Hammer Films’ ‘Stolen Face’ Restoration Gets Limited Collector’s Edition 4K Blu-Ray Release

Classic horror studio Hammer Films has announced that it’s releasing a 4K restoration of one of its most beloved films, Stolen Face, in a Limited Edition 4K Blu-ray package that will also feature hours of bonus features and deluxe packaging that will include an illustrated booklet.

Released in 1951, Terence Fisher’s Stolen Face tells the story of a philanthropic surgeon (played by Philip Ritter) jilted by a beautiful concert pianist who decides to remake a disfigured criminal in the pianist’s image, with predictably horrifying results. The film has been “painstakingly restored”, (to quote Hammer) from the film’s original negatives by acclaimed restoration house Silver Salt Restoration, with full oversight by Hammer.

Both the U.S. and U.K. iterations of Stolen Face will be available in stylish digipak and rigid box Collector’s Editions, with both the films and supporting material duplicated across both UHD and HD Blu-ray discs. The movie will be available with English, French, Italian, Spanish and German subtitles, while the extra features on each disc will be as follows:

New commentary with Lucy Bolton, Professor of Film Philosophy, and Cathy Lomax, artist and film scholar.
New commentary with writers Lizbeth Myles and Paul Cornell, creators of the widely acclaimed Hammer House of Podcast.
Face/Off: Author, filmmaker and Film Noir fan Chris Alexander examines actor Lizabeth Scott’s body of work and discusses why Stolen Face arguably features her best performance.
Putty in His Hands: A mainstay at Hammer for a decade and the creator of some of the most iconic monster make-up in film history, Phil Leakey (courtesy of a private audio recording made in the 1980s) talks about his life and career alongside newly recorded contributions from his son Peter.
A Distinctly British Phenomenon: Film critic and historian Alexandra Heller-Nicholas examines the theatrical interpretation of sex and obsession that surface in 1950s drama productions.
A gallery of stills and publicity material alongside tracks from Malcolm Arnold’s score.
Un-American: Stolen Face featured a victim of the HUAC blacklist in front of the camera and one of its most fervent stool pigeons behind it. Thomas Doherty, academic, cultural historian and author, examines this fractious time in American history and how it affected a generation of filmmakers.
Dressed For Success: author and fashion historian Liz Tregenza profiles multiple Oscar-winning costume designer Edith Head and her work on Stolen Face costuming Lizabeth Scott.

The booklet included with Stolen Face’s new disc releases, meanwhile, features the following treats for classic movie fans and film historians:

New article by Hammer expert Bruce G. Hallenbeck examining this twisted romantic Noir.
New article by Sarah Morgan, who looks at the life and career of Lizabeth Scott.
New article by Gayle Sequeira, who investigates Stolen Face‘s suspect motivations of appearance and personality.
New article by Neil Sinyard, who examines Stolen Face’s questionable sexual politics and unsympathetic characters.
New article by artist Cathy Lomax, who examines Hammer’s darkly erotic take on the Pygmalion myth and the not-so-perfect woman.
New article by Neil Sinyard, who takes a sobering look at the musical journey of Malcolm Arnold, composer extraordinaire.
An archive interview with actor Lizabeth Scott given during the filming of Stolen Face.
New article by Wayne Kinsey, who investigates Stolen Face’s filming and Hammer’s ambitious-but-aborted three-studio plan.
New article by Wayne Kinsey, who investigates the history of plastic surgery and its fictitious use in film.