Eyewitness (1981)

Director:

Peter Yates

Writer:

Steve Tesich

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 | Trash Compactor | Chase | Stable | Horse

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
Henry Yuk	...	Vietnamese Man #2
Mikhail Bogin	...	Shlomo
Moshe Geffen	...	Cantor
Jo Davidson	...	Man at Concert
Bill Mazer	...	Sports Announcer WNEW-TV5
John Roland	...	Anchorman
Jimmie Ray Weeks	...	TV Producer
Milton Zane	...	News Crew
Richard Murphy	...	News Crew
Dow McKeever	...	Video Tape Editor
Jhoe Breedlove	...	Woman
Kimmy Wong	...	Asian Child
Alex Rosa	...	Street Kid
Mark Burns	...	Man on TV
Iris Whitney	...	Woman on TV
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John J. Fleming	...	TV Reporter (uncredited)

Directed by
Peter Yates

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Steve Tesich

Produced by
Kenneth Utt	....	associate producer
Peter Yates	....	producer

Original Music by
Stanley Silverman

Cinematography by
Matthew F. Leonetti

Film Editing by
Cynthia Scheider

Casting by
Howard Feuer
Jeremy Ritzer

Production Design by
Philip Rosenberg

Art Direction by
John Kasarda		(uncredited)

Set Decoration by
Gary J. Brink
Edward Stewart

Costume Design by
Hilary Rosenfeld

Makeup Department
William A. Farley	....	hair stylist
Carl Fullerton	....	makeup artist
Jay Cannistraci	....	additional makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Kenneth Utt	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Thomas John Kane	....	first assistant director
Joseph P. Reidy	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Richard Adee	....	property master
James Halligan	....	construction grip coordinator
Robert H. Klatt	....	set dresser
Eugene Powell	....	scenic artist
Carlos Quiles	....	carpenter

Sound Department
Nathan Boxer	....	production sound mixer
Lowell Mate	....	sound editor
Dan Sable	....	supervising sound editor
Theodore Soderberg	....	sound re-recording mixer

Stunts
William H. Burton	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Pat Blymyer	....	lighting supervisor (as Pat Blymer)
James 'Packy' Dolan	....	gaffer (as Jim 'Packy' Dolan)
Vincent Donohue	....	electrician
Vinnie Gerardo	....	assistant camera
Thomas F. Hanlon	....	video technician
Ronald M. Lautore	....	consulting cinematographer
Muky	....	still photographer
Tom Priestley Jr.	....	camera operator
Robert Ward	....	key grip (as Bobby Ward)

Casting Department
Sylvia Fay	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Arlene B. Coffey	....	costumer
James Roberts	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Mark Burns	....	assistant film editor
Harriet Fidlow	....	first assistant film editor
Lisa J. Levine	....	assistant film editor
Dow McKeever	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Charles Gerhardt	....	conductor

Transportation Department
William Curry	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Grace Blake	....	production coordinator
Lorraine Falck	....	riding instructor
Ralph M. Leo	....	location auditor
Dow McKeever	....	video sequences
Karl Lewis Miller	....	dog trainer (as Karl Miller)
Joanna Ney	....	unit publicist
Lynne Twentyman	....	script supervisor (as Lynn Twentyman)
Rudy Ugland	....	wrangler

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1981) (USA) (theatrical)
• Centfox (1981) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• CBS / Fox Video (1984) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• Abril Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• CBS / Fox Video (1987) (Greece) (VHS)
• Winkler Film (2010) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Animal Action  dog trainer
• Pacific Title  titles
• Pickwick/Maslansky/Koenigsberg Inc.  publicity

Also Known As:

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | USA:R | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | West Germany:16 (f)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

In order to research his character, William Hurt actually moonlighted as a janitor before production on the film began and it would prove vital throughout the film.

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:Whoever killed Long is a hero in my book.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Hot Shots! (1991)

Not offbeat enough...promising cast and plot distressingly end up on the assembly line

William Hurt and Sigourney Weaver are lovely to look at in their early acting days, but this convoluted plot from sometimes-talented screenwriter Steve Tesich takes both stars down a dead-end road. News-reporter Weaver believes janitor Hurt may have seen something the night a businessman was killed in an office building, but he--harboring a crush on her--is just playing footsie, that is until the killers find out about him. Opening 20 minutes are fine, if not thrilling; the production is glossy and the leads are well-matched. However, the picture gets bogged down in contrivances and overwitten characters, such as Weaver's parents and Christopher Plummer as a sinister Israeli. Director Peter Yates' energy peters out fast; his finale, in particular, is dreadful. *1/2 from ****