Eyes of Laura Mars
| Eyes of Laura Mars | |
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| Directed by | Irvin Kershner |
| Produced by | Jack H. Harris Jon Peters Laura Ziskin |
| Written by | John Carpenter David Zelag Goodman |
| Starring | Faye Dunaway Tommy Lee Jones Brad Dourif |
| Editing by | Michael Kahn |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 2, 1978 |
| Running time | 104 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $7 mil. (USD) |
Eyes of Laura Mars is a 1978 thriller film starring Faye Dunaway and Tommy Lee Jones and directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, adapted from a spec script titled Eyes, written by John Carpenter, was Carpenter's first major studio film. Producer Jon Peters, who was dating Barbra Streisand at the time, bought the screenplay as a starring vehicle for the actress, but Streisand eventually decided not to take the role because of "the kinky nature of the story", as Peters later explained. The role went to Dunaway, who had just won an Oscar for her performance in Network.
Production began on October 17, 1977. It was shot entirely in New York and New Jersey. The famous 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's Columbus Circle. The $7 million production wrapped on January 9, 1978, after 56 days of filming. It was reported that Peters and Dunaway had a tense relationship while making the film, and that Streisand visited the set on a few occasions.
On its release, the film received mixed critical reviews, with critics such as Roger Ebert pointing out its clichéd "woman in trouble" plot. [1] Despite its lukewarm critical reception, the film was a box office hit, earning $20M off of a $7M budget.
The film's theme song, "Prisoner", was performed by Streisand, and was included in the soundtrack.
Laura Mars is said to be an example of an American version of the giallo genre. The film is also noted for its twist ending.
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Plot
Laura Mars (Faye Dunaway) is a successful fashion photographer known for her graphic works depicting murder and death. She begins to experience visions of the murders of her friends and colleagues, as seen through the eyes of the murderer. Together with police investigator John Neville (Tommy Lee Jones), she tries to make sense of her visions. The visions take on frightening new urgency when she realizes she will be next.
The photographs used at the beginning of the movie for Laura's exhibit are actually those of Helmut Newton and Rebecca Blake.
Cast
- Faye Dunaway as Laura Mars
- Tommy Lee Jones as John Neville
- Brad Dourif as Tommy Ludlow
- Rene Auberjonois as Donald Phelps
- Raul Julia as Michael Reisler
- Frank Adonis as Sal Volpe
- Lisa Taylor as Michelle
- Darlanne Fluegel as Lulu
- Rose Gregorio as Elaine Cassel
Trivia
This is the only film to feature a theme song performed by Barbra Streisand in which the actress/singer does not appear.
George Lucas hired director Kershner for The Empire Strikes Back because he was very impressed after seeing a early rough cut of the film.
External links
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