Reuniting the star and director of Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, The Hands of Orlac [Orlacs Hände] is a deliciously twisted thriller that blends grand guignol thrills with the visual and performance styles of German Expressionism.
Based on a novel by medical-horror novelist Maurice Renard, it charts the mental disintegration of a concert pianist (Conrad Veidt) whose hands are amputated after a train crash, and replaced with the hands of an executed murderer. When Orlac’s father is murdered by the dead man’s hands, Orlac begins a steady descent towards madness.
The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present The Hands of Orlac for the first time on home video in the UK in a special Blu-ray edition.
- Limited Edition O-Card slipcase [2000 copies]
- 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 of The 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
- A collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Philip Kemp, and Tim Lucas