See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989)

Dave is deaf, and Wally is blind. They witness a murder, but it was Dave who was looking at her, and Wally who was listening.

Director:

Arthur Hiller

Writers:

Earl Barret (story), Arne Sultan (story)

Stars:

Richard Pryor, Gene Wilder, Joan Severance

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Pryor	...	Wally
Gene Wilder	...	Dave
Joan Severance	...	Eve
Kevin Spacey	...	Kirgo
Alan North	...	Braddock
Anthony Zerbe	...	Sutherland
Louis Giambalvo	...	Gatlin
Kirsten Childs	...	Adele
Hardy Rawls	...	Beefy Tourist
Audrie Neenan	...	Policewoman and Marilyn
Lauren Tom	...	Mitzie
John Capodice	...	Scotto
George Bartenieff	...	Huddelston
Alexandra Neil	...	Sally
Tonya Pinkins	...	Leslie

Storyline

A man is murdered. Two men witness it. A blind man who hears the killer, and a deaf man who sees them. The police don't think they're credible witnesses, but the killers don't want to take any chances. The two men must now work together to save themselves and bring the killers to justice.

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Plot Keywords:

deaf | blind man | penis joke | murder | witness | 

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Taglines:

The first drop dead comedy of the year.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 May 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ciegos, sordos y locos

Filming Locations:

Meatpacking District, West Street, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,098,741, 14 May 1989, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$46,908,987

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gene Wilder almost wasn't in this movie. Per his autobiography, he turned the script down twice (due to its treatment of the deaf and the blind). He intended to do the same when offered it a third time, but his agent talked him into meeting with TriStar Pictures (the studio behind the film). The TriStar people asked Gene to re-write the script for him and Richard Pryor, which he agreed to do.

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Goofs

Wally and Dave's ice cream cones at the end.

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Quotes

Dave: [impersonating a European doctor] Tell me the first thing that pops into your brain.
Wally: Pussy!
Dave: It's amazing! This man is cured!

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Alternate Versions

In the original version, when Dave (Gene Wilder) impersonates a psychiatrist and asks Wally (Richard Pryor) to tell him the first thing he thinks of, Wally shouts "PUSSY!" In the television version, this is changed to "PASTA!"

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Connections

Remade as Hum Hain Kamaal Ke (1993)

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Soundtracks

TWILIGHT ZONE THEME
Written by Marius Constant

User Reviews

Very funny pairing of the two wonderful comic actors

I remember first seeing this movie when I was about five years old, and I found it hilarious. I caught the movie a couple more times on network TV, but this is the first time I watched it again in its unedited form.

Needless to say, Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder are both wonderful talents with an irreplacable chemistry, and that chemistry is utilized very well throughout. Of course, the brilliantly original premise helps as well. A blind guy and a deaf guy who pair up to solve a murder? Classic! That premise is used wonderfully. There's a great line where they're interrogated and angry officer screams out, "Between the two of you, you saw and heard everything!"

There's a lot of great fish-out-of-water humor involving Pryor's blindness and Wilder's deafness. One of the most hilarious gags, along with the car chase, is when Pryor helps another blind man to walk across the street, and they end up in the back of a truck. Now that's a literal example of the blind leading the blind. Each gag is delivered and timed very well, thanks for the great actors and veteran director Arthur Hiller, who has directed the two leads before in "Silver Streak."

This isn't a perfect comedy. A few gags fall flat, but the key word is "few." Some reviewers and audiences have regarded this as the low point in Wilder's and Pryor's careers. I think of "Another You" as the low point, which is a horribly forgettable comedy that unfortunately was the last film they did together.

A good deal of the gags are far-fetched, but this is a slapstick farce and you have to expect that. That's why I always say that this is a very tricky sub-genre and if not done correctly, the audience will totally stop suspending disbelief and simply scoff at its foolishness.

Fans of Pryor and Wilder should not be disappointed. Also, if you want to see an early (comic) performance by Kevin Spacey, it's also worth checking out. Speaking of worth checking out, Joan Severance provides great eye candy, and she has a couple of nude scenes to boot. I was born in 1982, so this was the first movie where I saw the two comics together on screen, so "See No Evil" is more unique to me than it probably is to others. But come on! With scenes like a high-speed car chase involving a blind man and a deaf man trying to escape, how can this not be regarded as a "unique" comedy?

My score: 7 (out of 10)