Eyes Without a Face 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Eyes Without a Face 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 5, 2025

Note: It may be best to be wary of Amazon listings for this title, as at least some seem to be third party efforts that may be bootlegged. Both this Collector's Edition and Umbrella's wide release are available on their website.

The conceit of Eyes Without a Face may have seemed positively lunatic back in 1960 when the film was originally released. However, a recent book entitled Face in the Mirror has justifiably received quite a bit of press, including this interview with author Jack El-Hai published by the Mayo Clinic, since the book documents an actual face transplant that occurred at the facility. The fact that it took well over a half century from the time this film premiered for physicians to have the skill to actually successfully perform a face transplant may give a bit of medical perspective on the complexity of the issue, but of course a hallucinatory horror film doesn't have to worry about picayune items like how "realistic" certain supposedly salient aspects of the story may be. One way or the other, somewhat late in the film there's a surprisingly graphic sequence documenting a poor victim's face being shorn from her skull so that it can be "applied" to the disfigured visage of a "mad" doctor's daughter. Suffice it to say this particular victim is not the only one, since dear old Dad's surgical acumen only goes so far.

As fans of this film no doubt know, Eyes Without a Face was released many years ago on 1080 disc by The Criterion Collection, and Svet Atanasov's Eyes Without a Face Blu-ray review provides plot information, a list of supplements included with that release, and Svet's reaction to the technical presentation. I'll only add that this film along with The Third Man exploit the rather unique ability of Alida Valli to be both sinister and sympathetically vulnerable, at times simultaneously.

Eyes Without a Face 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc in this package.

Eyes Without a Face is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.67:1. Despite a wealth of non disc swag included in the Limited Edition release, there's surprisingly no technical information on the transfer included (that I could find, anyway). Both the 1080 and 4K UHD presentations in this set are noticeably darker than the older Criterion release, something that may suggest (at least in screenshots) that the grain field is less apparent, but in motion and on even relatively smaller screens a rather healthy grain field is completely observable throughout both versions presented here. Detail levels are quite good throughout both versions, and there can be at least intermittently noticeable upticks in fine detail when comparing this 4K presentation against Umbrella's 1080 presentation, especially with regard to some of the fabrics on costumes (note the "cozy" sweater worn by Valli which is overtly mentioned by Duff in his commentary for just one example). Dolby Vision / HDR probably only exaggerates the aforementioned darkness, but it may also aid in helping elucidate some shadow detail in the (surprisingly few, given the perceived "horror" imprimatur) dimly lit scenes. There is some noticeable image instability right at the get go with the production mastheads, but things calm down after that, and I frankly noticed no major signs of age related wear and tear.

Eyes Without a Face 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Eyes Without a Face features a spry sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track. There is some background hiss evident in quieter moments, but on the whole the track provides more than solid support for what is a pretty talk heavy affair. That said, I'm going to be a contrarian again (what else is new?) by repeating my assertion that Maurice Jarre for all his vastly celebrated achievements strikes me repeatedly as one of the most either intentionally or accidentally anachronistic composers out there. His jaunty cues for this film seem completely out of place, to me, anyway, but their carnival like ambience is rendered without any issues here. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available, but there are some really peculiar formatting anomalies.

Eyes Without a Face 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K UHD Disc

• Audio Commentary with Writer and Actor Graham Duff


• Trailer (HD; 3:51)

1080 Disc

• Audio Commentary with Writer and Actor Graham Duff


• Eyes Without a Face: A Video Essay (HD; 12:33) is an interesting piece by Lindsay Hallam exploring tethers to other "mad surgeon" properties.


• Blood of the Beasts (Le Sang des Bêtes) (HD; 23:02) is Franju's horrifying (to me, anyway) documentary on Paris slaughterhouses. I have long told anyone interested that my near lifelong vegetarianism was spurred decades ago by watching the Julie Christie narrated The Animals Film, and this piece had much the same effect on me.


• Les Fleurs Maldives de George Franju (HD; 48:16) is 2009 overview of Franju's career by Pierre-Henri Gibert. Subtitled in English.


• Monsieur et Madame Curie (HD; 14:16) is a short film by Franju.


• Trailer (HD; 3:51)

This Collector's Edition offers a host of packaging extras in addition to the above supplements on the discs. A nicely designed slipbox encloses the keepcase, along with a 48 page perfect bound book with a ton of great writing and some fantastic stills and artwork. The slipbox also encloses 8 replica lobby cards. The keepcase encloses a reversible poster.

Eyes Without a Face 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One of the reasons I was so interested in the press accompanying the release of Face in the Mirror was admittedly because Jack El-Hai kindly thanks me in the acknowledgements of The Lobotomist, his fascinating book about the notorious Dr. Walter Freeman which (as an admitted sidebar) was in early agreement with my research suggesting Freeman did not operate on actress Frances Farmer, despite the horrifying scene showing just such a procedure in the feature film Frances. That said, when Eyes Without a Face entered my review queue, his book certainly seemed to be near perfect synchronicity in a way, though the heroic doctor at the Mayo Clinic is certainly (and thankfully) not as nefarious as the one depicted in this disturbing and kind of oddly dreamlike (nightmare like?) feeling horror film. Technical merits are solid and Umbrella is providing fans some great on disc supplements and a wealth of packaging extras. Highly recommended.