Eyes Of Laura Mars

My third "R" rated movie (after "Saturday Night Fever" and Clint Eastwood's "The Gauntlet") was "The Eyes Of Laura Mars," which I watched with Grace and Katie in '78, age 11. The film about Laura Mars (Faye Dunaway) a fashion photographer who specializes in stylized violence. In her luxurious Manhattan apartment (so 70s!), Laura has a nightmare that her sexy model friend Doris is viciously murdered with an ice pick, her eyeballs stabbed. Laura wakes up and looks through a soon-to-be-published coffee table book of her photos, titled The Eyes of Mars, which Doris had edited. In it, there is a picture of Doris...identical to an image she had in the dream. Later Doris found murdered, eyes gauged out.

As a premise for a horror movie Laura works - this was John Carpenter's first major studio film, after all. It also had its intended consequences : I walked from the first violent scene and have had periodic nightmares ever since.

I watched Laura several years ago on late night tele and the film stands up, mostly, 30 years later and, surprise!, the violence barely mentionable against today's video gore. I still find the picture-poster terrifying and remain as fascinated by it now as then.

Rusty sick - again - after eating Hamster food - again.

Madeleine: "Why does he do that? He's not even allowed upstairs."

Me: "Unfortunately the one time he was upstairs he found the hamster food."

Madeleine: "So why does he do it again and again?"

Me: "Well, imagine I put a Snickers Bar on the top of third floor stairs. And let's say you went up there and found it."

Madeleine: "Yeah, so what?"

Me: "Would you go up there the next day looking for a Snickers Bar?"

Madeleine: "Yes."

Me: "And the day after?"

Madeleine: "Probably."

Me: "Well there you go."

Madeleine: "Can I have a Snickers Bar when we get home?"

Me: "I have a theory. Since I ask you over and over to do anything I think you have become dependent on my asking you to do things."

Eitan: "Well that is an idea."

Me: "If we took away traffic lights, for instance, I bet people would become better drivers."

Eitan: "That would wreak havoc upon us all."