SummaryEccentric 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.
Directed By:Peter Yates
Written By:Steve Tesich
Eyewitness
Metascore
Generally Favorable
61
User score
Mixed or Average
5.0
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
61
60% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
40% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
75
Back from their respective voids and together for the firs time, Hurt and Weaver romp romantically as janitor and TV news reporter in Eyewitness, a murky mystery produced and directed by Peter Yates and written by Steve Tesich, the guys who uplifted us via Breaking Away. [06 Mar 1981, p.15]
75
I've seen so many thrillers that, frankly, I don't always care how they turn out — unless they're really well-crafted. What I like about Eyewitness is that, although it does care how it turns out, it cares even more about the texture of the scenes leading to the denouement.
User score
Mixed or Average
5.0
17% Positive
1 Rating
1 Rating
67% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
17% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Apr 12, 2022
6
This film may not be a great crime thriller to glue to the seat. But, there are a few interesting things in the film for film lovers, like a younger Morgan Freeman. Story goes mostly as expected.
Jan 2, 2025
5
An ok thriller mystery, but ruined by implausible twists, unnecessary subplots, and a silly, underwhelming finale. Demerits offset by solid perfrormances by the cast , including Morgan Freeman as a cop, Director Peter Yates has done way better,
70
The Yugoslav-born Tesich is a wry romantic, a moonstruck jester, and his tendency toward excess is nicely complemented by Britisher Yates's crisp but delicate professionalism. With a superb cast at their disposal, they've taken a somewhat preposterous film noir plot and enriched it with quirky, meaty characterizations to produce a nervous comedy of menace about class distinctions and romantic and political obsession. [02 Mar 1981, p.81]
67
Eyewitness provides 90 minutes of the best entertainment I've seen all year. Unfortunately, the movie is almost two hours long. That leaves about 30 minutes of material we'd all be better off without. [12 Mar 1981, p.18]
60
A thoroughly delightful but far from plausible mystery melodrama that operates exclusively on high spirits and a no-nonsense intelligence that is never sidetracked by coherence.
50
The movie's very smoothness may set viewers up for a letdown. It's a low-key exercise in genre suspense and romance that fails to generate a high level of excitement or deliver classic dynamic thrills. [06 Mar 1981, p.C1]
40
Weaver plays her part very well, but simply can’t justify the character’s actions, which ripple through the murder plot in several directions. Consequently, the story gets more and more strained before it’s resolved.
Apr 26, 2022
2
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
