EYES OF LAURA MARS (1978) (Mill Creek Entertainment Blu-ray Review/Comparison)

EYES OF LAURA MARS (1978)

Label: Mill Creek Entertainment 
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)  

Eyes of Laura Mars is a movie I first sought out because of the contribution of John Carpenter who wrote the initial script, but it went through many changes before making it's way tot he big screen, including the love angle and making it a more of a whodunit than a psychic-slasher. I think it's a hot mess of a movie but it is star-studded and strangely weird in a way that makes it interesting. Adding to the fun is an overwrought performance from Dunaway (just a few years before Mommie Dearest), and an over-the-top turn from Raul Julia as her, plus a suitably creepy role from a very shaggy (and young) Brad Dourif. Tommy Lee Jones seems pretty aloof and subdued for most of the film, but his weirdness does come through at the end and the aforementioned scene at the park with Dunaway. 

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! 

  

EYES OF LAURA MARS (1978) (Indicator Blu-ray Review)

EYES OF LAURA MARS (1978)

Label: Powerhouse Films/Indicator Series 
Rating: BBFC Cert: 15 
Region Code: Region-Free
Audio: English LPCM 1.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HE Widescreen (1.85:1) 
Director: Irvin Kershner 
Cast: Faye Dunaway, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Dourif, René Auberjonois, Raúl Juliá

Directed by Irvin Kershner (The Empire Strikes Back) from an scripted by John Carpenter (Halloween), the disco-era American giallo Eyes Of Laura Mars (1978) is a psychic-thriller whodunit set in the high-fashion mecca of New York City, we have 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 scoety and demeaning to women.

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, he makes 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.

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). 

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.

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?". 

Eyes of Laura Mars is a movie I first sought out because of the contribution of John Carpenter who wrote the initial script, but it went through many changes before making it's way tot he big screen, including the love angle and making it a more of a whodunit than a psychic-slasher. I think it's a hot mess of a movie but it is star-studded and strangely weird in a way that makes it interesting. Adding to the fun is an overwrought performance from Dunaway (just a few years before Mommie Dearest), and an over-the-top turn from Raul Julia as her, plus a suitably creepy role from a very shaggy (and young) Brad Dourif. Tommy Lee Jones seems pretty aloof and subdued for most of the film, but his weirdness does come through at the end and the aforementioned scene at the park with Dunaway. 

Audio/Video: Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) makes it's worldwide Blu-ray debut from Indicator in 1080p HD widescreen 1.85:1, the image looks good with a nice 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. Audio comes by way of a lossless LPCM Mono 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!  

Onto the extra Indicator carry-over the director's commentary and original making-of, and the 8-min image gallery of on-set and promotional photography with commentary by documentary filmmaker Laurent Bouzereau, whom discusses the differences in the finished film and the various script incarnations, all from the 2000 Columbia Pictures DVD. The commentary is a bit subdued and very production oriented, I found it a bit dry, the making of doc is a nice vintage featurette from '78 with behind-the-scenes video and an interview with star Faye Dunaway. Onto the new stuff there's a 13-min analysis/appreciation by film critic Kat Ellinger who discusses the slasher/giallo roots of the film, the high fashion elements, and it's place in cinema as an American giallo, it's an astute exploration of the film. Indicator have also included director David DeCoteau's Trailers from Hell episode wherein he lavishes praise on the film. The disc is finished up with a theatrical trailer and an image gallery of behind-the-scenes and promotional images. 

Onto the packaging extras, we get a 20-page booklet with cast and crew info, notes about the transfer, an appreciation with lots of production info from Rebbecca Nicole Williams (aka the Celluloid Sorceress), a '78 article from Playboy magazine with producer John Peters, and vintage critical response from the press.  

