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Eyes of Laura Mars
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
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	August 2, 1978
Running time	104 min.
Language	English
Budget	$7 mil. (USD)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Eyes of Laura Mars is a 1978 horror 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 Stresiand eventually decided not to take the role because of "the kinky nature of the story," as Peters later explained. The role went, instead, to Faye 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 became one of the major hits of 1978. The soundtrack included other hit songs from the period.

Laura Mars is said to be an example of the giallo genre of film.

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.

• 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

• Eyes Of Laura Mars at the Internet Movie Database

v • d • e Irvin Kershner
1950s	Stakeout on Dope Street • The Young Captives
1960s	Hoodlum Priest • Face in the Rain • The Luck of Ginger Coffey • A Fine Madness • The Flim-Flam Man
1970s	Loving • Up the Sandbox • S*P*Y*S • The Return of a Man Called Horse • Eyes of Laura Mars
1980s	Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back • Never Say Never Again
1990s	RoboCop 2
Productions	American Perfekt (1999)
Television	Naked City (1958–1963) • The Rebel (1959–1961) • Cain's Hundred (1961–1962) • Ben Casey (1961–1966) • Kraft Suspense Theatre (1963–1965) • Raid on Entebbe (1977) • Amazing Stories (1985–1987) • SeaQuest DSV (1993)