आइज़ ऑफ़ लौरा मार्स

This movie was around for twenty years before I saw it. I recall it as not having the best of reputations. But I found it to be suspenseful and it could be considered a forerunner of today's erotic thrillers.

Faye Dunaway is Laura Mars, a fashion/glamour photographer whose work is controversial in that some say it glorifies both sex and violence towards women. (Sounds like a pretty contemporary theme, doesn't it?) She becomes troubled by frightening visions she has of killers-eye views of murders. When a killing she has just "seen" turns out to have actually happened nearby she tells the police. She then finds out that a detective (Tommy Lee Jones) has already been investigating some cases where murder scenes closely resembled her photos.

Dunaway is always consistent in delivering good performances and this one is no exception. It was refreshing not to see Jones in his "Mr. Intensity" character he's played so often since 'The Fugitive.' Although some will doubtless find flaws to point up here and there, I found the film to be very enjoyable. Brad Dourif, Rene Aberjonois and Raul Julia also star. Irvin Kershner's direction is stylish and John Carpenter is responsible for the story and co-wrote the script.

Laura Mars is a very successful fashion photographer who one day starts to get visions of brutal murders being carried out. Troubled and in fear for her sanity, Laura turns to the police for help. But this only adds to her problems as Detective Neville points out to her that the murder scenes bare similarities to some of her staged photographs. The pair of them must figure it out quickly because the murderer is closing in on Laura and those close to her.

In 1978, John Carpenter thrilled horror fans with his baby sitting terror piece, Halloween. Also released was this mystery/thriller/horror film, written by Carpenter and directed by Irvin Kershner {The Empire Strikes Back} which is a film that has been called anything from innovative to outright rubbish. The truth is that where Halloween is a horror film of no character substance, Eyes Of Laura Mars is a completely different animal. It's bright blending of 70s fashion photography with Carpenter's dastardly tale {tho the final draft was tampered by many}, is a success. This is a psychological thriller first and foremost, yes horror elements are there {it's a done deal with a serial killer on the loose}, but running alongside a clever romantic angle, the film gains an intensity that few other 70s psychological thrillers can boast.

The cast, other than an insipidly hammy Raul Julia, also come out rather well. Faye Dunaway {Mars}, Tommy Lee Jones {Neville}, Brad Dourif {horror staple that he is} and Rene Auberjonois give credit to well formed characters. Technically it's a fine picture as well, Irvin Kershner and his cinematographer Victor J. Kemper excellently utilise the New York City location. Especially during the fashion shoot sequences, where the 70s and its glamour is fully realised. "Innovated" blurred corridor shots to portray Laura's terrible visions are creepy and highly effective, while i would be surprised if anyone doubted the impact of a mirror shot in the glorious finale.

Thought by many to have not aged well, Eyes Of Laura Mars is often consigned to the cupboard marked "dated", that's unfair because good thrillers are good thrillers, regardless of age. Emotionally strong and pulsing with imminent terror, this is a badly undervalued, and forgotten picture. 8/10

A 1970's supernatural thriller in which most of the positives for me had to do with its setting and time period. The on-location footage in the dirty streets of New York, the peek behind the scenes at fashion shows, and all the hair on these actors held some appeal. Tommy Lee Jones and Faye Dunaway are both reasonably good in their roles, and filling in a solid supporting cast are Brad Dourif and Raul Julia. It was fun hearing "Boogie Nights" by Heatwave and "(Shake Shake Shake) Shake Your Booty by KC and the Sunshine Band, though I didn't think the track from Barbra Streisand fit in as well.

The premise of a woman who suddenly develops the ability to see through the eyes of a serial killer was a pretty good one, and it was amusing guessing what was going, but the film got weaker as it went, leading to a disappointing payoff. The murder mystery is rather tepid (and a far cry from giallo if you ask me), and then a howlingly cheesy romance develops between the two leads. There is never a hint about what might be the cause of the clairvoyant ability, and the big twist doesn't jive very well with the actions of the characters beforehand. It's not terrible as a little window into the 70's, but it's not very good either.

"Eyes of Laura Mars" is a slow, flabby thriller that could have made MUCH better use of its intriguing (if not original) initial idea. Director Kershner shows some style and flair, but this movie needs tighter storytelling. I found the script, co-written by John Carpenter, clever and quite unpredictable (unless you're trying to find the identity of the killer strictly by guessing), and there are OK performances by the entire cast, but this film is ultimately defeated by its uneven, meandering pacing.

Jon Peters' first production as he transformed himself (with girlfriend Barbra Streisand's help) from hairdresser to movie producer, the movie is a gem of Seventies style at it's finest. The clothes, the hair, makeup, music, attitude, interiors and locations ride the crest of the high-style wave that flooded the world through the Eighties. Combining the improbable worlds of violence and fashion, with a story that centers on a famous photographer (Dunaway) and her ability to *see* her friends and colleagues being stalked and murdered, *Eyes* has moments of serious suspense, but that's hardly the reason to see this movie. Utilizing the actual photography of fashion god Helmut Newton, the film maker has exquisitely captured the 1978 New York fashion and disco scene in a way that none of the recent looks at the Seventies has been able to, but then, again, this movie was *made* in 1978, not 27 years later. The scenes of photo shoots are particularly fun to watch, with one scene portraying a burning car crash in Columbus Circle in which the models, clad in garter belts and fur coats cat-fight before the camera. The ingenuous use of *real* models add the precise amount of vacuity necessary to make the surreal shot work. Another photo shoot involves a model dead from a gunshot to his heart lying in a pool surrounded by exotically dressed disco-dancing models and a throbbing disco beat. The plot is secondary to style in this movie, and style is the only reason this movie should be remembered. Favorite moment: Darlanne Fluegel as the model Lulu haplessly trying to explain to the press *why* violence is important in fashion photos.