EYES OF LAURA MARS (1978)
Rating: R
Duration: 103 Minutes
Region Code: A
Audio: English DTS-HD MA with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Irvin Kershner
Cast: Faye Dunaway, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Dourif, René Auberjonois, Raúl Juliá
Top: Mill Creek Entertainment Blu-ray (2019)
Bottom: Indicator Blu-ray (2017)
Directed by Irvin Kershner, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back) from an original screenplay by John Carpenter (Halloween), the disco-era American giallo Eyes Of Laura Mars (1978) is a psychic-thriller whodunit set in the high-fashion world of New York City, where titular fashion photographer Laura Mars (Faye Dunaway, Bonnie and Clyde) has been experiencing visions of real-life murder through the eyes of a killer, the horrifying voyeuristic visions literally bleed through into her photographic work, a mix of sexed-up violence, nude women and blood. The graphic images cause quite a controversy, the press often implying that the images are detrimental to society and misogynist.
Top: Mill Creek Entertainment Blu-ray (2019)
Bottom: Indicator Blu-ray (2017)
Mars has been experiencing these visions for years, but when she begins to see the murder of her close friends and associates through the eyes of the killer it strikes too close to home, beginning with the murder of her publisher. Enter Police Lieutenant John Neville (Tommy Lee Jones, Rolling Thunder), who shows her unreleased images of murder scenes that closely resemble her own violent photography, with him making the argument that her images glorify violence, which is a theme that the movie continues to argue, but not in any meaningful way in my opinion, it stirs the pot but never adds it's own special ingredient.
Top: Mill Creek Entertainment Blu-ray (2019)
Bottom: Indicator Blu-ray (2017)
Despite their differences the cop and photographer begin to fall for each other, resulting in some hammy exchanges, a particular scene at the park with the two hiding in the bushes arguing about how wrong their relationship is was absolutely, and unintentionally, comical. The movie goes out of it's way to throw red-herrings at you, it's a true American giallo in that respect. The two main suspects are Mars' ex-con assistant/driver Tommy (the always weird Brad Dourif, Spontaneous Combustion) or her possessive ex-husband Michael (Raul Julia, The Addams Family).
Top: Mill Creek Entertainment Blu-ray (2019)
Bottom: Indicator Blu-ray (2017)
Just looking at this one as an American giallo we have a lot of trademarks, we get the black-gloved killer, a psychic-thriller whodunit motif, and a high-fashion setting along the lines of Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace (1967), though the film has a more down and dirty New York vibe along the lines of Taxi Driver, it doesn't have the visual opulence of say a Dario Argento whodunit. It does however have some stylish scenes involving the photo shoots, but the murders scenes are nowhere near as enthralling as an Argento joint, and the gore is toned-down quite a bit, a scene involving some eye-trauma only hints and some judicial editing.
Top: Mill Creek Entertainment Blu-ray (2019)
Bottom: Indicator Blu-ray (2017)
The movie seems to struggle a bit within its own skin, conflicted about what it wants to be, is it a gritty giallo-esque whodunit, is it a glamorous psychic thriller, it's both but it lacks the visceral edge of a 70's Italian whodunit, it's got the glamour and basic trademarks but lacks the European eye for perverse sexiness and artful execution. It's also a bit slow in spots, and it feels overly and unintentionally campy in other places, as evidenced by the photog's agent Donald (René Auberjonois, Where the Buffalo Roam) dressed in drag and beating a cop with his handbag, and the deliciously strange finale with someone crashing through a huge window and a hint of multiple-personality disorder that had me saying "what just happened?".
Top: Mill Creek Entertainment Blu-ray (2019)
Bottom: Indicator Blu-ray (2017)
Audio/Video: Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) arrives on U.S. Blu-ray debut from Mill Creek Entertainment in 1080p HD and framed in 1.85:1 widescreen. This looks to be the same HD master provided to UK distributor Indicator for their 2017 release by Sony, who are fickle about anyone tinkering with their HD masters, so what we get is very similiar to my eyes with identical framing. The image looks good throughout with a good layer of film grain, it's not the most stunning image in terms of clarity and depth but it looks faithful to the source, and there's some modest fine detail to the image in the close-ups. The biggest difference I see between the two is that the Indicator Blu-ray is a tad brighter and benefits from what looks to be a tighter encode.
Audio comes by way of a lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0 track, everything sounds clean and well-balanced, the score from Artie Kane sounds great, as do the disco soundtrack selections from KC and the Sunshine Band, Michael Zager Band and a theme song provided by Barbara Streisand - who was originally planned to star!
Mill Creek carry-over the audio commentary with director Irvin Kirshner from the 2000 Columbia Pictures DVD. It's a bit subdued and production oriented, coming off a bit dry. Not carried-over is the 7-min making-of featurette, and the 8-min image gallery of on-set and promotional photography with commentary by documentary filmmaker Laurent Bouzereau. Indicator in the UK released a Blu-ray in 2017 that carried over all the extras plus added some new stuff, this included a 13-min appreciation by film critic Kat Ellinger, a Trailers from Hell episode with commentary from director David Decoteau, a theatrical trailer and an image gallery of behind-the-scenes and promotional images, plus a 20-page booklet, not to mention a tighter looking encode. If you're looking for a budget-minded no-frills version this Blu-ray from MCE will do just fine, but if you're looking for something with extras that dig a bit deeper into the film go with Indicator's region-free edition.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with Director Irvin Kershner
The single-disc release comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork featuring a variation on the usual black and white movie poster we've seen on home video before, but featuring a bit more of the fashion photography edge which I have not seen before, featuring a shot of Dunaway snapping a pic with models in the background, it might be something new MCE created for this release, with the disc itself featuring an excerpt of the same artwork.
Top: Mill Creek Entertainment Blu-ray (2019)
Bottom: Indicator Blu-ray (2017)
Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) is a mixed bag, a film that's probably not as essential as it's reputation might imply, but one that has nonetheless developed a healthy cult-status in the years since its initial release, bolstered no doubt by the former scarcity of a home video release, the screenplay by John Carpenter, and the A-list cast and crew. Regardless of what's behind it's cult status, it's great to see it widely available on a solid looking Blu-ray and for under ten bucks!
