4 stars of brilliantly macabre Austrian silent story-telling.
The Hands of Orlac is a black and white silent film directed by master of German Expressionism, Robert Wiene (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari). It is based on the novel Les Mains d’Orlac by visionary body horror author Maurice Renard (The Blue Peril) and was originally released in 1924.
It is presented here on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK courtesy of Eureka Entertainment as part of their Masters of Cinema series #249.
“Save his hands!
His hands are his life!”
Paul Orlac (Conrad Veidt – The Man Who Laughs, Waxworks) is a renowned concert pianist. Having finished the final concert on his tour, he eagerly writes to his wife Yvonne (Alexandra Sorina – Devotion) to tell her of his impending return.
Waiting excitedly for the train, suddenly panic erupts on the platform, there has been a collision! Running to the scene, Yvonne manages to find her husband but to her horror he has lost both of his hands.
He is taken to experimental surgeon Dr. Serral (Hans Homma – Immortal Melodies), and Yvonne begs him to save his hands at any cost. In an inspired moment, he transplants the hands of Vasseur, a recently executed murderer, onto Orlac.
Unfortunately when Orlac finds out, he begins to imagine that his hands are inherently murderous and begs the doctor to remove them.
Dr. Serral assures him that the head and the heart rule the body, however he is unconvinced and when he finds a knife belonging to Vasseur at his house he is certain that he too will commit murder.
When his father is found killed and with Vasseur’s fingerprints all over the scene, things look bad for Orlac, but is there something more afoot?
This is an excellent remastering of a classic body horror film. The story is really good, with some quality silent film acting to the max, all helped along by a nerve jangling score by Johannes Kalitzke. The mood and atmosphere are almost palpable. There is also a brilliant twist to the tale, totally didn’t see it coming.
A very entertaining watch and a must own for fans of classic cinema and German Expressionism.
“Tell me, what’s under these bandages? What secret are they hiding? Well then, for heavens sake, let’s reveal the secret.”
The Hands of Orlac is available to buy now on Limited Edition Blu-ray.
SPECIAL EDITION BLU-RAY CONTAINS
- Limited Edition O-Card Slipcase [First Print Run of 2000 copies only]
- 1080p presentation on Blu-ray from a restoration of the original film elements by Film Archiv Austria
- LPCM 2.0 audio
- Original German language intertitles with optional English subtitles
- Brand new feature length audio commentary with author Stephen Jones and author / critic Kim Newman
- Brand new video essay by filmmakers David Cairns and Fiona Watson
- Alternate presentation ofThe Hands of Orlac [SD, 110 minutes] – Courtesy of the F. W. Murnau Foundation, a presentation of the film struck from a different print source, featuring alternate takes of certain scenes. Includes a musical score by Paul Mercer
- Scene comparisons highlighting some of the differences between the two versions of the film
- PLUS: A Collector’s Booklet featuring new writing by Philip Kemp, and Tim Lucas
| Director | Robert Wiene |
| Author | Maurice Renard |
| Genre | Horror, drama, mystery |
| Starring | Conrad Veidt, Alexandra Sorina, Hans Homma, Fritz Kortner |
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