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The Witness (2015)

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2:04 | Trailer
The brother of Kitty Genovese investigates the circumstances of her murder and the truth of the story that dozens of locals witnessed the crime and did nothing to intervene.

Director:

James D. Solomon

Writers:

William Genovese (narration written by), Russell Greene (narration written by) | 2 more credits »
1 win & 6 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Credited cast:
Shannon Beeby ... Self
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kitty Genovese Kitty Genovese ... Self (archive footage)
William Genovese William Genovese ... Self
Winston Moseley Winston Moseley ... Self (archive footage)
Catherine Pelonero ... Self
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Storyline

Bill Genovese's decade-long journey to unravel the truth about the mythic death and little-known life of his sister, Kitty, who was reportedly stabbed in front of 38 witnesses and became the face of urban apathy. THE WITNESS begins in 2004 when The Times questions its original story: the number of witnesses, what they observed, the number of attacks. None was more affected by the story than Bill. He vowed not to be like the 38, volunteered for Vietnam, and lost both legs. What if Kitty's mythic story is an urban myth? Breaking his family's half-century of silence, Bill seeks to find the truth confronting the witnesses, the killer, their families and his own. THE WITNESS is about bearing witness, loss and forgiveness, and what we owe each other. Written by Anonymous

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Did You Know?

Trivia

"The Witness" was Shortlisted for the 2017 Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary. See more »

Quotes

William Genovese: If I was going to have more success, Charlie Skoller suggested that I start with the trail transcript. My family couldn't bear to go to the trail in 1964 so I never heard the testimony of the witnesses. Only 5 of the 38 witnesses were called to take the stand.
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User Reviews

 
Incredibly Captivating
22 January 2018 | by mexasamSee all my reviews

The documentary "The Witness" was an absolutely captivating film that followed the emotional turmoils of Bill Genovese discovering and coming to terms with the murder of his sister, Catherine Genovese. It dove in deeply into the injustices and inaccuracies brought forward by the case and the New York Times article, "37 Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police." The film was made with the intention of reaching an audience striving to learn more about this extremely famous case. While Bill Genovese is trying to discover and inform us of the truths about his sisters death, the film also intends to teach the audience to not believe everything put out by the media. The imagery and soundbites throughout the film where elegantly capturing raw human reactions and emotions brought forth in Bill's interviews with the "37 witnesses." The film, in a way, changed my way of thinking and opened my mind to truly question everything.


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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 June 2016 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

The Witness See more »

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

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Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,523, 5 June 2016

Gross USA:

$159,305

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$159,305
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Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1
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