Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)

Laura Mars (Faye Dunaway) is a celebrated fashion photographer. She is haunted by visions from a killer's eyesight. At her gala, she encounters police detective John Neville (Tommy Lee Jones) who hates the photos of violence against semi-nude women without knowing it's her. Those around her are killed and Neville investigates. Her pictures seem to mimic real crime scenes. Tommy Ludlow (Brad Dourif) is her driver. Donald Phelps (René Auberjonois) is her manager. Michael Reisler (Raul Julia) is her possessive ex-husband.

The killer's vision needs better consistency. It's mostly first person POV except sometimes it goes up to the murder weapon. It becomes more traditional but it needs to stay with the first person POV. Otherwise, it's a nice premise and the visual mostly works. It has blood and gore but like the photos, they are too stagey. The first thing that caught my eye is the writing credit for John Carpenter. This is pre-Halloween by a couple of months. If it somehow got released after Halloween, I'm sure they would have promoted Carpenter's script to death and it would be an even bigger hit. The great cast is doing good work. There is a twist that seems more for twist's sake. This is a nice middling mystery thriller although the pacing is not always that thrilling.

Fmovies: "Eyes of Laura Mars" is a fun late-70s period piece. Lots of disco-era clothing, glossy lipliner and feathered hair. It's famous primarily for its title song, "Prisoner," which became a hit single for Barbra Streisand.

Plotwise, it's pretty severely lacking. The murders keep things moving, but the movie fails to address several key questions -- WHY does Laura Mars have her visions? How does it happen? Raul Julia is wasted on a minor role, and performances by Faye Dunaway and Tommy Lee Jones wouldn't win any Oscars.

But all in all, it's worth a rental.

I saw Eyes of Laura Mars a few years ago and just watched it again very recently. I remembered it as being fantastic but upon watching it again I was a little disappointed. It's a solid film, by no means bad, it's just nothing all that special.

For the past 3 years or so I've been totally hooked on giallo's and this film plays in a lot of ways like an homage to those Italian thrillers. Touches here and there remind you of Dario Argento (obsessive mirror imagery, Laura's visions etc.), Lucio Fulci, Sergio Martino and Mario Bava, such as the model settings and murder scenarios. While this film scores heavy on style (and music, though I find this soundtrack a bit hokey, but generally OK) it just lacks the magic that the best giallo's seem to have. The plot, while intriguing enough, is not nearly played out to it's full potential. There are gripping scenes here to be sure, but the film drags quite a bit and nothing virtually happens for a long period of time.

For seasoned giallo fans, we know the killer is most definitely gonna be the most unlikely one, and for a lack of suspects, I didn't find it hard to figure out who was guilty, but there's pretty much no logic to support it (but that's a giallo trademark, a pro rather than a con actually). For me, the problem is that this film doesn't have the same trashy feel and atmosphere as the best Italian thrillers it seems to be imitating. In a lot of ways I like this film, certain scenes are truly gripping but there's simply something lacking. Being a huge fan of John Carpenter, I can't help but think what he could have done had he directed this. He came up with the story and shares the credits as the writer of the screenplay and what's more, he loves the Italian giallo films as well. His own homage to the genre; Someone's Watching Me, the little known TV film was terrific and you could see that he definitely had the feel for the genre and could easily translate it to American settings. I don't feel that Kershner, as good a director as he is, has the same love for the genre as Carpenter.

I recommend watching it, it scores on a number of levels.

Eyes of Laura Mars fmovies. The premise presents all sorts of creepy potential—viewing murders through the eyes of the serial killer committing them. In the movie, these visions can strike Laura Mars at the moment they happen regardless of what she happens to be doing. Moreover, the victims are all members of her modeling staff. It's a wonder then that she's not a nervous wreck, an understandable consequence the film too typically ignores.

This psychic element makes a heckuva of a movie premise, but its effectiveness also depends on how the story around it is developed. And here I can only say the narrative results are little short of a mess. It's like the five or six screenwriters simply failed to communicate with one another, resulting in a near incoherent narrative— for example, what is the killer's motivation, what is causing Laura's psychic visions, what relevance does Raul Julia's dangling presence have to the plot, etc. None of these are answered, or unless I missed something, even hinted at. Instead the narrative stumbles along in fits and jerks without much relation to what's gone before. Then there's the totally unbelievable ending that by itself is enough to sink the film.

