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Eyes of Laura Mars

Eyes of Laura Marsis a 1978 Americanneo-noirsupernatural horror[3]thriller filmdirected byIrvin Kershnerand starringFaye Dunaway,Tommy Lee Jones,Brad Dourif,René Auberjonois,andRaul Julia.It follows a New York City fashion photographer (Dunaway) who suddenly develops theclairvoyantability to witness disturbingserial murdersfrom the point of view of the killer. The screenplay was adapted (in collaboration withDavid Zelag Goodman) from aspec scripttitledEyes,written byJohn Carpenter;it was Carpenter's first major studio film.H. B. Gilmourlater wrote a novelization.

Eyes of Laura Mars
Theatrical release poster
Directed byIrvin Kershner
Screenplay by
Story byJohn Carpenter
Produced byJon Peters
Starring
CinematographyVictor J. Kemper
Edited byMichael Kahn
Music byArtie Kane
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • August 2, 1978(1978-08-02)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$7 million[1]
Box office$20 million[2]

ProducerJon Peters,who was datingBarbra Streisandat the time, bought the screenplay as a starring vehicle for her, but Streisand eventually decided not to take the role because of "the kinky nature of the story", as Peters later explained. As a result, the role went to Dunaway, who had just won an Oscar for her performance inNetwork(1976). Streisand nevertheless felt that "Prisoner", thetorch songfrom the film, would be a goodpower balladvehicle for her. She recorded the song for the soundtrack and it peaked at number 21 on theBillboardHot 100.Peters commissioned photographerHelmut Newtonto provide the images that stand in for Laura Mars' portfolio in the film.[4]

Released on August 2, 1978, byColumbia Pictures,the film was a box-office success, grossing $20 million domestically. Some critics and film scholars have notedEyes of Laura Marsas an American version of the Italiangiallo[5]with elements of theslasher film,[6][7]and it has gone on to develop a smallcult following.[8]

Plot

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Laura Mars is a glamorous New York City fashion photographer who specializes in photographs featuring stylized violence, which attract controversy from the press andfeministswho feel her work is exploitative. The night before the release of her photography bookThe Eyes of Mars,Laura has a dream about an assailant entering a woman's apartment, which she observes from the first-person perspective of the intruder. The following night at the book release party, Laura is notified that her photo editor, Doris, has been found murdered, her eyes gouged with anice pick.

Shortly thereafter, during a photoshoot inColumbus Circle,Laura has another disturbingvisionof a woman being stabbed to death outside her apartment, and stumbles upon the crime scene while passing by on the street. Laura informs police she witnessed the crime, but is unable to rationalize how. She later learns that the victim, Elaine, has been romantically involved with her ex-husband Michael, a writer who had been living inSan Franciscobut returned to New York.

John Neville, the lieutenant in charge of the case, shows Laura unpublished police photographs of unsolved murders that very closely mirror Laura's fashion shoots. Laura's visions continue, including visions of the killer stalking her and continuing to murder those around her. While developing photographs in her darkroom, Laura has another vision of her models Lulu and Michelle being brutally murdered. After attending Lulu and Michelle's funerals, Laura finds herself growing close to Neville, and the two begin a romance. He gives her a gun for her own protection.

Meanwhile, police consider Laura's driver Tommy, an ex-convict, and Michael to be their prime suspects in the string of serial killings. While attending a birthday party for her agent Donald, Laura receives a phone call from a drunken Michael, who is threatening suicide. Donald urges her against helping him, but Laura leaves the party. While driving to meet Michael, Laura has a vision of Donald being murdered by the killer, which causes her to crash her car. Later, Neville is informed that photographs of the murdered models have been found in Tommy's apartment. Police try to arrest him but shoot him dead when he tries to escape.

At her apartment, Laura is affected by a vision of the killer murdering Michael. The killer attempts to break in through her front door, but Laura deadbolts it before the killer can enter. Upon hearing her distress, Neville (who had been on his way to meet her) breaks through her balcony window. He proceeds to tell Laura that Tommy was the killer and begins an elaborate explanation of his motivations and backstory. Knowing Tommy well, Laura recognizes this as a lie. Neville, still talking about the killer, uses "I". Laura realizes that Neville is the killer. Neville details more of his own story, slipping betweenmultiple personalities.When the violent personality tries to kill Laura, his more sensitive personality reasserts dominance. He takes her hand, which holds the gun he gave her, and asks her to kill him. Distraught, she does so before calling the police.

