A doctor abducts young women in an attempt to surgically reconstruct the disfigured face of his daughter.
Georges Franju was a notable cinema enthusiast in the mid-1930's, having founded with Henri Langlois the legendary Cinématheque Française in Paris to exhibit and preserve important works. Originally a documentarian, Franju moved into narrative filmmaking in the late 1950's, and as a reaction to the popular Hammer Studios horror films coming out of Britain, was interested in legitimizing the genre as an art form.
To adapt the story's source novel, Franju collaborated with writers Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, famous for creating the stories used for Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo and Henri-Georges Clouzot's Les Diaboliques. Efforts were made to tone down various plot elements to avoid trouble with censors from various European countries.
Also working with Franju were pioneering cinematographer Eugen Schüfftan (Fritz Lang's Metropolis) and composer Maurice Jarre (Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago). Included in the cast are actresses Alida Valli and Edith Scob
Despite his documentary background, Franju considered himself a visualist, and was influenced by the German expressionism of Fritz Lang and F.W. Murnau, as well as the dreamlike imagery of director/poet/playwright Jean Cocteau (Beauty and the Beast).
The efforts to avoid controversy proved futile as the film was met with strong critical and audience reactions, including walk-outs. While some critics championed the film, others were completely disgusted.
The film received a publicized re-release in 1989 in both London and Paris, and was hailed as an underappreciated classic. An American re-release in 2003 added to the film's reputation. Its influence can be seen in the works of genre filmmakers like John Carpenter (Halloween) as well as arthouse favorites like Pedro Almodovar, whose most recent film The Skin I Live In bears a strong resemblance to Franju's picture.
Running time is approx. 90 min.
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