Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)

A famous fashion photographer develops a disturbing ability to see through the eyes of a killer.

Director:

Irvin Kershner

Writers:

John Carpenter (screenplay), David Zelag Goodman (screenplay)

Stars:

Faye Dunaway, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Dourif

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Faye Dunaway	...	Laura Mars
Tommy Lee Jones	...	John Neville
Brad Dourif	...	Tommy Ludlow
Rene Auberjonois	...	Donald Phelps
Raul Julia	...	Michael Reisler (as R.J.)
Frank Adonis	...	Sal Volpe
Lisa Taylor	...	Michele
Darlanne Fluegel	...	Lulu
Rose Gregorio	...	Elaine Cassell
Bill Boggs	...	Himself
Steve Marachuk	...	Robert
Meg Mundy	...	Doris Spenser
Marilyn Meyers	...	Sheila Weissman
Gary Bayer	...	Reporter
Mitchell Edmonds	...	Reporter

Storyline

Suddenly Laura Mars can see through the eyes of a serial killer as he commits his crimes. She contacts the police and with the aid of a police detective, tries to stop the killer. But first, they have to figure out who it is.

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Plot Keywords:

asking to be murdered | murdering one's lover | murder of a woman | murder of a police officer | serial murder | 

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 August 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Eyes

Filming Locations:

Columbus Circle, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$20,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation,Major Studio Partners

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Mad Magazine parody of this movie, was called "Eyes of Lurid Mess", and was part of Issue #206 published in April 1979.

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Goofs

When Laura sees an especially frightening vision the camera cuts to her eyes in close-up. Her pupils are not maximally dilated as they would normally be by extreme emotion, but are pinpoints. This would likely have been a technical difficulty as the bright lights in the C/U would shrink her pupils.

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Quotes

Laura: I'm completely out of control!

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Crazy Credits

Raul Julia is billed simply as R.J. in the opening credits, but by his full name in the cast crawl at the end.

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Connections

Referenced in Mic Macs à Tire-Larigot (2009)

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Soundtracks

Boogie Nights
Performed by Heatwave
Written by Rod Temperton (uncredited)
Produced by Bobby Bland (as Bobby Blue)
Courtesy of EPIC Records

User Reviews

Everyone Loves Faye but Me

I understand that this was filmed and set in the 70s in New York and I think it's meant to mirror some of the avant garde style of that time and locale, but I couldn't stand Faye's acting style in this film. Her character is supposed to be a strong, successful, visionary/controversial photographer. She seemed to start many scenes playing just that, but would then quickly fall to pieces and appear to not know where she was, what she was doing, or how to answer a simple question. This happens over and over. I felt like I was watching over- acting from the 40s.

The rest of the cast saved it for me. Especially Brad Dourif and Tommy Lee Jones.

I liked the general story and premise, but even at only 104 minutes, it felt drawn-out.

A lot of people seem to think the ending was predictable. It caught me pleasantly by surprise!

I doubt as many people will be as put off as I was by Faye's acting in this particular film, so I would recommend this with my own reservations. I love supernatural movies and whodunits, and this was an interesting combination of both. It is definitely dated, though. Good luck.