Looker

Looker
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMichael Crichton
Written byMichael Crichton
Produced byHoward Jeffrey
Starring
CinematographyPaul Lohmann
Edited byCarl Kress
Music byBarry De Vorzon
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • October 30, 1981 (1981-10-30)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$8–12 million[1][2]
Box office$3.3 million[3]

Looker is a 1981 American science fiction thriller film[1][4] written and directed by Michael Crichton, starring Albert Finney, James Coburn, Susan Dey, and Leigh Taylor-Young.[5] It follows a series of mysterious deaths plaguing female models who have undergone cosmetic surgery from a renowned Los Angeles physician. The film explores media, advertising and television's impact on the public in creating a ridiculous standard of beauty.

Though sparse in visual effects, it is the first commercial film to attempt to use a computer-generated, three-dimensional, solid-looking model of a whole human body. However, as with its predecessors Futureworld, Star Wars, and Alien, this was an example of "CGI representing CGI", and only depicted on CRT screens in the film, rather than being used as a special effect. The model had no skeletal or facial movements and was not a character. Looker was also the first film to create three-dimensional (3D) shading with a computer,[6] months before the release of the better-known Tron.

  1. ^ a b Looker at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Goldman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Looker (1981) – Financial Information". The Numbers.
  4. ^ "Looker". Variety. 1981. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  5. ^ "Looker". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  6. ^ "Visual and Special Effects Film Milestones (1980–1982)". Filmsite. Retrieved April 21, 2024.