Eyes without a face (1960)

Eyes Without a Face (French: Les yeux sans visage) is a 1960 French-language horror film adaptation of Jean Redon's novel which was directed by French filmmaker Georges Franju, It stars Pierre Brasseur as Doctor Génessier, Alida Valli as Louise, his assistant and accomplice, and Edith Scob as Christiane Génessier, his daughter.

The obsessive Doctor Génessier attempts heterografting, via experimental surgery, to restore the face of Christiane, whose face has been horribly disfigured in a car accident. Louise lures young women to their home while in Doctor Génessier's home laboratory to perform experiments on them that will restore Christiane's beauty.

During the film's production, consideration was given to the standards of European censors by setting the right tone, minimizing gore and eliminating the 'mad scientist' character. Although the film passed through the European censors, the film's 1960 release in Europe caused controversy nevertheless. Critical reaction ranged from praise to disgust.

Eyes Without a Face received an American debut in an edited and dubbed form in 1962 under the title of The Horror Chamber of Dr. Faustus. It was released as a double feature with the horror film, The Manster. The film's initial critical reception was not overtly positive, but subsequent theatrical and home video re-release of the film increased its reputation. Modern critics praise the film today for its poetic nature as well as being a notable influence on filmmakers such as John Carpenter, Jesús Franco and John Woo.

For his production staff, Franju enlisted people with whom he had previously worked on earlier projects. Cinematographer Eugen Schüfftan, best remembered for developing the Schüfftan process, was chosen to render the visuals of the film. Schüfftan had worked with Franju on La Tête Contre les Murs (1958). Film historian David Kalat called Shüfftan "the ideal choice to illustrate Franju's nightmares". (Only two years later, Shüfftan won an Academy award for his work on The Hustler (1961).) French composer Maurice Jarre created the haunting score for the film. Jarre had also previously worked with Franju on his film La Tête Contre les Murs (1958). Modern critics note the film's two imposing musical themes, a jaunty carnival-esque waltz (featured while Louise picks up young women for Doctor Génessier) and a lighter, sadder piece for Christiane. Jarre subsequently wrote the music score Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Doctor Zhivago (1965) among other films.