Eyes Without a Face

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=80 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="04000500dvldtc.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>Reel Movie Critic.com</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reel Movie Critic.com"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id1954.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="21 Grams"><U>21 Grams</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1969.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Anger Management"><U>Anger Management</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1966.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Anything But Love"><U>Anything But Love</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1960.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Brother Bear"><U>Brother Bear</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1961.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bus 174"><U>Bus 174</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1959.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mack Bates"><U>Mack Bates</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1953.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chicago Childrens International Film Fes"><U>Chicago Children's International Film Festival Preview 2003</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1955.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Elf"><U>Elf</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1958.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Event"><U>The Event</U></A>   |   <B>Eyes Without a Face</B>   |   <A HREF="id1967.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Fargo"><U>Fargo</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1962.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hayden Christensen"><U>Hayden Christensen</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1963.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Billy Ray and Peter Sarsgaard"><U>Billy Ray and Peter Sarsgaard</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1964.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gina Gershon"><U>Gina Gershon</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1965.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="In the Cut"><U>In the Cut</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1919.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Majestic"><U>The Majestic</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1918.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The One"><U>The One</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1917.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Our Lady of the Assassins"><U>Our Lady of the Assassins</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1912.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Porn Star"><U>Porn Star</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1925.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Saudade Do Futuro"><U>Saudade Do Futuro</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1968.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Scarface"><U>Scarface</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1957.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Shattered Glass "><U>Shattered Glass       </U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1956.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Shattered Glass "><U>Shattered Glass        </U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="041d2c00dvldtc.png"> <div> <B>Home Page for</B></div> <div> <B>      </B><A HREF="http://newbookdiscounts.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://newbookdiscounts.com/"><U><B>Books</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>           </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id364.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Travel</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>                </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/"><U><B>Movies</B></U></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>                   </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id361.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Great Web Sites</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>Similar Genres</B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1637.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1637.ht"><U><B>Horror</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1682.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1682.ht"><U><B>Thriller</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/minigenre/id1873.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/minigenre"><U><B>Based on a book</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id959.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id959.htm"><U><B>French</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=400 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> Eyes Without a Face</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="592" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="588"><div> <B>Eyes Without A Face</B>    </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 38 WIDTH="588"><div> Reviewed by Shelley Cameron</div> <div> for Reel Movie Critic </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><div> HHH<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" > ½ </FONT></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="588"><div> Cast</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><div> Pierre Brasseur</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><div> Alida Valli</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 38 ><NOBR><div> Directed by Georges Franju.  Horror.  Not Rated.  88 minutes. </div> <div> 1959.   Black and white.  In French with English sub-titles.</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="592" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="588"><div> <B>The eyes have it</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Just in time for Halloween, comes this re-release from Rialto pictures, the group who does a fine job bringing neglected classics back to the big screen, "Eyes Without a Face."  From the decade of such French horror classics as "Diabolique," this spine-tingler is sheer elegance.  Some films are classic because we've seen them often and they've stood the test of time.  Others, though little seen, possess the staying power that needs only to be brought to life by re-issue.  "Eyes Without a Face" is such a film.  Containing the right elements in the right measure, director Georges Franju took a satisfyingly macabre story, polished it with seductive visual style and added the unexpected scoring of Maurice Jarre.  When the Jarre music fades, the abrupt sound of barking captive dogs unlucky enough to have been lost in the woods provides a naked, unsettling score.  </div> <bR> <div> Under the opening sequence, a jaunty tune belies the perverted scheme of the sinister Professeur Genessier (Pierre Brasseur), celebrated surgeon known for his work with the regeneration of tissue from one organism to another.  The classic hitch is that the donor is sacrificed so that the recipient might thrive.  The patients at his country clinic are unaware of his secret obsession to restore the hideously disfigured face of his beloved daughter Christiane, by replacing her damaged face with that of an intact and lovely blue-eyed blond.  The surgery scene of the face grafting is as disturbing as anything I've seen and sure to send a shiver down your spine.</div> <bR> <div> In crisp new prints, the black and white cinematography captures the shadowy world of foggy riverbanks and graveyards, perfect locations for disposing of bodies.  As his misguided but loyal assistant Louise (Alida Valli "The Third Man") cruises the streets of Paris procuring vulnerable young women, the doctor devises a cover story to give his daughter a new life. Presumed dead by the police and by her fiancé, Christiane's despair grows along with her ambivalence toward her father.  Her longing to regain her face clashes with her compassion for the hapless victims.  As she languishes in torment in a room sealed from the world, she wears a mask and stunning Givenchy dressing gowns, giving her the eerie presence of a living mannequin.  Meanwhile, the police investigation into the disappearance of several young women leads them closer to the doctor.</div> <bR> <div> Throughout, the eyes dominate.  Above the surgical masks of the doctor and Louise, each bead of sweat on the forehead signals the desperation in his diabolical mission.  The anxious eyes of Christiane stare out from behind the mask that hides her facelessness.  Fascinating until the final haunting frame, this overlooked horror tale has the makings of a standard.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="591" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> Shelley Cameron © 2003</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> <A HREF="mailto:info@reelmoviecritic.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:info@reelmoviecritic.com"><U><U>shelley@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>