Dialogues with Laura Mars

Caroline Beston | SIFF Office Manager | Tuesday, September 26, 2023

SIFF Office Manager Caroline Beston selected and will be introducing our October Movie Club selection, Eyes of Laura Mars. She's provided some supplemental cinema if Eyes gives you a Giallo itch you want to scratch:

"I enjoy thinking about how pieces of art examine different facets of the same elements and themes. This is a list of films I think of as in conversation with Eyes of Laura Mars, whether they came before and influenced its style, or were produced after and explore similar motifs."

Check out the list on Letterboxd.

Join us for SIFF Movie Club on October 4, 2023 for a screening of Eyes of Laura Mars followed by a discussion at Queen Anne Beer Hall.

The Psychic (1977)

This Lucio Fulci joint runs parallel to Eyes of Laura Mars with its protagonist haunted by visions of death. When Virginia Ducci (Jennifer O'Neill) arrives at her husband's abandoned country estate, latent psychic abilities lead to the discovery of a body and the hunt for a killer. Her expressive face is a continuous focal point throughout the film, just as Dunaway's in Eyes.

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage 1970

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)

Dario Argento’s directorial debut is considered one of the formative films of the giallo genre. Eyes of Laura Mars walks in its footsteps with genre-standard killer point of view shots and glamorous mise-en-scene, but what’s especially compelling about the two films together is their reflections on violence in visual art.

Tenebre 1982

Tenebre (1982)

Argento goes meta in this film about a murder mystery writer who becomes the focus of a serial killer. The main character being a professional at the top of their game - Peter Neal in Tenebre, Laura Mars in Eyes - is an interesting thread between the two, and both films have nearly beat-for-beat dialogues between the artists and feminist journalists who question their violent works.

Blow-Up 1966

Blow-Up (1966)

If you’re looking to examine the treatment of photography and murder in film…of course you’d watch Blow-Up!

Hatchet for the Honeymoon 1970

Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970)

Perhaps more of a B-Side Bava, Hatchet lives in the glamorous fashion world - this time, with a focus on bridal couture. The film shares more than a sartorial sensibility with Eyes of Laura Mars: without giving too much away, let’s say the psychological hang-ups of their killers have some overlap…

Sisters 1972

Sisters (1972)

Yes, Dressed to Kill might be regarded as a more classic American giallo…but if you want to view two films through a second-wave feminist lens, Sisters makes an apt pairing with Eyes of Laura Mars.

Knife+Heart 2018

Knife+Heart (2018)

This contemporary giallo hurtles past the pearl-clutching characters perturbed by Laura Mars’ provocative photography, making its main character a pornographer. Anne, like Mars, draws inspiration for her work through her psychic link to a killer.

Date: September 26, 2023
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Tags: Cinema