Starring: Faye Dunaway, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Dourif, Rene Auberjonois, Raul Julia Directed By: Irvin Kershner Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC Label: Sony Pictures Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: July 04, 2000 Running Time: 103 minutes Theatrical Release Date: August 02, 1978
Studio 54 meets Equus A stunning, appropriately photogenic murder mystery in which a controversial photographer (Dunaway) apparently sees the murders of people she knows as they happen. Suspicion is evenly distributed between the titular protagonist, her catty agent (Auberjonois), her driver with a violent criminal record (Dourif), the detective investigating her case (Jones), her drunken loser of an ex-husband (Julia) and a host of other characters, most of whom are gradually eliminated as suspects after being cleared by evidence...or murdered.
Kershner's succeeding position as director of "The Empire Strikes Back" must have been assured when he helmed this film. His technique is immaculate: perfectly framed static shots, graceful, sweeping pans and hazy hand-held angles that convey the nightmarish murders from the killer's perspective are all highlights of Kershner's deft direction, and are rendered magnificent by Victor J. Kemper's lush photography.
I certainly hope that John Carpenter was well paid for this movie's excellent screenplay, the plot and characterizations of which are more complex and carefully defined than those of his own films! Carpenter has always been an inventive screenwriter, but I had no idea that he was capable of creating characters and scenarios of such nuance. The result is far superior to the psych thrillers that were far more widely celebrated over a decade after this feature's release.
Forceful performances by a fine, familiar cast make the most of this film's technical magnificence and keen story. Perfectly cast, Dunaway is as overwhelmingly emotive as she is physically striking; very few American lead actresses in contemporary films have been able to present such fervid characterizations so convincingly. It's interesting to see a couple of future stars among the ranks of the supporting roles; like the lead, these players do not disappoint.
The production design is surely an artifact of the disco-driven late '70s - the sets, costumes, music, etc. are as glittery and overwrought as anything that could be expected of the period. "Eyes of Laura Mars" isn't just a great horror mystery. It's a time capsule, a period piece that reveled in its moment just as "Wall Street" did in the '80s. But while the peculiarities of its presentation are quintessentially 1978, the quality of this classic is undeniable.
eyes of laura mars One of my all time favorites. You never would have expected who the kller was. Over-kill on the story-line, but great ending.
Oy Faye! I saw this movie went it first came out in the late '70's and I have to say, it seems sillier now, and somehow less scary, than it did then. However, I love the premise of "Eyes of Laura Mars". Faye Dunaway plays a stressed-out, highly successful fashion photographer who starts seeing the commission of violent murders through the eyes of a particularly vicious killer. When he starts targeting her friends, Laura Mars suddenly realizes that she's also on the killer's list, and probably the one person who can stop him/her. It's an Americanized version of the Italian giallo genre, and it almost works. Faye Dunaway is wonderfully neurotic as the glamorous, high-strung Laura Mars; she has a world-weary beauty and pent-up energy that fairly snaps when she's onscreen (which is often; she's in almost every scene)--you can't take your eyes off her. A young and ruggedly handsome Tommy Lee Jones is on hand as the key detective on the case, and a potential suitor for Laura. Jones had a charisma even in "Eyes of Laura Mars", although I feel that, with his Texas accent and homely good looks, he's miscast as a veteran New York City police detective. The rest of the cast does a credible job, particularly Brad Dourif, in another creepy role, this time as Laura's ex-con driver, and Rene Auberjonois, as her edgy, chain-smoking manager. Raul Julia, also surprisingly young and fresh-looking, appears (mostly as male eye candy) as Laura's conniving ex-husband, and Darlanne Fluegel and Lisa Taylor are fun as two of Laura's models, and potential victims for the killer.
The cinematography is sufficiently flashy to convey the decadence of the world inhabited by Laura Mars and her crowd. However, the muted, autumnal colors of Laura's wardrobe seem to be at variance with this world--she should have chic, brightly colored clothing, not the dreadful, ill-fitting costumes that were apparently designed by Theoni Aldredge for this movie.
Although well-directed by Irvin Kirschner, a screenplay partially penned by John Carpenter, and a song performed by Barbra Streisand (producer Jon Peters was her boyfriend at the time), "Eyes of Laura Mars" ultimately falls on its face by the time it reaches it's contrived and predictable ending. However, the first three-quarters of the film are good enough to make this film one worth owning.
Classic '70s thriller Entertaining story of photographer Faye Dunaway as the title character, a photographer of models getting bumped off, who has visions of their murders as they happen. Shocking climactic ending! Chilling!
Quite A Combination Of Elements... EYES OF LAURA MARS is an interesting movie to me. It was released to theatres during the peak of the disco era (1978), and featured Faye Dunaway (Bonnie And Clyde, Network, Three Days Of The Condor) as maverick fashion photographer, Laura Mars. Then, there's Tommy Lee Jones (Executioner's Song, Double Jeopardy) as Lt. John Neville. Rene Auberjonois is Laura's agent. Brad Dourif (One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Child's Play, etc.) plays Laura's driver. If that's not enough, Raoul Julia (Addams Family) is Laura's slithery ex-husband! The script was written by none other than horror meister John "Halloween" Carpenter! The theme song is sung by Barbra Streisand herself! This all sounds odd, yet it all works together to make a decent little thriller. EoLM has re-watchability going for it as well. I had to watch it again just to get past the hilarious disco soundtrack and late 70s fashions! Check out Auberjonois' gigantic, Rosebowl float's worth of hair and way puffy shirt! Tommy Lee Jones in designer bellbottom jeans! Dunaway tearing down the road in an AMC Pacer! The list goes on and on. Enjoy...
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