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The Public Eye (film)
Encyclopedia
The Public Eye is a 1992
American
neo-noir
film written and directed by Howard Franklin
, and produced by Robert Zemeckis
and Sue Baden-Powell. The drama features Joe Pesci
, Barbara Hershey
, Stanley Tucci
, and Richard Schiff
.
The film is a character study loosely based on the famed New York Daily News
photographer Arthur "Weegee" Fellig
. Some of the photos shown in the movie, in fact, were taken by Fellig.
tabloids of the 1940s
, dedicated to his vivid and realistic work and his ability to get shots nobody else can get. He is very confident of his skills. At one point in the movie he says, "Nobody does what I do. Nobody."
With a police radio
under the dashboard of his car and a makeshift darkroom
in his trunk, he quickly races to the scene of horrific crimes and accidents in order to snap exclusive photographs. He's so good at his job that he becomes known affectionately as the "Great Bernzini."
Bernzy meets the sultry widow Kay Levitz, who owns a nightclub. It seems the mob
is muscling in on her due to some arrangement with her late husband. Kay asks if Bernzy could investigate an individual she considers troublesome. Generally unsuccessful with women, Bernzy agrees to help. In fact, he begins falling in love with Kay.
After talking to his contacts, including journalist
friend Arthur Nabler, he tracks down Kay's man, only to find him dead. But when he calls the police, he becomes a suspect. The police and the FBI
are also very interested in this case.
Bernstein makes a connection with gangster Sal, uncovering a conspiracy involving a mob turf war, gas rationing
and the government. His activities get Sal killed and place Bernzy's life in great danger as he waits in hiding at a restaurant where a mob hit is about to take place.
.
Joe Pesci took this role right after his Oscar
winning performance in Goodfellas. It was an attempt to capitalize on his popularity at the time and help elevate Pesci from respected character actor to star status.
Director and writer Howard Franklin was unable to secure the rights to Arthur "Weegee" Fellig's story. Franklin, then, wrote the story of a Weegee-like photographer who smokes cigars and he named him Leon "Bernzy" Bernstein. In the film, like Weegee, cops wonder if Bernzy uses a ouija board
to snap his photographs and find the stories.
According to journalist Doug Trapp, Franklin, was inspired to write the screenplay after seeing a show of Fellig's photos in the 1980s at the International Center of Photography
in New York City
. And Weegee did, in real life, have a "soul-mate" named Wilma Wilcox, who was the woman in charge of the his estate. But, Franklin has always denied that the film was about their relationship.
, it was shot in Chicago, Illinois, Cincinnati, Ohio
, and Los Angeles, California
.
The Public Eye began filming on July 24, 1991 and completed October 28, 1991.
The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 1992. The film also was shown at the Venice Film Festival
and the Valladolid International Film Festival in Spain
.
It opened on October 14, 1992 in New York City
and Los Angeles
. It opened wide on October 16, 1992.
The film's box office performance was a disappointment. The first week's gross was $1,157,470 and the total receipts for the run were $3,067,917. According to "The Numbers" box office database the film was in circulation one week (5 days) in 635 theatres.
on April 21, 1993.
In September 2007 an Unbox Digital Video Download was made available. The movie is also available at Amazon.com as digital Video on Demand.
It was released on DVD on January 31, 2011 in the Universal Vault Series.
film critic, Roger Ebert
, was especially complimentary of the film and of actor Joe Pesci, and wrote, "One of the best things about the movie is the way it shows us how seriously Bernzy takes his work. He doesn't talk about it. He does it, with that cigar stuck in his mug, leading the way with the big, ungainly Speed Graphic
with the glass flashbulbs. In the movie's big scene of a mob assassination, he stares death in the face to get a great picture." Ebert said the film made him "think" a little bit of Casablanca
(1942).
Time Out magazine liked the acting and the script, and wrote, "The main virtue of screenwriter Franklin's debut as director is Pesci's portrayal of Weegee
, the famous low-life tabloid photographer of urban disaster, lightly concealed as Bernstein, 'The Great Bernzini'... good dialogue, nice period recreation, great performances."
Desson Howe, film critic for The Washington Post
wrote, "Public wants to be taken for an atmospheric film noir, full of intrigue, romance and street toughness. But it's all flash and no picture. Despite the usual quippy, perky performance from Pesci, as well as cinematographer
Peter Suschitzky
's moodily delineated images, the movie is superficial and unengaging. It's as if Life magazine decided to make an oldtime gangster movie."
but he was replaced by Mark Isham
at a late stage. As such, Isham had a lot of work to do and in a short time. He found working with director Franklin a wonderful and educational experience.
A motion picture original soundtrack was released. Shorty Rogers
also worked on the score and contributed 1 track. The CD contained nineteen tracks in total. The CD was released on October 13, 1992 on the Varese Sarabande label. Mark Isham uses a dark melody played mostly on piano. Isham mixes symphonic, jazz
and electronic music
; strings
and trumpet
also play a major role.
1992 in film
The year 1992 in film involved many significant films. -Top grossing films:-Awards:Academy AwardsGolden Globe AwardsNational Film Awards...
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
neo-noir
Neo-noir
Neo-noir is a style often seen in modern motion pictures and other forms that prominently utilize elements of film noir, but with updated themes, content, style, visual elements or media that were absent in films noir of the 1940s and 1950s.-History:The term Film Noir was coined by...
film written and directed by Howard Franklin
Howard Franklin
Howard Franklin is an American screenwriter and film director, most well-known for the 1990 film Quick Change, his collaboration with Bill Murray...
