Eyewitness (1981)

A janitor who claims he's seen a murder becomes romantically involved with the glamorous TV reporter covering the story.

Director:

Peter Yates

Writer:

Steve Tesich

Stars:

William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Christopher Plummer

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Hurt	...	Daryll Deever
Sigourney Weaver	...	Tony Sokolow
Christopher Plummer	...	Joseph
James Woods	...	Aldo
Irene Worth	...	Mrs. Sokolow
Kenneth McMillan	...	Mr. Deever
Pamela Reed	...	Linda Mercer
Albert Paulsen	...	Mr. Sokolow
Steven Hill	...	Lt. Jacobs
Morgan Freeman	...	Lt. Black
Alice Drummond	...	Mrs. Deever
Sharon Chatten	...	Israeli Woman (as Sharon Goldman)
Chao Li Chi	...	Mr. Long
Keone Young	...	Mr. Long's Son
Dennis Sakamoto	...	Vietnamese Man #1

Storyline

Fresh off the success of Breaking Away (1979), writer Steve Tesich and director Peter Yates re-team on a thriller starring a young William Hurt as a janitor infatuated with television reporter Sigourney Weaver. When she arrives at his building to interview the tenants about a murder that's occurred on the premises, the janitor, having discovered the body, implies that he knows more than he's saying in order to keep the newswoman interested. Although he reveals nothing more, she does become interested in him, and when her nefarious aristocratic boyfriend (Christopher Plummer) learns from the unwitting woman that there's someone with knowledge of the murder, he's more concerned about what Hurt might know than about her relationship with him. Meanwhile, his paranoid, loose cannon of a friend James Woods has managed to get himself incriminated, although he had no involvement in the case. Hurt and Weaver continue to investigate the murder together, and as they become more closely entwined,...

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Plot Keywords:

eccentric man | murder witness | janitor | murder | police detective | 

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Taglines:

Only the best murder cases make the six o'clock news.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film inspired the later 2000 Bollywood comedy-thriller movie Hum To Mohabbat Karega (2000).

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Goofs

When Daryll tightens two wires around the heap of paper trash, the wires are parallel. In the next scene, the wires cross in an X shape.

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Quotes

Lt. Jacobs: Whoever killed Long is a hero in my book.

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Alternate Versions

Runs 93 minutes long on Capacitance Electronic Disc (CED), also commonly known RCA Selectavision Videodisc.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: McLean Stevenson/James Woods/Bum Phillips (1981)

User Reviews

Portrait of a top-shelf cast in a lifeless thriller

"Eyewitness" has one really good scene. NYPD detective Morgan Freeman plops down next to his partner and says, "Julie and I are giving up. We're going to try adoption". It's a throwaway line and the scene has absolutely no bearing on the plot, but it's the only genuine character moment in the film.

This is pretty scattered as plotting goes and nothing works in terms of creating tension or characters (an injustice to its array of talent) but calling it boring is too simple. It's shocking how the opening credits give way to something that just . . . happens, then plods along for a while and finishes. All to a non-existent score. It's a thriller with no suspense, personality or feeling. In that respect, it's something unlike anything I've ever seen.

4/10

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 February 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Janitor Can't Dance

Filming Locations:

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. North Building, Madison Square, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$6,400,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,400,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1