The Witness (2015)

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)

Stars:

William Genovese, Shannon Beeby, Kitty Genovese

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Shannon Beeby	...	Herself
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kitty Genovese	...	Herself (archive footage)
William Genovese	...	Himself
Catherine Pelonero	...	Herself

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

urban legend | witness | murder | interview | historical reinterpretation | 

---

Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Crime | Mystery

---

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 June 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Witness

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Five More Minutes Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kitty Genovese's occupation was a bar manager.

---

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.

User Reviews

Amazing!

Shocking, heart-wrenching and awe-inspiring, "The Witness" explores the secrets behind Kitty Genovese's famous murder case which provokes questions about the truth of journalism and what really happened on the night of March 13th, 1964. Prior to watching this documentary, the only exposure I had to this case was though a high school English teacher who had used it as an example of the bystander effect and nothing more. The popular opinion was that the residents of Queens were apathetic and heartless; I had accepted the original New York Times article as fact and gone on without another thought on the matter. The numerous layers behind the case and the people involved shows that even though a story may seem black and white, there is always more to be discovered.