Глаза Лауры Марс (Glaza Laury Mars)

1978 film by Irvin Kershner

Eyes of Laura Mars is a 1978 American neo noir supernatural horror thriller film directed by Irvin Kershner and starring Faye Dunaway, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Dourif, René Auberjonois, and Raul Julia. It follows a New York City fashion photographer (Dunaway) who suddenly develops the clairvoyant ability to witness disturbing serial murders from the point of view of the killer. The screenplay was adapted (in collaboration with David Zelag Goodman) from a spec script titled Eyes, written by John Carpenter; it was Carpenter's first major studio film. H. B. Gilmour later wrote a novelization. Producer Jon Peters, who was dating Barbra Streisand at the time, bought the screenplay as a starring vehicle for her, but Streisand eventually decided not to take the role because of "the kinky nature of the story", as Peters later explained. As a result, the role went to Dunaway, who had just won an Oscar for her performance in Network (1976). Streisand nevertheless felt that "Prisoner", the torch song from the film, would be a good power ballad vehicle for her. She recorded the song for the soundtrack and it peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. Peters commissioned photographer Helmut Newton to provide the images that stand in for Laura Mars' portfolio in the film. Released on August 2, 1978, by Columbia Pictures, the film was a box office success, grossing $20 million domestically. Some critics and film scholars have noted Eyes of Laura Mars as an American version of the Italian giallo with elements of the slasher film,

Filming took place over 56 days from October 17, 1977, to early January 1978. A 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. It was reported that Peters and Dunaway had a tense relationship while making the film.

Eyes of Laura Mars (Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) was released by Columbia Records (PS 35487) in 1978 ahead of the film's release. It was produced by Gary Klein with executive producers Jon Peters and Charles Koppelman. Mark Iskowitz of The Barbra Streisand Music Guide wrote: "The side one 'Prisoner' track is actually identical to the single and Greatest Hits Volume 2 version. The side two reprise version does contain instrumentation from the film score at the beginning and during the first sections of the song, which is featured in its entirety. Track 3 opens with Barbra singing the first four lines from 'Prisoner' with a sparse, spooky film score backing." The Eyes of Laura Mars LP is out of print; it was never released on CD.

Eyes of Laura Mars premiered in Los Angeles on August 2, 1978.

On its release, the film received mixed critical reviews. The film received a broadly positive review in The New York Times, in which Janet Maslin called the ending of the film "dumb", but otherwise liked it. She wrote of it: "It's the cleverness of Eyes of Laura Mars that counts, cleverness that manifests itself in superlative casting, drily controlled direction from Irvin Kershner, and spectacular settings that turn New York into the kind of eerie, lavish dreamland that could exist only in the idle noodlings of the very, very hip." Roger Ebert was less enthusiastic, giving the film one and a half stars out of four and criticizing what he called the film's clichéd "woman in trouble" plot. In his book Historical Dictionary of Horror Films (2017), writer Peter Hutchings describes Eyes of Laura Mars as an "upmarket slasher film." On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 61% based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 5.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Eyes of Laura Mars hints at interesting possibilities, but they're frittered away by a predictable story that settles for superficial thrills." George Lucas hired director Kershner for The Empire Strikes Back (1980) because he was impressed after seeing a rough cut of the film. A parody of the film titled Eyes of Lurid Mess was published in Mad magazine. It was illustrated by Angelo Torres and written by Larry Siegel in regular issue #206, April 1979.

Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment first released the film on DVD in 2000. Mill Creek Entertainment released a Blu ray edition in 2019, while Kino Lorber issued a special edition Blu ray in October 2022.

In the years since its release, film scholars have likened Eyes of Laura Mars to the American equivalent of the Italian giallo film. It has also developed a small cult following and had retrospective revival screenings, including at the Seattle International Film Festival in 2023. Along with 1977 Italian giallo film Sette note in nero (English Title: The Psychic or Seven Notes in Black), it was unofficially adapted into the 1984 Tamil film Nooravathu Naal, which itself was remade into the 1991 Hindi language 100 Days.