Special Features 
- Audio Commentary with Director Irvin Kershner
- Visions: Original Making of documentary (7 min) HD )
- Trailers From Hell: David DeCoteau on Eyes of Laura Mars (3 min) HD
- Eyes On Laura Mars: on-set and promotional photography with commentary by Laurent Bouzereau (8 min) HD 
- The Eyes Have It: an appreciation by critic Kat Ellinger (13 min) HD 
- Theatrical Trailer (3 min) HD 
- Image Gallery (68 Images) HD
- Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Rebbecca Nicole Williams, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and historic articles on the film 

Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) has been long out-of-print on DVD and fetching some hefty after-market prices on eBay, so I am pleased to see it makes it's worldwide Blu-ray debut from Indicator who offer up pleasing A/V presentation and some old and new extras. I think the movie is a mixed bag, a film that's probably not as essential as it's reputation would imply, but one that has developed a healthy cult-status in the years since its release, perhaps bolstered by the scarcity of the DVD and the a-list cast and crew, but regardless of what lies behind the cult status, it's great to see it widely available again for fans and others to rediscover in HD.   

ROBOCOP 2 (1990) (Collector's Edition Blu-ray Review)

ROBOCOP 2 (1990) 

Label: Scream Factory
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 117 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen 
Director: Irvin Kershner
Cast: Gabriel Damon, Belinda Bauer, Dan O'Herlihy, Nancy Allen, Peter Weller, Tom Noonan

Synopsis: RoboCop 2 pits two unstoppable cyborgs against each other in a battle to the death! When Detroit's descent into chaos is further compounded by a police department strike and a new designer drug called "Nuke," only RoboCopTM can stop the mayhem. But in his way are an evil corporation that profits from Motor City crime and a bigger and tougher cyborg with a deadly directive: Take out RoboCop. Containing the latest gadgetry and weaponry as well as the mind of the madman who designed "Nuke," this new cyborg isn't just more sophisticated than his predecessor... he's psychotic and out of control! And it's going to take everything RoboCop has – maybe even his life – to save Detroit from complete and utter anarchy.

Thinking back on this one I realized it is the only Robocop film I caught first run in the cinema, I don't have the best memory of loving it at the time, and the movie has sort of languished in the back of my mind as a less than stellar sequel to an amazing, dark and violently satirical first film. Director Paul Verhoeven did not return for this sequel, he was making Total Recall (1990) with Arnold Schwarzenegger at the time, so the producers brought in director Irvin Kershner, the guy who directed, in my opinion, the best sequels of all-time, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), but let's be real, he also directed one of the worst, the non-cannon 007 flick Never Say Never Again (1983), but he also directed The Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), which I have a soft spot for. Producers also brought in comics writer Frank Miller (The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City) as screenwriter, which again is both good and bad, I like a lot of Miller's work, but I don't think the he quite captured the satirical stuff I loved about the first Robocop for the sequel, his tone is dark, but different.

Again we have Robocop (Peter Weller, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension) in Detroit battling the evils of the inner-city, Omni Consumer Products (OCP)are still trying to create a new Robocop, literally calling their creation Robocop 2! OCP are also out to build the city of the future, something called Delta City, and to that end they are out to force the city to default on their payments to OCP, which would somehow force them surrender control of the city to OCP. The Old Man (Dan O'Herlihy, Halloween III) returns as the OCP CEO, and he's turned into quite a corporate bastard since the first film, wherein he seemed alright, for a corporate guy. The idea of Detroit declaring bankruptcy probably seemed like such a oddly dystopian idea back in '90, but not these days, haha.

As OCP own the cops they make things worse for Detroit by cutting wages and pension plans for cops, causing a city wide police strike, leaving Robocop and his partner Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen, Carrie) as the only cops out on the streets, so as you can imagine the whole damn city is thick with crime. The movie opens with a fun neon-lit montage of a thief robbing a bag lady only to be roughed-up by some violent prostitutes, so it does have a bit of the Verhoeven satire to it, mixed in with some of Frank Miller's darkness, you see a lot of his vision bleeding through, including the commercials, one of which features actor John Glover (Gremlins 2) selling a lethal form of car alarm, it's good stuff but not on par with the first film, which was more biting. Sadly we do not get any of the infamous "Id buy that for a dollar!" lines peppered throughout. 

