Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

Eyes of Laura Mars Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 25, 2018

Irvin Kershner's "Eyes of Laura Mars" (1978) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; archival audio commentary by director Irvin Kershner; archival promotional documentary; collection of vintage promotional materials; and more. The release also arrives with a 36-page illustrated booklet. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Valuable lesson

In the hands of Brian De Palma, this film undoubtedly would have turned out a lot better. Its narrative seems perfect for the type of ambience that De Palma loves to build up in his films and there is an element of it that would have allowed him to deliver a ton of sleaze with it. It is very possible that he would not have been able to retain some of the leads, but a few fresh faces actually would have further strengthened the film.

The prominent fashion photographer Laura Mars (Faye Dunaway) is finalizing an important shoot. She is a bit tense but knows exactly what she has to do so that the shoot is yet another resounding success that would further separate her from her competitors. Though not yet established stars, the girls she works with are already some of the best in the business.

Around the same time her ex-husband, R.J. (Raul Julia), reappears and attempts to reclaim his past role in her personal life, Laura undergoes a bizarre transformation that allows her to begin seeing through the eyes of an unknown serial killer. She would abruptly plug into the killer’s mind before he attacks his victims and witnesses their final moments, but she can never see his face. The ‘connection’ instantly affects the quality of her work and eventually nearly collapses the important shoot. Detective John Neville (Tommy Lee Jones) becomes interested in Laura’s experiences and begins spending time with her so that he can gain a better understanding of the killer’s thought process, but she quickly becomes deeply frustrated with his conventional working methods. Against all odds, the detective and Laura then fall madly in love, and when the killer accidentally discovers the nature of their relationship, Laura suddenly becomes his primary target.

The most obvious problem with this film is that it does not appear comfortable in its own skin. One possible reason for this could be director Irvin Kershner s’ desire to give it a more trendy appearance that does not jibe well with the darker edge of John Carpenter and David Zelag Goodman’s screenplay. The awkward balance quickly becomes obvious because each time it feels like the film is about to enter a more risqué territory Kersnher instantly pushes it in a different direction where he has more authority over its characters and the ways in which they behave. The end product is a conventional thriller that pulls off a few minor surprises but remains disappointingly well-mannered.

Dunaway does some very interesting things to make her nightmare look legit, but once the connection with the killer is established the film runs out of ideas on how to ramp up the tension. After that, it is more of the same until the inevitable confrontation that exposes the identity of the killer.

The bits from the film that look great are the ones where the models are seen working or later on having a good time with Dunaway and the rest of the people from her team. There is a great retro vibe there. Instead of using their energy and allowing them to have more fun in front of the camera, however, the film always rushes back to the more conventional material.

Barbara Streisand sings the theme song, "Prisoner", which became quite popular after the film’s theatrical run ended.

Eyes of Laura Mars Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Irvin Kershner's Eyes of Laura Mars arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

The release is sourced from a dated remaster with some very obvious limitations of the kind that masters from the DVD era typically exhibit. Indeed, while some of the brighter daylight footage can look decent or even good, the indoor and darker footage is typically quite flat and routinely struggles to retain fine details and nuances (you can see examples in screencaptures #4 and 13). Shadow definition can be particularly problematic and it directly impacts depth and fluidity. Rather predictably, grain exposure is inconsistent and as a result there are obvious density fluctuations that are unrelated to the original cinematography. There is a good range of primaries and even some nuances, but there are segments where light background color flutter/pulsations are visible. Ideally, stability, saturation, and the overall range of nuances should be quite a bit better. Image stability is good. All in all, as mentioned above the master that was used has some quite substantial limitations, and the bigger your screen is, the easier it will be for you to identify them. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Eyes of Laura Mars Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I am not convinced that if the film is fully restored in 4K in the near future and then the audio fully remastered there will be a dramatic upgrade in quality in the audio department. There are a few segments where some light thinning is noticeable, but I think that is almost certainly how the original audio was recorded. The current lossless track is very nice and free of the type of conventional age-related imperfections that dated tracks are frequently plagued with.

Eyes of Laura Mars Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

NOTE: All of the supplemental features on this Blu-ray release are perfectly playable on North American Blu-ray players, including the PS3.

• Trailer - an original trailer for Eyes of Laura Mars. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Trailer Commentary - in this archival segment of Trailers From Hell director David DeCoteau (Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama, Murder Weapon) quickly explains why he likes Eyes of Laura Mars and comments on its style. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Eyes on Laura Mars - in this archival featurette, the producer of the Special Edition DVD release of Eyes of Laura Mars discusses some interesting concepts that appeared in different drafts of the script for the film but never made it into the final cut. In English, not subtitled. (9 min).

• Visions: Original Making of Documentary - presented here is an original promotional studio documentary featuring clips from archival interviews with some of the stars as well as raw footage from the shooting of the film in New York City. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• The Eyes Have It - presented here is an appreciation of Eyes of Laura Mars by critic Kat Ellinger, with a special emphasis on its visual style and thematic construction. The appreciation was filmed exclusively for Indicator/Powerhouse Films in 2017. In English, not subtitled. (14 min).

• Audio Commentary - this archival audio commentary by director Irvin Kershner initially appeared on the North American DVD release of the film that Sony Pictures produced. There is plenty of detailed information in it about the framing of key sequences -- such as the view of the killer -- the tone and atmosphere of the film, the original story that inspired the film, the character developments, the on-location shooting in New York City, etc.

• Image Gallery - a collection of original vintage promotional materials for Eyes of Laura Mars.

• Booklet - 36-page illustrated booklet featuring: "Disco Giallo: Fear City Through Krshner's Eyes" by Rebecca Nicole Williams; "Eyes Has It" by Bruce Williamson; a reprinted critical response from Richard Combs originally published in Sight & Sound; and technical credits.

Eyes of Laura Mars Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I think that in the hands of Brian De Palma Eyes of Laura Mars would have turned out a vastly superior film. I feel that there is an element of its narrative that De Palma would have loved to exploit and then transform the final version of the film into a sleazy American giallo with a distinctive retro vibe. In its current form, Eyes of Laura Mars is something of a missed opportunity -- it has a few interesting twists and a bit of the right flavor that I think it needs to be different and memorable, but it very quickly loses steam and ends up rehashing a lot of the same cliches that conventional thrillers do. This recent Blu-ray release from Indicator/Powerhouse Films is sourced from a dated and rather weak remaster with some very obvious limitations of the kind that masters from the DVD era typically exhibit, so the film needs a serious makeover so that it looks as it should. At the moment, however, this is the only Blu-ray release on the market.