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List Price: $9.98 | | Label: Starz / Anchor Bay
Salesrank: 69855
Released: June 28, 2005 |
| Our Price: $11.79 |
| Used Price: $3.68 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Manhattan janitor Daryll Deever is fixated on hard-charging TV commentator, Tony Sokolow; he tapes her commentary daily to watch after work. When a wealthy Vietnamese man, with many shady connections, is murdered in the office building where Daryll works, Tony shows up to cover the story and Daryll introduce himself. She thinks he may know something, so she pursues him; he pretends he might to keep her interested. This romantic cat and mouse game goes on under the watchful eyes of the killers, who think that Daryll and Tony do know something. The killers start their own game of cat and mouse
Description of Eyewitness:
An underrated gem of the early 1980s, this film is a solid mystery with a terrific and unlikely romance at its core. Hurt plays a New York janitor whose fantasy life centers on TV reporter Sigourney Weaver. When a murder occurs in the office building where he works, he claims to have seen more than he did just to get her attention. But when the murderers believe him, they both become targets. The plot is workable, but mostly serves as a meet-cute device for throwing together the unassuming janitor and the TV star, and the resulting collision of social strata when he successfully woos her. James Woods nearly steals the film as Hurt's jumpy Vietnam vet friend, a shifty operator of whom cop Morgan Freeman observes, "He was born to be a suspect." --Marshall Fine
Eyewitness Reviews:
Enjoy these great actors in their early days 
2008-08-16 - Weaver, Hurt, James Woods, Morgan Freeman...all more or less in the early part of their careers, in this little known 80's film. Great acting with the "young" version of all of the above. I loved the story where a lowly janitor is the hero. Having put myself through college working as a janitor, I can identify...at least with the janitor part (I did not get involved in any murder cases or hook up with any famous TV journalists).
This movie is very well done and quite entertaining, with above average complexity to the plot; yet not so twisty that you have trouble following the story. You will find yourself rooting for the janitor (Hurt). Christopher Plummer is in top form as the evil bad guy. A young James Woods in one of his patented weasel roles. Well worth watching just to see these great actors in their developmental years.
"The Janitor Doesn't Dance" 
2008-03-28 - ("The Janitor Doesn't Dance" was the working title of this film during production).
Sigourney Weaver's previous film was ALIEN and William Hurt's was ALTERED STATES so I was excited to see them together in EYEWITNESS. They work well together and I liked the premise of a Vietnam Vet janitor pretending to know more than he does about a murder in order to get close to a reporter looking for a scoop.
One of the cool things about this film is that nearly every character has a personal storyline. If the script had more momentum for its finale, I would've given it five stars but I did enjoy how characters felt like fully-realized people. This is a murder mystery populated with genuine characters so it feels loose and realistic.
If you enjoy the actors, definitely check this one out.
Good Early Hurt and Weaver Film
2007-07-10 - This 1981 film directed by Peter Yates is well worth spending a couple of hours watching. The cast is outstanding: William Hurt as a night janitor, Sigourney Weaver as a TV reporter, Christopher Plummer as her fiancee and smuggler of Jews out of the Soviet Union, James Woods as a Vietnam vet screw-up, Morgan Freeman as a New York City cop with an afro et al. Oh, and we cannot forget Hurt's doberman Ralph who gives quite a performance as well.
The story works on several levels. On the surface it's a murder mystery. (Hurt as Daryll Deever doesn't know as much about the murder as several people think, much to his danger. It is also a male Cinderella love story as Hurt has been besotted with Weaver (Tony Skolow) for sometime, so much so that he sets the timer on his VCR to catch her covering local New York City news. His obsession with Weaver gets him into real trouble as he pretends to know more about the death of a much despised Vietnamese businessman in his building where he works as a janitor in order to get close to her. Finally there is the story-line with serious ramifications: how far should a person go and to what ends-- even to killing an innocent man-- to accomplish his most worthy goal, the smuggling of other innocents out of a dictatorial state.
If you are a fan of any of these actors or you like a film that is more than a superficial mystery, this film is for you.
Three and-a-half stars. A ringing endictment of ... 
2006-06-14 - Zionism! Sigourney Weaver plays a
good jewish girl in love with a
cleancut gentile guy (no shades
of 'Bridgette Loves Bernie' here!).
Her older racist brother (Christo-
pher Plummer) plays a jewish defence
league / terrorist-type who tries to
kill William Hurt, in one of his best
roles. I sent a copy of this film to
Mike Hoffman, the Idaho revisionist
and he did nothing with it including
acknowledging receiving it. Obviously,
I sent it to the wrong person! This
film should be spread around to show
what a bunch of racists the zionists
are! What the Palestinians are suf-
fering in the middleeast is the tip
of iceberg...Hollywood let the cat
out of the bag on this one and I am
glad!
not a good movie as the reviewers here say it is 
2005-10-30 - I just saw this movie on IN HD2. Some people said that this movie is a hidden gem. At first, I felt the same way. I didn't even know such a movie existed. Then after about 30 minutes, the movie became really boring. It just drags on with a weak synopsis. The cast includes some famous actors and actresses, and I think they are pretty good actors, but without an interesting storyline, the movie is a boring piece of work that leaves no impressions.
