Eyewitness (1981)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Peter Yates

Writer:

Steve Tesich (writer)

Release Date:

13 February 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

You're never more vulnerable than when you've seen too much.

Plot:

Manhattan janitor Daryll Deever is fixated on hard-charging TV commentator, Tony Sokolow; he tapes her commentary daily to watch after work...

Plot Keywords:

Janitor | Racial Slur | Murder | New York | Television Reporter

Cast

William Hurt	...	Daryll Deever
Sigourney Weaver	...	Tony Sokolow
Christopher Plummer	...	Joseph
James Woods	...	Aldo Mercer
Irene Worth	...	Mrs. Sokolow
Kenneth McMillan	...	Mr. Deever
Pamela Reed	...	Linda Mercer
Albert Paulsen	...	Mr. Sokolow
Steven Hill	...	Lieutenant Jacobs
Morgan Freeman	...	Lieutenant Black
Alice Drummond	...	Mrs. Eunice Deever
Sharon Goldman	...	Israeli Woman
Chao Li Chi	...	Mr. Long, International Trading Ltd. / Murder Victim
Keone Young	...	Mr. Long's Son
Dennis Sakamoto	...	Vietnamese Man #1

Also Known As:

The Janitor

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Central Park Lake, Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Sigourney Weaver's character was based on an infatuation that writer Steve Tesich had with a Washington D.C. anchorwoman, in which he recorded her broadcasts and had pictures of her like William Hurt's character had in the film for Weaver. The anchorwoman in question was brought in by Peter Yates for technical support on the set to make Weaver's character more believable.

Goofs:

Plot holes: There is a security camera very obviously placed in the outer office outside of where the murder takes place- yet nobody ever goes to view the tapes during the investigation

Quotes:

Lt. Jacobs: When he was a kid, Aldo must have wanted to be a suspect when he grew up.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Hot Shots! (1991)

Uneven roller-coaster ride

Parts are slow, and parts are non-sequitirs that don't quite add up. But the dialogues is marvelous, the acting terrific, and the suspense constant. Great bits by James Woods, Christopher Plummer, Stephen Hill, and Morgan Freeman add to the irony and the enjoymnent. It's fun to watch William Hurt before he got so jaundiced.