Ambrose Bierce's Eyes of the Panter---The Movie

9.1.07

Eyes of the Panther wants YOU!

To join us Saturday, September 15th at 7:00 pm at the Valley Film Festival!

We'll be showing with a load of other great shorts-- AND you'll have a chance to vote for Eyes of the Panther! The only way for us to win an award is by AUDIENCE CHOICE-- so come join us and cast your vote!

Here's where we'll be:

The El Portal Theatre
5269 Lankershim Blvd.
North Hollywood, CA 91601
(Street Parking: Plenty)

As long as you're at The Valley Film Festival, check out these other AWESOME films by members of the EOTP family:

ABOVE & BEYOND

(directed by EOTP's Cinematographer John Matysiak)

Saturday, Septemember 15th @ 1:30pm

11 MINUTES AGO (www.11minutesagothemovie.com)

(starring EOTP's actor/co-producer/co-writer Taryn Reneau)

Sunday, September 16th, 12:00 Noon.

8.13.07

Check out photos from Hermosa Shorts Film Festival on the Gallery page!

Thanks to everyone for coming out -- and thanks to Hermosa (and Tom Kearney!) for a great festival!

8.9.07

Join the cast and crew of Eyes of the Panther at the Hermosa Shorts Fest in Hermosa! We headed out last night for their Festival Kick-Off Party and lots of fabulous pictures from last night will be coming soon!

We've been nominated for BEST PICTURE and BEST DIRECTOR so join us for our screening tonight at 9:30-- it looks like the films we'll be screening are going to be awesome as well! www.hermosashorts.com. And now... a pretty visual:

8.8.07

You may have noticed a few new wreaths around here...

Eyes of the Panther is thrilled to announce that we have been selected to screen at these awesome film festivals:

LA SHORTS FEST

September 5-17, 2007

www.lashortsfest.com

VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL

September 12-16, 2007

www.valleyfilmfest.com

VISIONFEST 2007

September 19-23, 2007

www.visionfest.com

A MILLION THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO MAKES THESE FESTIVALS POSSIBLE. And an extra thanks to the ones who liked our film!

10.9.06

FILM THREAT REVIEW

www.filmthreat.com

THE EYES OF THE PANTHER

by David W. Smith
(2006-10-09)
2006, Un-rated, 20 minutes

One of the cool things about living in LA and being a film geek, and living and moving among them, is that you get to see things before everyone else sees them. Even before they hit You Tube, a cool little short might cross my path and I’ll get the first chance to tell everyone how cool it is. That happened again recently with a short film called “The Eyes of the Panther,” based on the Ambrose Bierce (yeah, an actual writer from the early 20th century) short story of the same name, this little film attempts to bring the recently lost idea of “story” and “character” back to the short film. Director Michael Barton and co-writer Taryn Reneau (who also gives a strong performance in the film) are here to remind us that the short story as film is still a viable art form. Not every damn short has to be a gimmicky and effects-laden “calling card” for some computer-whiz college student. How about an interesting story once in a while, huh? Well, Barton and Reneau just handed us one.

The story takes place in mid-1800s America and begins with the rejection of a marriage proposal. The woman claims she is insane and therefore cannot marry her suitor. When pressed for clarification, the haunting story unfolds mostly through flashback, of the girl’s parents, and about her birth, and about a strange occurrence involving a black panther that seems to be more than just an animal.

The budget was not large for this film, but the producers seemed to have put it all on the screen, it really has the look of a classy little horror picture, and it has a very nice film look although it was shot digitally. The performances are quite good all around. Barton chose to cast theater actors whose handling of period dialog adds much to the texture of the story. The film is quite short, at around 20 minutes, which is much shorter than the hour-long made-for-TV version from 1990 featuring C. Thomas Howell and Daphne Zuniga; this previous version is not well liked, and I can only assume that viewers familiar with it would probably find Barton’s version more interesting and satisfying. The ending might require a bit of discussion, it’s not spelled out for the viewer, and sometimes that’s kinda fun. Frankly I’d like to see this film pop on the Sundance Channel or IFC where it can be seen by more people, I’ll keep my fingers crossed.