One of the villains of this movie is a drug dealer named Cain (Tom Noonan, Manhunter)who peddles a new designer drug called Nuke. Cain is a weird cult-leader new age spiritualist, Noonan is nicely creepy in the role, but we don't get enough of him in my opinion. His right hand man is actually a young kid named Hobs (Gabriel Damon), a pint-sized killer with a shit attitude, and Cain's girlfriend Angie (Galyn Görg). Also working against Robocop are the corporate baddies at OCP who are looking to replace goodie-goodie Robocop with a new successor, after the failure of good old ED-209 from the first film. 

OCP are still using fallen officers to create cyborg robocops, but the problem they're having is that their creations tend to go insane, shooting up the lab techs before committing suicide. Enter psycho-psychologist Dr. Juliette Faxx (Belinda Bauer) who aligns herself with The Old Man to create a new Robocop, unwisely using the criminal Cain as the brain inside the new armored Robocop 2! Great idea, what could go wrong? Perhaps the idea that you now have a drug addicted Robocop might pose a bit of a problem, which of course it does.

Faults aside I have to say the movie holds up better way than I remembered, which is not usually the case usually i remember older movie far more fondly than they deserve, but that is not the case with this one. Sure, it's not on par with the original (so few are), but the violence is good and strong, Miller does channel some of the same darkness and satire that Verhoeven brought, but it is toned down, and that was a huge part of what I loved about the first movie. It also touches on an area I thought could have given the character of Murphy/Robocop a bit of new life, like when we catch him stalking his ex wife, keeping tabs on her, but that tasty tidbit of a subplot evaporates before it can even begin to boil. Nancy Allen returns here as officer Lewis but she is awful, more fairly, she doesn't have a whole lot to do, and the character is poorly written. I love Allen in De Palma's movies, but watching her in this, the next sequel and Poltergeist III (1988) recently, she can be a bad actress when not given some proper direction, real bad.

What the sequel does right is keep the action coming, this is a violent movie, the gore is toned way down, but I love the stop-motion animation between Robocop and Robocop 2 at the end of the movie. With Cain's brain inside the armored R2 we sadly do not get enough of Noonan as Cain, who is relegated to a Lawnmower Man esque digital face on a TV screen once inside the steel-machine, so as much as I loved the R2 design, I wish somehow we would have had more of Noonan incorporated into it.

This would be the last time we would see Weller in the role of Murphy/Robocop, and already it's a case of diminishing returns, honestly they just don't explore his humanity enough to keep the personal story interesting, it's dropped in there but just disappears, wrapped up way to fast for my tastes. I will say I love the new Robocop suit this time out, it has a pearly blue/purple tone to it that looks great on film, and Weller is iconic in his own way, giving some distinct line readings, which will be sorely missed in the bland sequel to this one. 

Robocop 2 is a fun watch, it's a lesser film but still maintains just enough of what I loved about the first to keep me plugged in right till the end credits. There's plenty of action, some watered down satire, Miller's dark humor and some bloody violence, unlike R3 this one maintains an R-rating and isn't aimed at the kiddies. 

Audio/Video: Robocop 2 (1990) arrives on Blu-ray from Scream Factory with a brand new 2K scan from the interpositive with a new color correction. The results are very pleasing, I own the MGM Trilogy Blu-ray set and this is a nice upgrade. Grain is nicely managed, the colors are more impressive, black levels are good and deep. The image is sharp, nicely detailed with some good depth, this is good stuff. 

Audio on the disc includes English DTS-HD MA 2.0 and 5.1, the surround offers some good use of the surrounds when the action amps up, a solid surround track. The stereo track is also solid with good stereo separation. Optional english subtitles are included. 

