Watch The Hands of Orlac For Free

Such a frustrating disappointment

Excellent but underrated film

A Disappointing Continuation

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

"Orlacs Hände" or "Orlac's Hands" is a black-and-white silent film from over 90 years ago. It was directed by Robert Wiene, the man behind the famous Caligari movie. In its original version, the film ran roughly 90 minutes, but the new version I saw has over 110 minutes, probably because of less frames per second. Anyway, Conrad Veidt is one of Germany's most known silent film actors, so he certainly can carry a film like this. His most known role is probably in "Casablanca". In my opinion, the idea was nice in here. A piano player has a terrible accident and loses both his hands. A surgeon gives him a new pair, but these are from a convicted and executed murderer. By now, you probably know that this is a mystery/horror film. The ending just takes it to another level. Yes it was fairly absurd that somebody else got the killer's head and now this was some meat puzzle story, but at least something interesting happened. This thrill near the end, however, is not enough to sit through almost 2 hours of this film. I am generally not the biggest silent film fan, so my opinion may be biased, but i found it a boring watch for the most part. This film did not get me interested in silent movies. Not recommended.

This is not a great movie, I admit. Certainly the acting is bizarre (though often moving) and the rhythm takes getting used to. But I thought I would put in a good word based on a recent viewing experience. I am not rating it high but I really enjoyed it a lot.6 or 7 years ago I went on a Conrad Veidt spree and bought copies of some his silents from an ebay seller/devotee. The quality varied and I recall that he particularly apologized for this item, which was barely viewable. All you could really see was Veidt's face... The other night TCM showed the Kino restoration and I sat down to see the film "for real." It was a pleasure to be able to take in the wonderful decors and costumes, and to get a relatively coherent version of the plot. The train wreck scene is stirring. And Veidt's face, again, as he progresses from sensitive soul to tormented monstrosity... In short, it was very rewarding.

Previous writers have covered the plot of this film pretty comprehensively. My copy is poor, visually, but has a score made up of preludes and fugues, trio sonatas and chorale preludes by J.S Bach played on the organ and including, in the confrontation between Orlac and "Vasser", the Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV565).This has no connection with the plot of the film, but makes for a decent recital in its own right. This copy, from English Language Video, is made up of the best bits of three prints from various sources with renewed intertitles. This means that the tale seems to lack logic and continuity, however, enough remains to hold the interest and to point up the films origins in the expressionist school. Veidt's portrayal of Orlac's descent into near insanity occasionally draws on Cesare,the somnambulist of "Dr. Caligari" but the story does not have the depth or psychology of the wider impressionist canon. In all, a curiosity but little else, even for fans of Conrad Veidt.

I've been looking for a DVD of THE HANDS OF ORLAC ever since I knew the film existed. Now it's finally here, and like most silent films it's a mixed bag. I find the image on the new KINO disc to be acceptable considering the problematic nature of the source material. There's a loss of definition in some scenes, but there are also moments of sharpness in the restored Murnau Foundation print. It's a shame we can never experience non-talking films the way 1920s audiences did, without washed-out contrasts, image-flickers, frame-jitters, dirt, and print damage. Even the best restorations don't look new.The plot concerns a concert pianist whose hands are smashed in a train wreck. A surgeon replaces them with the hands an executed criminal. Soon the pianist is obsessed with thoughts he might be a killer. The performances are generally excellent in the Expressionistic style. Conrad Veidt's exaggerated grimacing as his character Paul Orlac approaches madness is tempered by moments that are extremely moving.The score of mostly string music on the KINO disc is creepy and works well for a while, but is so monotonous over the entire length of an already ponderously paced film that I grew tired of it. This film cries out for music that varies its mood to fit what is happening on screen. Contrasts in the mood of the music would make the creepy parts seem even creepier. An optional score in a traditional style would have been nice. Nevertheless, the Gothic set design and shadow-infested cinematography by Gunther Krampf - particularly the scenes at Orlac's father's house - create the atmosphere we know and love in early horror films. These chiaroscuro light-and-shadow effects just cannot be achieved with color.However, to evoke fear without the modern cheats of gore and violence - to create what the Germans call "stimmung" (mood) - requires not only imaginative lighting and set design, but time. Unfortunately director Robert Weine spends too much time on the actors' very deliberate expressionistic movements at the expense of pacing.The ending is likewise unsatisfactory, although it does follow Maurice Renard's novel. I won't give too much away other than to say the ending undercuts an apparently fantastic element, yet makes the "logical" explanation seem almost as implausible. Nevertheless, the build-up to the resolution as well as Veidt's engrossing performance makes this a worthwhile, if uninspired, film.