Synopsis
She saw life through the camera’s eye. Then suddenly she saw death.
A famous fashion photographer develops a disturbing ability to see through the eyes of a serial killer.
1978 Directed by Irvin Kershner
A famous fashion photographer develops a disturbing ability to see through the eyes of a serial killer.
Faye Dunaway Tommy Lee Jones Brad Dourif René Auberjonois Raúl Juliá Darlanne Fluegel Michael Tucker Frank Adonis Lisa Taylor Rose Gregorio Steve Marachuk Meg Mundy Marilyn Meyers Gary Bayer Mitchell Edmonds Jeff Niki Toshi Matsuo John Randolph Jones Allen Joseph Joanne Baron Jack H. Harris Linda Kendall Nicholas Guest Robert Ridgely Robert Dahdah Rita Tellone Anna Anderson Deborah Beck Patty Oja Show All…
Pesadelos Fatais, Los ojos de Laura Mars, Ojos, Les Yeux de Laura Mars, Gli occhi di Laura Mars, Die Augen der Laura Mars, Глаза Лоры Марс, Laura Mars szemei, Os Olhos de Laura Mars, Τα Μάτια της Λόρα Μαρς, 로라 마스의 눈, Ögon, Очі Лаури Марс, 神秘眼, Oči Laury Marsové, Øjne, Oczy Laury Mars
I love Eyes Of Laura Mars. Faye Dunaway has never been more resplendent in a fragile, icy hysteria fraught and riven with blue steel. When she steps out of the limousine for to enter her own exhibit, that is for me the height of late 70's glamour. That is everything for me. This is a movie that is almost an accidental classic, made perfectly by means that barely make sense. Eyes Of Laura Mars was originally going to be made by John Carpenter from his own script as an independent picture that he was going to direct, but Jon Peters liked the script so much that he acquired it for Hollywood development as he could see it as a vehicle…
Solid American Giallo featuring Tommy Lee Jones as an unfrozen caveman cop who can’t appreciate any art besides cave paintings.
written by john carpenter, starring faye dunaway + CHUCKY + and the hottest tommy lee j??? i’m dead
The most De Palma movie De Palma never directed, a trashy, mostly compelling thriller in which the power to create is as much a curse as its a gift.
Somewhere between Brian De Palma's Body Double and Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now is Irvin Kershner's Eyes Of Laura Mars, a soft-focus thriller trying to be a hard-edged one. Kind of trashy, kind of ridiculous, with an old-hat plot twist undermining an interesting twist, about an artist who somehow becomes psychically connected to the serial killer stalking her, so she sees what he sees when he's about to murder someone close to her. Panting and lurid but wistful at the same time, it's an odd blend of things, but it's worth it just to see Tommy Lee Jones as a young heartthrob with a shaggy mane of hair, Rene Auberjonois and Brad Dourif in larval form (with their own feathered manes… oh, the 1970s), and Raul Julia looking startlingly young and mannequin-esque.
Controversial photographer Laura Mars (Faye Dunaway) suddenly starts being able to see through a serial killer’s eyes, discovering with the help of a cop (Tommy Lee Jones) that this mysterious murderer is targeting those closest to her.
Eyes of Laura Mars sets itself up as a thriller with an interesting edge: there’s a fresh feel to the supernatural angle added in, the concept of Laura as both spectator and victim “seeing” all these murders play out bringing a new twist on the genre.
It’s done in some unusual and intriguing ways, a Euro sensibility really complimenting that in the sinister POV that links her (and us) to the killer’s perspective. There’s something authentically offbeat about the way director Irving Kirshner…
John Carpenter's Gialloween.
If more giallo movies were set in late 70's NYC and starred Brad Dourif looking like a bird's nest, I'd be more into them, 'cause this was great.
OK, if you are looking for a serious and scary giallo-style thriller, this is probably not gonna be your bag. BUT if you are looking for a campy midnight movie stuffed with some grade A overacting and a lot of oddball grace notes, then this is worth the watch.
Random thoughts:
👀 Irvin Kershner did a fine job, but if John Carpenter was not gonna be allowed to direct his original script*, I wish De Palma could have taken a stab at this. I feel like he wouldn't have been so restrained with the inherently lurid nature of the premise.
👀 Faye Dunaway was good. She goes to 11 a couple of times but she has lovely eyes, even when…
"I think Laura is saying with her work, is like, 'Okay, America, okay world, you are violent. You are pushing all this murder on us. So here it comes right back at you. And we'll use murder to sell deodorant, so that you'll just get bored with murder.' Right?"
(Warning: major spoilers ahead, including the killer’s identity.)
I think most people will know whether they’re on board for Eyes of Laura Mars in its first two minutes. That’s when you hear the bombastic theme song, “Prisoner,” sung at full throttle by none other than Barbra Streisand. It’s not surprising, of course, since the film was produced by her romantic/business partner Jon Peters, and Babs was originally slated to play the…
A cold wet evening made for a great time to finally watch this. It’s a nice solid little American giallo that doesn’t even try hiding it’s Italian influence. I feel like if I walked in on someone else watching this and didn’t recognize the actors, I would assume it was Italian and that’s a compliment.
The story of a fashion photographer who suddenly has visions of murders as they happen is fun. It’s trashy at times, but it’s never trashy enough to push it into total greatness. The sleaze here feels a little antiseptic compared to most gialli.
Still, the performances are all great. Faye Dunaway just has that classic old school Hollywood glamour that is one of a kind. Eyes and a jawline both of which are sharp enough to cut you in half. I’m guessing most people were drooling over Tommy Lee Jones here but nah. Long haired, crazy eyed Brad Dourif is the real snack.
I haven't been to NYC in almost two years now, but I hope that when I return and walk into Columbus Circle again, there's a lingerie photo shoot taking place with a faux car crash ablaze in the background and nobody is batting an eye at it