Looker
| Looker | |
|---|---|
 original film poster |
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| Directed by | Michael Crichton |
| Produced by | Howard Jeffrey |
| Written by | Michael Crichton |
| Starring | Albert Finney James Coburn Susan Dey Leigh Taylor-Young |
| Music by | Barry De Vorzon |
| Cinematography | Paul Lohmann |
| Editing by | Carl Kress |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | October 30, 1981 |
| Running time | 94 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Looker is a 1981 science fiction film written and directed by Michael Crichton. It starred Albert Finney, Susan Dey, and James Coburn. Former NFL linebacker Tim Rossovich[1] was featured as the villain's main henchman.
The film is a suspense/science fiction piece which comments upon and satirizes media, advertising, TV's effects on the populace, and ridiculous standard of beauty.
Though spare in visual effects, the film is notable for being the first commercial film to attempt to make a realistic computer generated character, for the model named "Cindy." It was also the first film to create 3-D shading with a computer,[2] months before the release of the better-known Tron.
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[edit] Plot
Dr. Larry Roberts (Albert Finney), a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, is puzzled when four beautiful models working in television commercials request cosmetic surgery to make changes so minor that they would be imperceptible to the naked eye. When these models later start dying under mysterious circumstances, he discovers they are all linked to the same advertisement research firm.
The Digital Matrix research firm rates advertising models by using a scoring system that measures the combined visual impact of various physical attributes in television commercials. In an experiment to increase their scores, some models are sent to Dr. Roberts to get cosmetic surgery in order to maximize their visual impact. After the surgeries are performed, though the models are now physically perfect, they still are not as effective as desired. So the research firm decides to use a different approach. Each model is offered a contract to have her body scanned digitally to create 3D computer generated models and then animating them for use in commercials. The contract deals seem to be incredibly lucrative for the models: once their bodies are represented digitally, they get a paycheck for life, never having to work again, since their digital model is used for all their future work in commercials.
However, when these same models start dying under mysterious circumstances, Roberts becomes suspicious and decides to investigate Digital Matrix. He has a strong interest in investigating the deaths: he is considered a prime suspect by the police (from evidence planted at the scene of one of the murders) and his most recent patient, Cindy (Susan Dey), is the last of the models to be digitally scanned.
During his investigation, Roberts discovers some advanced-technology devices the Digital Matrix corporation is using to hypnotize consumers into buying the products they advertise. He also discovers the L.O.O.K.E.R. (Light Ocular-Oriented Kinetic Emotive Responses) gun, a light pulse device that gives the illusion of invisibility by instantly mesmerizing its victims into losing all sense of time.
[edit] Versions
There appear to be two versions of the film.
The original theatrical cut is what appeared in theaters in 1981 and is what has appeared on most video releases, including the 2007 region 1 DVD release.
TV airings have been of a slightly different edit, containing a sequence in which Reston, after detaining Roberts and Cindy in his mansion, explains why he had the other models murdered (the reason for the killings is a plot hole in the theatrical film). He says that the models were the 'measurements' and that it was corporate policy to 'shred old documents' that competitors might use. After Reston leaves to attend a dinner party, Roberts and Cindy are able to escape.
On the DVD commentary track, Crichton alludes to the difficulty of editing Looker, which perhaps accounts for why the TV version contains more exposition.
Another change is during the ending walkaway. In the original release there is a voice over by Reston detailing the chillingly powerful influence of television on the American viewers. It is from part of a speech he makes earlier in the film. The newer version of the film has a different voice over that is a public relation piece for the Reston company.
The Vivaldi music chosen by the doctor : Flute concerto in G minor Op 10 No 2 RV439 "la notte" IV allegro
[edit] MPAA rating
The film contains female nudity, though none of it is explicitly sexual in nature. Despite these graphic depictions, the film was re-rated PG, although originally rated R.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Looker at the Internet Movie Database
- Looker at AllRovi
- Looker at Rotten Tomatoes
