Eyewitness (1981)

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 | Television Reporter | Wheelchair | New York City | Ethics

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:

The film's original title during shooting was "The Janitor Can't Dance", which is the title that both Peter Yates and Steve Tesich liked, but Twentieth Century Fox forced them to change the title during post production, at first to The Janitor (the U.K. title for the film) and finally to Eyewitness, a title Yates to this day still doesn't like.

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)

slow but effective

This movie is great fun to see William Hurt, James Woods and Sigourney Weaver at the beginnings of their careers and when they were experiencing a good deal of success. The rest of the cast is top-notch. The story is very interesting and effective, though I found the film a bit uneven and slow.