Eyewitness DVD Review:

Veteran director Peter Yates’s 1981 murder mystery thriller, Eyewitness started a series of looks at the mystery film for the director through the 1980s.

Yates’s two most famous films are the classic 1968 thriller, “Bullitt” and the 1977 deep-water thriller, “The Deep”. Throughout his career Yates has dabbled in the crime-drama genre but it wasn’t until the 1980s that Yates seemed to be primarily focused on those kinds of films. 4 out of the 7 pictures he made that decade were murder-mysteries including 1981’s “Eyewitness”.

Probably the most surprising choice of Yates’s whole career also came in the 1980s when he directed the sword-and-sorcery epic, “Krull”.

“Eyewitness” follows the exploits of a lonely night janitor Darryl (William Hurt) who discovers a dead executive in the building where he works. Darryl is thrown into a murder investigation where he is questioned by two cops (Morgan Freeman, Steven Hill) and Tony, a lovely reporter (Sigourney Weaver), who Darryl seems infatuated with.

The prime suspect in the investigation seems to be Darryl’s best friend Aldo (James Woods) who had a grudge against the executive. The more in love Darryl becomes with Tony, the deeper he gets in the mystery. Does he really know all that he is saying? Who is the real killer?

The film takes its time in telling the story and uses a lot of time developing the characters. The performances of Hurt and Weaver are the showcases of the film and it’s probably one of Hurt’s most memorable.

“Eyewitness” for me was more about the cast and seeing these stars in an early film. “Eyewitness” probably isn’t remembered because it was lost in the shuffle of a lot of these great stars escalating careers. But as you look back on it you can see it was a landmark film for the ensemble cast during their long careers.

It was a benchmark for Weaver because it was her first theatrical film after her breakthrough performance in 1979’s “Alien”. As for William Hurt well, the film came out the same year as other landmark films for the actor like 1980’s “Altered States” and 1981’s “Body Heat”.

I have always liked James Woods and “Eyewitness” shows Woods just before he hit big in 1983-84 with films like 1983’s “Videodrome”, 1984’s “Once Upon a Time in America” and 1984’s “Against All Odds”. Sure Woods had been around but it wasn’t until these three starring roles in a row that Woods had finally got noticed

Watching Woods in “Eyewitness” is something to marvel at because you can see just how close he was to breaking out.

I also really enjoyed seeing Morgan Freeman in an early role as well as “Law & Order” alumni Steve Hill.

Aside from the cast, I also really liked the film’s meticulous animal sequences that must have precisely timed. From a stampede of horses to a rabid dog, these scenes are quite engrossing.

The film may not be that memorable but the ensemble cast sure is.

So Says the Soothsayer



Dean Kish

DVD DETAILS:

Releasing on June 28, the DVD from Anchor Bay features an in-depth audio commentary from the film’s director Peter Yates who gives us an even deeper look at this film and the performances. The DVD also includes a trailer and a plain yet striking DVD menu.