The Hands of Orlac

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Review added by
David Simpson

Certificate: TBC
Running Time: 93/110 Mins
Retail Price: £16.99
Release Date: 14/06/2021
Content Type: Movie

Synopsis:
Reuniting the star and director of Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, The Hands of Orlac Orlac’s 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.

“Conrad Veidt is mesmerising” – Radio Times
“genuine macabre brilliance” – Movies Silently
[i]“a tour de force of silent film acting” – Senses of Cinema

Special Features:
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 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

PLUS: A Collector’s Booklet featuring new writing by Philip Kemp, and Tim Lucas

Related Websites:
https://eurekavideo.co.uk/movie/the-hands-of-orlac-orlacs-hande/