Cast

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Production

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Development

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The film's source story was written byJohn Carpenter,as was the earliest version of the screenplay.[3]ProducerJack H. Harrishad worked with Carpenter on the latter's feature-film directorial debut,Dark Star,and it was Harris who optioned Carpenter's 11-page treatment, then titled simplyEyes.[9]

Harris planned to make the film independently of the major studios with privately raised finance andRoberta Collinsin the lead. But Harris's friendJon Petersread the treatment, and upon reading it, he became enthusiastic about its potential as a vehicle for Peters's then-girlfriendBarbra Streisand.Peters got interest fromPeter Guberat Columbia and they agreed to finance the project's development. Streisand pulled out of the film, but Columbia were sufficiently enthusiastic about the script to move forward with another actress, andFaye Dunawaywas cast. However, as a condition of this, the studio insisted on the script being rewritten, hiringDavid Zelag Goodmanto undertake the rewrites.[10]"It wasn't a pleasant experience", said Carpenter. "The original script was very good, I thought. But it got shat upon."[11]

Filming

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Filming took place over 56 days from October 17, 1977, to early January 1978.[12]The film was shot entirely in New York and New Jersey, with filming locations including New York City;Jersey City, New Jersey;andFerncliff CemeteryinHartsdale, New York.[12]A sequence where the Laura Mars character photographs a group of models against a backdrop of two burning cars was filmed over four days at New York'sColumbus Circle.It was reported that Peters and Dunaway had a tense relationship while making the film.

Soundtrack

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Eyes of Laura Mars (Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)was released byColumbia Records(PS 35487) in 1978 ahead of the film's release.[13]It was produced by Gary Klein with executive producers Jon Peters and Charles Koppelman.

Mark Iskowitz ofThe Barbra Streisand Music Guidewrote: "The side one 'Prisoner' track is actually identical to the single and Greatest Hits Volume 2 version. The side two reprise version does contain instrumentation from the film score at the beginning and during the first sections of the song, which is featured in its entirety. Track 3 opens with Barbra singing the first four lines from 'Prisoner' with a sparse, spooky film score backing."

TheEyes of Laura MarsLP is out of print; it was never released on CD.

Track listing

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Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
1."Prisoner (Love Theme fromEyes of Laura Mars)"
Barbra Streisand3:53
2."Laura's Nightmare"Artie KaneArtie Kane2:06
3."Burn"
  • George Michalski
  • Nikki Oosterveen
Michalski & Oosterveen4:16
4."Elaine"KaneArtie Kane1:25
5."Laura & Neville (Instrumental)"KaneArtie Kane2:33
6."Medley:
Native New Yorker
(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty
Prisoner (Disco Instrumental) "		Various:
Various:
Odyssey
KC and the Sunshine Band
Artie Kane		4:33
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
1."Laura – Warehouse"KaneArtie Kane1:11
2."Let's All Chant"
Michael Zager Band4:05
3."Laura & Neville (Dialogue & Vocal)"KaneArtie Kane2:33
4."Lulu & Michelle"KaneArtie Kane3:06
5."Love & Pity"KaneArtie Kane4:10
6."Love Theme fromEyes of Laura Mars(Prisoner) – Reprise "
  • Lawrence
  • DeSautels
Barbra Streisand3:56

Reception

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Box office

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Eyes of Laura Marspremiered in Los Angeles on August 2, 1978.[12]The film was a box-office success, grossing $20 million in the United States.[2][14]

Critical response

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On its release, the film received mixed critical reviews. The film received a broadly positive review inThe New York Times,in whichJanet Maslincalled the ending of the film "dumb", but otherwise liked it. She wrote of it: "It's the cleverness ofEyes of Laura Marsthat counts, cleverness that manifests itself in superlative casting, drily controlled direction from Irvin Kershner, and spectacular settings that turn New York into the kind of eerie, lavish dreamland that could exist only in the idle noodlings of the very, very hip. "[15]

Roger Ebertwas less enthusiastic, giving the film one-and-a-half stars out of four and criticizing what he called the film's clichéd "woman in trouble" plot.[16]