Extras on the disc are plentiful and nicely in-depth, beginning with the 32-minute making of doc  with new and vintage interviews with director Irvin Kershner, producer Jon Davidson, cast members Tom Noonan, Nancy Allen, Galyn Görg, executive producer Patrick Crowley, associate producer Phil Tippett, cinematographer Mark Irwin and author/CG supervision Paul M. Sammon. A nice, honest, remembrance of the making of, including producer Jon Davidson speaking about the convoluted process of making the movie, the original story ideas including a Robocop love story! 

There'a also a 32-min FX featurette with Phil Tippett, Peter Kuran, Craig Hayes, Jim Aupperle, Kirk Thatcher, Paul Gentry, Don Waller, Justin Kohn, Randal Dutra and Kevin Kutchaver, an 9-min interview with RoboCop armor fabricator James Belohovek, a 6-min interview with comic book writer Steven Grant on adapting Frank Millers screenplay for Robocop 2, plus 46-min of archival production and behind-the-scenes videos including interviews with director Irvin Kershner, actors Peter Weller, Dan O’Herlihy  and a look at the filming of some deleted scene. Additionally we have trailers and a series of image galleries rounding out the extras. Almost forgot to mention the 3-min deleted scene gallery, which sadly is not actual deleted scenes but descriptions of some significant story elements that were left on the cutting room floor, I think if Scream had been able to unearth the actual deleted footage that would have certainly made this a much more sought after release, but as it stands this is a damn fine release. 

The single disc release comes housed in a standard blue keepcase with a sleeve of reversible artwork, featuring a new illustration by Paul Shipper, which sadly looks like a painted version of the usual floating head photoshop stuff, which I hated. The reverse side features the original one-sheet poster, which isn't much better< sadly, this is one of the ugliest packaging artworks I've seen from Scream Factory. There's also a slipcase (o-ring) featuring the Shipper artwork, groan.   

Special Features:
- NEW 2K scan of the inter-positive
- NEW Audio Commentary with author/CG supervisor Paul M. Sammon
- NEW Audio Commentary with the makers of “RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop” documentary – Gary Smart, Chris Griffiths and Eastwood Allen
- NEW Corporate Wars: The Making of ROBOCOP 2 – featuring new and vintage interviews with director Irvin Kershner, producer Jon Davidson, cast members Tom Noonan, Nancy Allen, Galyn Görg, executive producer Patrick Crowley, associate producer Phil Tippett, cinematographer Mark Irwin and author/CG supervision Paul M. Sammon (32 min)HD 
- NEW Machine Parts: The FX of ROBOCOP 2 – featuring Phil Tippett, Peter Kuran, Craig Hayes, Jim Aupperle, Kirk Thatcher, Paul Gentry, Don Waller, Justin Kohn, Randal Dutra and Kevin Kutchaver (32 min)HD
- NEW Robo-Fabricator – an interview with RoboCop armor fabricator James Belohovek (9 min)HD
- NEW Adapting Frank Miller’s ROBOCOP 2 – an interview with comic book writer Steven Grant (6 min)HD
- NEW OCP Declassified – a collection of rare archival production and behind-the-scenes videos including interviews with director Irvin Kershner, actors Peter Weller, Dan O’Herlihy  and a look at the filming of some deleted scene (46 min) HD
- Theatrical Trailer (2 min) HD 
- Teaser Trailers (2 min) HD 
- TV Spots (1 min) HD 
- Deleted Scenes (2 min) HD 
- Still Gallery (1 min) HD 
- Still Galleries (behind-the-scenes photos, stills, posters and lobby cards)(9 min) 

I was surprised how much I enjoyed re watching this sequel, it holds up surprisingly well, way better than I remembered. Sure, it's got a few parts that are less than stellar, and the satire and humor aren't up to the standards of Verhoeven's original, but this is a fun watch and loaded with plenty of Robocop action. The new transfer looks top notch and the extras are fantastic. 3/5