Chad

Chad

This is airing on TCM on 10/10 at 4:15 AM EST.

TheBigDave

It's also available at Hulu:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/215874

Trevor

Wow, another best FTV for me. This is a haunting film, with some beautiful imagery.

orlmac

It's a FTV for me also (at least as far as I remember) and I agree that it is a very beautiful movie. I started out distracted by other things but quickly found myself pulled into the movie. I look forward to watching it for the Criterion Challenge next year so that I can see the extras. Another classic added to the subset films that we have watched.

cwileyy

This is one of my favorites. Everything about this movie works, and it the fact that it is such a beautiful makes it even more haunting.

3onameathook

I have been interested in giallo for some time, and this one I have avoided for some reason. Not quite sure why. Very nice imagery; glad I finally managed to see this one

Undeadcow

The finale is really eerie and highlights the atypical plot (the disfigured "monster" is a catalyst for others to act evil when she is innocent and just wants to roam with the birds). Some of the themes are nice - vanity, family intolerance of perfection.

The surgery scenes are ghastly and surprisingly explicit - maybe I'm just squeamish about medical stuff but that makes my skin crawl.

Ultimately Eyes Without a Face is a little slow for my taste and I suspect it's cult status may be over-hyped some, it's not 'bad' just feels a little flat in presentation despite the interesting subtext and structure.

rbrown498

This was (and I'm ashamed to admit it) a first-time viewing for me as well. I've wanted to see it ever since I first saw a still from it in the Gifford book about horror movies. I bought it several years ago on DVD, but I just never found the right time to pop it into the player. Thanks for the nudge, cwileyy!

I really, really liked it. There were a few things that kept it from being a perfect film, but most everything worked in it. I especially like Maurice Jarre's theme song--it's so jaunty that it seems as if it couldn't possibly mesh with the dark subject matter being shown, but it works amazingly well (and it's catchy as hell, too; it kind of reminds me of "The Gonk" from Dawn of the Dead).

ntnon

I agree with pretty much all of this. I didn't find it quite as as most, but it was a bit better than last year where I don't even recall being able to follow it very well.... which seems odd now.

Trevor

I should put that disclaimer on all my FTV declarations, as I apparently have no memory anymore.
Luckily, I knew nothing of any hype or cult status, and don't automatically think of Criterion films as being either, so I went in with no expectations.

clckworang

I've had the Blu-ray of this for a while but never got around to watching it. I was happy that this was going to force me into finally seeing it.

Overall, I really liked it. It has a very deliberate pace that took me a while to get into, but once I did, I enjoyed the rise. The surgical scenes were very effective as was the girl's mask, and the ending got surprisingly violent very quick. But I did like how the violent conclusion contrasted with the relative serenity of the final images of the girl with the birds.

Spiderbite

Trust me, you could watch the included short Blood Of The Beasts as a .25 and add it to your list. It is definitely horrific and if you are an animal lover, stay far, far away. Has anyone else here watched it? It's a pretty rough watch I would think for anyone. It deals with a Paris slaughterhouse and is filmed so matter-of-factly that it is downright scary. The guys who did this job had to have at least some nightmares in their life.

I would like to hear other's thoughts on this short.

That theme actually made me want to turn it off. The carnival like music just completely ruined every scene it was in and took me right out of the film. Other than that, I liked the film and thought it was well done. The surgery scene was surprisingly graphic and there had to be some people pass out in the theater watching it back then.

The French and USA trailers are on the BD as well. It is funny to compare the two and how they are advertised in the two different countries. The French version looks very arty, taking its time with quiet patience. The USA one makes it look like a crazy monster movie when you think any kind of weird looking creature may pop up at any moment. Two very different approaches.

rbrown498

I thought about watching the short after the feature, but a) I needed to get to bed, and b) having read about the film, I knew what I was probably in for, and I didn't care to subject myself to that so late in the evening. I may work up the courage to watch it eventually, but I much prefer make-believe horrors to the real stuff.

jacob_b

Shocked there isn't a whole lot of talk on this movie. Agree with everyone and it is fantastic. I wish more subset films are like this. It's beautiful and eerie, even with just reading the subtitles. And the music is haunting. Whoever made this choice, I vote that they get like 5 picks next year.