In his bookHistorical Dictionary of Horror Films(2017), writer Peter Hutchings describesEyes of Laura Marsas an "upmarketslasher film."[6]

On thereview aggregatorwebsiteRotten Tomatoes,the film holds an approval rating of 61% based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 5.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Eyes of Laura Marshints at interesting possibilities, but they're frittered away by a predictable story that settles for superficial thrills. "[17]

George Lucashired director Kershner forThe Empire Strikes Back(1980) because he was impressed after seeing a rough cut of the film.[18]

A parody of the film titledEyes of Lurid Messwas published inMadmagazine. It was illustrated byAngelo Torresand written byLarry Siegelin regular issue #206, April 1979.[19]

Home media

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Columbia TriStar Home Entertainmentfirst released the film onDVDin 2000.[20]Mill Creek Entertainment released aBlu-rayedition in 2019,[21]whileKino Lorberissued a special edition Blu-ray in October 2022.[22]

Legacy

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In the years since its release, film scholars have likenedEyes of Laura Marsto the American equivalent of the Italiangiallofilm.[5]It has also developed a smallcult following[8]and had retrospective revival screenings, including at theSeattle International Film Festivalin 2023.[7]

Along with 1977 ItaliangiallofilmSette note in nero(English Title:The PsychicorSeven Notes in Black), it was unofficially adapted into the 1984TamilfilmNooravathu Naal,[23]which itself was remade into the 1991Hindi-language film100 Days.[24]

References

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  1. ^Ginsberg, Steven (August 2, 1978). "Jon Peters Org Develops 16 Features".Variety.p. 7.
  2. ^abNowell 2010,p. 257.
  3. ^abMuir 2015,p. 195.
  4. ^Griffin & Masters 1996,p. 54.
  5. ^abEdwards & Berns 2023,p. 235.
  6. ^abHutchings 2017,p. 63.
  7. ^ab"Movie Club: Eyes of Laura Mars".Seattle International Film Festival.October 4, 2023.Archivedfrom the original on May 21, 2023.
  8. ^abBarson, Michael (April 25, 2023)."Irvin Kershner Biography".Encyclopædia Britannica.Archivedfrom the original on May 21, 2023.
  9. ^Muir 2015,pp. 16, 195.
  10. ^Muir 2015,p. 196.
  11. ^McCarthy, Todd (January–February 1980). "Trick and Treat".Film Comment.Vol. 16, no. 1. pp. 17–24.
  12. ^abc"Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)".AFI Catalog of Feature Films.RetrievedMay 1,2020.
  13. ^Graham, Chuck (August 1, 1978)."Debby Boone offers a bomb".Tucson Citizen.p. 4B – viaNewspapers.com.
  14. ^"Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)".Box Office Mojo.RetrievedMay 21,2023.
  15. ^Maslin, Janet(August 4, 1978)."Screen: 'Eyes of Laura Mars'".The New York Times.RetrievedJune 21,2023.
  16. ^Ebert, Roger(1978)."Eyes of Laura Mars".Chicago Sun-Times.RetrievedApril 30,2020– viaRogerEbert.com.
  17. ^"Eyes of Laura Mars".Rotten Tomatoes.RetrievedJanuary 29,2024.
  18. ^Trachtenberg, Cecil (April 22, 2019)."Exploring Eyes of Laura Mars – The Disco Giallo".GoodBadFlicks.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-12-21.RetrievedApril 22,2019– viaYouTube.
  19. ^"Mad #206 April 1979".Doug Gilford's Mad Cover Site.
  20. ^"Eyes of Laura Mars DVD".WorldCat.Archivedfrom the original on May 21, 2023.
  21. ^Khan, Imran (January 30, 2020)."'Eyes of Laura Mars' is Best as a Document of '70s New York ".PopMatters.Archivedfrom the original on May 21, 2023.
  22. ^"Eyes of Laura Mars Blu-ray".Blu-ray.com.Archivedfrom the original on May 21, 2023.
  23. ^"100 days".The Indian Express.7 June 1991. p. 7.Retrieved3 January2023.
  24. ^"Here's Why Jackie Shroff Starrer 100 days Still Makes for an Interesting Thriller Watch!".4 December 2020.

Bibliography

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