 1962 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 19, 2004
Genre(s)
Horror/Drama
Keyword(s)
Horror, Drama, French (Canada), directed by Georges Franju, produced by Jules Borkon, written by Pierre Boileau, Pierre Gascar, Thomas Narcejac, Jean Redon, Claude Sautet, starring Pierre Brasseur, Alida Valli, Édith Scob, Juliette Mayniel, François Guérin, reviewed by Michael Wilmington, Scott Tobias, Tim Purtell, Emma Simmonds, David Parkinson, Variety Staff, Brian Eggert, C.H Newell, A.S Hamrah, Dan Sallitt, Isabel Quigly, Fernando F Croce, box office gross $52.7K, MPAA rating not specified, guilt, obsession, disfigurement, kidnapping, surgery, grafting, poetic, chilling, haunting, horror genre
Worldwide gross: $60,254
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $670,055
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,675
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 73,070
US/Canada gross: $58,565
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $651,273
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,273
US/Canada opening weekend: $19,628
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $218,273
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,637
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Alida Valli – Louise
Édith Scob – Christiane Genessier
Juliette Mayniel – Edna Grüber
François Guérin – Jacques Vernon
Georges Franju – Director
Pierre Boileau – Writer
Pierre Gascar – Writer
Thomas Narcejac – Writer
Jean Redon – Writer
Claude Sautet – Writer
Jules Borkon – Producer
Director(s)
Georges Franju
Writer(s)
Pierre Boileau, Pierre Gascar, Thomas Narcejac, Jean Redon, Claude Sautet
Producer(s)
Jules Borkon
Film Festivals
Cannes
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (56) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (55) | Rotten (1)
Eyes Without a Face is a perfect example of how cinematic poetry can transform a seemingly disreputable movie genre.
October 14, 2014 | Rating: 3.5/4
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Eyes Without A Face is a classic anomaly, out of step with its time (and any other), with mysteries that lingered long enough for critics finally to be intoxicated by them.
October 14, 2013 | Rating: 5/5
Scott Tobias
The Dissolve
TOP CRITIC
One of those rare horror films that induces discomfort by showing practically nothing.
October 6, 2013 | Rating: A-
Tim Purtell
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Georges Franju’s monstrous masterpiece delivers horror sans face but with a huge heart.
October 6, 2013
Emma Simmonds
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
Sharp as a scalpel, soft as a caress, this is a weird masterwork.
September 26, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
It has some queasy scenes, but unclear progression and plodding direction give this an old-fashioned air.
September 26, 2007
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Eyes Without a Face remains such an enduring classic because of its rich signification – its horror employs thematically haunted and evocative symbols of eyes, faces, and masks.
February 12, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Remarkably executed practical effects, which feel clinical and gruesome, allowing Eyes Without A Face to cross that threshold of the older style of Gothic horror.
May 7, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
C.H. Newell
Father Son Holy Gore
Franju and Shüfftan denature these trees. Without leaves they are skeletal, bodies without flesh. The sounds of nonmigratory birds and chained dogs barking dot the soundtrack like the trees line the picture…
November 29, 2018
A.S. Hamrah
n+1
The viewer receives the ending in the spirit of legend, yet supplies its undertone of terror by remembering the girl’s unnervingly poor prospects.
October 12, 2018
Dan Sallitt
MUBI
Gets my prize as the sickest film since I started film criticism.
July 12, 2018
Isabel Quigly
The Spectator
The frisson nonpareil of morbid poetry
October 25, 2015
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion…
Plot
After causing an accident that left his daughter Christiane severely disfigured, the brilliant surgeon Dr. Génessier works tirelessly to give the girl a new face. He does so, however, by kidnapping young women and attempting face transplants. He has been woefully unsuccessful to date. The doctor’s world begins to collapse around him when his daughter realizes just what he has been doing.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Edith Scob’s portrayal of Christiane, the disfigured daughter, is haunting and memorable.
Georges-Franju.jpg