No need to go on since other negative aspects are discussed effectively by other reviewers. Instead, let me suggest a direction in which the story could have gone. For example, establish early on some psychic connection between Laura and Neville before they ever meet. Perhaps, she sees his compelling gaze in a photograph and is strangely transfixed by it. Thus a connection is established. This opens also the possibility that the murders are fated to happen, and both characters act not as independent agents, but are in fate's malevolent grip. In such a manner, the psychic world would be expanded and not drowned in a clutter of confusion.

Anyway, the premise certainly deserves better treatment than it got from a glut of writers. Too bad.

Sure.... Compared to the thrillers of today - it just can't compare. It seems low budget and 3rd world in quality. But it's got so much more beneath the surface.

The plot is simple - a 'High Fashion' photographer (Laura Mars) begins to have visions of brutal murders - both when sleeping and while awake. Some of these visions begin to seep into her work and her images. But soon, the visions begin to include many of her friends, acquaintances and co-workers. A homicide detective (John Neville) assigned to the case begins hanging around and trying to solve the case, including the murders involving Laura's friends. Many of Laura's friends & acquaintances get killed along the way, leaving her emotionally bereft and open to Neville's advances. I won't blow the end of the film (as others may) by giving away the twists and turns.

There are a few decent performances in the movie - including Rene Auberjunois as Laura's 'flamboyantly flaming' manager, assistant and best friend. And, how he can wear a dress....

This stylish & sometimes sexy thriller is an 8 of 10 when the age of the flick comes into consideration. Decent plot, decent acting and decent twists. And, I am sorry, but Barbara Streisand's opening song still stands as one of my all time favorite songs.... Speaking of the opening, the opening credits of the film are kinda creepy and chilling. Go rent it and decide for yourself!

Eyes of Laura Mars -- Horror/Thriller -- 1978

This is an old supernatural thriller of sorts from way back in the 70s'. It revolves around a female fashion/glamour photographer who lives to make crude photographic nudie art that sepcializes in scenes of violence. Some people find her "art" to be rather disturbing and horribly offensive. So someone decides to go around killing her friends and acquaintances. To make matters worse, Laura Mars can see the murders happening--through her own eyes!

Here's the breakdown:

The Good:

--Clever story, and fairly original. Adds a nice twist to the usual cops-hunting-murderer story.

--Good acting all around. Brad Dourif is creepy, Tommy Lee Jones is cool, Raul Julia is... kinda weird...

--Good atmosphere and cinematography all around, with some strong direction. The tense moments are generally pretty well done.

--Some nice, genuine, surprises throughout the film. It does manage to successfully keep you guessing just who the killer is.

Didn't Hurt It, Didn't Help:

--Contains a decent amount of fairly well-known actors including Faye Dunaway, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Dourif (better known as Chucky from the Child's Play series), Raul Julia, and Rene Auberjonois (famous for his Star Trek: Deep Space Nine role). It was also co-written by John "Halloween" Carpenter.

--Quite a bit of nudity. She is taking pictures of naked "victims of violence" after all.

--Somewhat grotesque 70's music permeates here and there.

--Some decent character development and depth.

The Bad:

--Not quite as scary or riveting as I'm sure it was back in '78. This review being written in 2006.

--Some "logic" problems every now and then. For instance, when Laura Mars sees someone being murdered, that's all she sees--yet there are times when she seems to be able to move around, once even driving a car, with more competence than one would expect from someone who just instantly "went blind."

--Occasional dips in the quality of the atmosphere and writing.

The Ugly:

--The make-up used on the models in the 70's. Holy crap!

Memorable Scene:

--Nice climax to the film.

Fun Fact:

--The photographic art in the film is actually from professional "glamour" photographer Helmut Newton.

Acting: 8/10 , Story: 8/10 , Atmosphere: 7/10 , Cinematography: 8/10 , Character Development: 7/10 , Special Effects/Make-up: 7/10 , Dialog: 7/10 , Music: 6/10 , Direction: 9/10

Nudity/Sexuality: 5/10 , Violence: 6/10 , Gore: 3/10

Cheesiness: 2/10 , Crappiness: 0/10

Overall: 7/10

Finally, I would recommend this to hardcore horror/thriller fans or film buffs. John Carpenter or Tommy Lee Jones fans will likely enjoy it. The movie is not without its problems, small though they are, but may not be enjoyed all that well by many modern viewers.

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