The Hands of Orlac

Orlac, a famous pianist, loses his hands in a train crash and a surgeon saves his life by grafting new ones. Then Orlac learns whose they were: a murderer executed shortly before. From that moment the man is afraid of his own body and every event around him feeds the fear. Robert Wiene adapted Maurice Renard's novel. Conrad Veidt plays the part with his body, and the way he holds his hands permanently away from himself, along with his walk, is among the best-known physical performances of silent film. The expressionist design is less extreme than in Caligari, because Wiene loads the dread onto the actor rather than the sets. The story has been remade repeatedly over the century since. Who it is for: viewers who like silent-era horror and German expressionism. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a fast narrative, since the film moves heavily.