10 Criterion Horror Blu-rays & DVDs You Must Own
1. Eyes Without A Face
Written by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac aka Boileau-Narcejac (Les Diaboliques, Vertigo) and adapted from Jean Redon's novel of the same name, Georges Franju Eyes Without a Face is a stark poetic horror-show of fantasy and beauty. A co-founder of the Cinémathèque Française, Franju had his roots in documentaries (a notable one included in this release) but his eyes were always keen on giving the fantastique genre a try and after a dozen or so years of shorts and docs, his second feature would end up being the one he would be remembered by. Disfigured in a horrible car accident, Christiane's (hauntingly played by Edith Scob) father and renowned plastic surgeon, tries to find a new face for his daughter. Tortured and motivated by guilt as he was the one behind the wheel, Doctor Genessier (Pierre Brasseur) and his assistant Louise (Alida Valli) kidnap young women in an attempt to graft their faces onto his daughters. Although we may feel pity for Christiane and her horrible circumstance, we also can't despise her father. His actions are that of love and even though he may be interpreted as a madman, we sympathize with his motives. The doctors operations are shown in graphic detail which only makes the man more of a monster but oddly enough, when the film was released a scene with him being kind to a child was removed in what can only be assumed as an attempt to mask the humanization of the character. We can't root for bad guy now can we? On top of that, when it was released in the US it was released as The Horror Chamber of Dr Faustus which only succeeds at deluding the beauty and complex narrative of Franju's movie. 
Features are relatively light compared to others (it's number one spot was heavily influenced by the quality of the film). The documentary Blood of the Beasts is a visceral look at the slaughterhouses of Paris that Franju made in 1949. Juxtaposed with beautiful scenery of Paris and the graphic slaughtering of animals, some may find it to be far more disturbing and uncomfortable to watch than the film itself. Complimenting this are excerpts from Les Grands peres du crime which is a documentary with the writers of the film and an archival interview with George Franju where he talks about the genre of horror and cinema as a whole. What would your top 10 be? Let us know in the comments below.