Eyewitness (1981)

Eccentric Vietnam War vet turned janitor claims to have witnessed a murder of a man tied to international political underground in order to get the attention of a TV reporter he has a huge crush on. The cops suspect his loser best friend.

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

Manhattan janitor Daryll Deever is fixated on hard-charging TV commentator, Tony Sokolow; he tapes her commentary daily to watch after work. When a wealthy Vietnamese man, with many shady connections, is murdered in the office building where Daryll works, Tony shows up to cover the story and Daryll introduce himself. She thinks he may know something, so she pursues him; he pretends he might to keep her interested. This romantic cat and mouse game goes on under the watchful eyes of the killers, who think that Daryll and Tony do know something. The killers start their own game of cat and mouse.

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Plot Keywords:

mutual breakup | pay phone | janitor | eccentric | reporter | 

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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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 February 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Janitor Can't Dance

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$8,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$6,400,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Goofs

There is a security camera very obviously placed in the outer office outside of where the murder takes place, yet during the investigation no mention is made of it. However, perhaps (circa 1981) it's a closed-circuit, live feed only (no recordings made), and no one viewing the live security screens noticed anything unusual.

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Quotes

Aldo Mercer: She's just using you. You're a janitor, you asshole!

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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

Spoofed in Hot Shots! (1991)

User Reviews

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.