				9.1.07 Eyes of the Panther wants YOU! To join us Saturday, September 15th at 7:00 pm at the Valley Film Festival! We'll be showing with a load of other great shorts-- AND you'll have a chance to vote for Eyes of the Panther! The only way for us to win an award is by AUDIENCE CHOICE-- so come join us and cast your vote! Here's where we'll be: The El Portal Theatre 5269 Lankershim Blvd. North Hollywood, CA 91601 (Street Parking: Plenty) As long as you're at The Valley Film Festival, check out these other AWESOME films by members of the EOTP family: ABOVE & BEYOND (directed by EOTP's Cinematographer John Matysiak) Saturday, Septemember 15th @ 1:30pm 11 MINUTES AGO (www.11minutesagothemovie.com) (starring EOTP's actor/co-producer/co-writer Taryn Reneau) Sunday, September 16th, 12:00 Noon. 8.13.07 Check out photos from Hermosa Shorts Film Festival on the Gallery page! Thanks to everyone for coming out -- and thanks to Hermosa (and Tom Kearney!) for a great festival! 8.9.07 Join the cast and crew of Eyes of the Panther at the Hermosa Shorts Fest in Hermosa! We headed out last night for their Festival Kick-Off Party and lots of fabulous pictures from last night will be coming soon! We've been nominated for BEST PICTURE and BEST DIRECTOR so join us for our screening tonight at 9:30-- it looks like the films we'll be screening are going to be awesome as well! www.hermosashorts.com. And now... a pretty visual: 8.8.07 You may have noticed a few new wreaths around here... Eyes of the Panther is thrilled to announce that we have been selected to screen at these awesome film festivals: LA SHORTS FEST September 5-17, 2007 www.lashortsfest.com VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL September 12-16, 2007 www.valleyfilmfest.com VISIONFEST 2007 September 19-23, 2007 www.visionfest.com A MILLION THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO MAKES THESE FESTIVALS POSSIBLE. And an extra thanks to the ones who liked our film! 10.9.06 FILM THREAT REVIEW www.filmthreat.com THE EYES OF THE PANTHER by David W. Smith (2006-10-09) 2006, Un-rated, 20 minutes One of the cool things about living in LA and being a film geek, and living and moving among them, is that you get to see things before everyone else sees them. Even before they hit You Tube, a cool little short might cross my path and I’ll get the first chance to tell everyone how cool it is. That happened again recently with a short film called “The Eyes of the Panther,” based on the Ambrose Bierce (yeah, an actual writer from the early 20th century) short story of the same name, this little film attempts to bring the recently lost idea of “story” and “character” back to the short film. Director Michael Barton and co-writer Taryn Reneau (who also gives a strong performance in the film) are here to remind us that the short story as film is still a viable art form. Not every damn short has to be a gimmicky and effects-laden “calling card” for some computer-whiz college student. How about an interesting story once in a while, huh? Well, Barton and Reneau just handed us one. The story takes place in mid-1800s America and begins with the rejection of a marriage proposal. The woman claims she is insane and therefore cannot marry her suitor. When pressed for clarification, the haunting story unfolds mostly through flashback, of the girl’s parents, and about her birth, and about a strange occurrence involving a black panther that seems to be more than just an animal. The budget was not large for this film, but the producers seemed to have put it all on the screen, it really has the look of a classy little horror picture, and it has a very nice film look although it was shot digitally. The performances are quite good all around. Barton chose to cast theater actors whose handling of period dialog adds much to the texture of the story. The film is quite short, at around 20 minutes, which is much shorter than the hour-long made-for-TV version from 1990 featuring C. Thomas Howell and Daphne Zuniga; this previous version is not well liked, and I can only assume that viewers familiar with it would probably find Barton’s version more interesting and satisfying. The ending might require a bit of discussion, it’s not spelled out for the viewer, and sometimes that’s kinda fun. Frankly I’d like to see this film pop on the Sundance Channel or IFC where it can be seen by more people, I’ll keep my fingers crossed.