, and produced by Robert Zemeckis
Robert Zemeckis
Robert Lee Zemeckis is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Zemeckis first came to public attention in the 1980s as the director of the comedic time-travel Back to the Future film series, as well as the Academy Award-winning live-action/animation epic Who Framed Roger Rabbit ,...
and Sue Baden-Powell. The drama features Joe Pesci
Joe Pesci
Joseph Frank "Joe" Pesci is an American actor, comedian, and musician.He is known for playing a variety of different roles, from violent mobsters to comedic leads to quirky sidekicks...
, Barbara Hershey
Barbara Hershey
Barbara Hershey , also known as Barbara Seagull, is an American actress. In a career spanning nearly 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema, in several genres including westerns and comedies...
, Stanley Tucci
Stanley Tucci
Stanley Tucci is an American actor, writer, film producer and film director. He has been nominated for several notable film awards, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his performance in The Lovely Bones...
, and Richard Schiff
Richard Schiff
Richard Schiff is an American actor. He is best known for playing Toby Ziegler on the NBC television drama The West Wing, a role for which he received an Emmy Award...
.
The film is a character study loosely based on the famed New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
photographer Arthur "Weegee" Fellig
Weegee
Weegee was the pseudonym of Arthur Fellig , a photographer and photojournalist, known for his stark black and white street photography....
. Some of the photos shown in the movie, in fact, were taken by Fellig.
Plot
Leon "Bernzy" Bernstein is a free-lance photographer for the New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
tabloids of the 1940s
1940s
File:1940s decade montage.png|Above title bar: events which happened during World War II : From left to right: Troops in an LCVP landing craft approaching "Omaha" Beach on "D-Day"; Adolf Hitler visits Paris, soon after the Battle of France; The Holocaust occurred during the war as Nazi Germany...
, dedicated to his vivid and realistic work and his ability to get shots nobody else can get. He is very confident of his skills. At one point in the movie he says, "Nobody does what I do. Nobody."
With a police radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
under the dashboard of his car and a makeshift darkroom
Darkroom
A darkroom is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of light sensitive photographic materials, including photographic film and photographic paper. Darkrooms have been created and used since the inception of photography in the early 19th century...
in his trunk, he quickly races to the scene of horrific crimes and accidents in order to snap exclusive photographs. He's so good at his job that he becomes known affectionately as the "Great Bernzini."
Bernzy meets the sultry widow Kay Levitz, who owns a nightclub. It seems the mob
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
is muscling in on her due to some arrangement with her late husband. Kay asks if Bernzy could investigate an individual she considers troublesome. Generally unsuccessful with women, Bernzy agrees to help. In fact, he begins falling in love with Kay.
After talking to his contacts, including journalist
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
friend Arthur Nabler, he tracks down Kay's man, only to find him dead. But when he calls the police, he becomes a suspect. The police and the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
are also very interested in this case.
Bernstein makes a connection with gangster Sal, uncovering a conspiracy involving a mob turf war, gas rationing
Rationing
Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, or services. Rationing controls the size of the ration, one's allotted portion of the resources being distributed on a particular day or at a particular time.- In economics :...
and the government. His activities get Sal killed and place Bernzy's life in great danger as he waits in hiding at a restaurant where a mob hit is about to take place.
Cast
- Joe PesciJoe PesciJoseph Frank "Joe" Pesci is an American actor, comedian, and musician.He is known for playing a variety of different roles, from violent mobsters to comedic leads to quirky sidekicks...
as Leon "Bernzy" Bernstein - Barbara HersheyBarbara HersheyBarbara Hershey , also known as Barbara Seagull, is an American actress. In a career spanning nearly 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema, in several genres including westerns and comedies...
as Kay Levitz - Stanley TucciStanley TucciStanley Tucci is an American actor, writer, film producer and film director. He has been nominated for several notable film awards, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his performance in The Lovely Bones...
as Sal - Jerry AdlerJerry AdlerJerry Adler is an American theatre director, production supervisor and a television and film actor.Adler was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Pauline and Philip Adler, who was a general manager of the Group Theatre...
as Arthur Nabler - Dominic ChianeseDominic ChianeseDominic Chianese is an American film, television and theatre actor, perhaps best known for his role as Corrado "Junior" Soprano on the HBO TV series, The Sopranos.-Early life:...
as Spoleto - Richard RiehleRichard Riehle-Life and career:Riehle was born in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, the son of Mary Margaret , a nurse, and Herbert John Riehle , an assistant postmaster. He attended the University of Notre Dame....
as Officer O'Brien - Max BrooksMax BrooksMaximillian Michael "Max" Brooks is an American author and screenwriter, with a particular interest in zombies. Brooks is also a television and voice-over actor.- Early life and education :...
as Teen at Thompson Street - Richard SchiffRichard SchiffRichard Schiff is an American actor. He is best known for playing Toby Ziegler on the NBC television drama The West Wing, a role for which he received an Emmy Award...
as Thompson Street Photographer - Christian StolteChristian StolteChristian Stolte is an American actor. He played corrections officer Keith Stolte on the show Prison Break and Charles Makley on Public Enemies. He also plays Clarence Darby in the movie Law Abiding Citizen.-External links:...
as Ambulance Attendant - Jack Denbo as Photo Editor
- Timothy Hendrickson as Richard Rineman
- Del CloseDel CloseDel Close was an actor, improviser, writer, and teacher. Considered one of the premier influences on modern improvisational theater, Close had a prolific career, appearing in a number of films and television shows...
as H.R. Rineman - Lisa Parthenakis Christakis - as young girl kissing her husband the night before he sails, in the five and dime as Bernzy looks on admiringly and longingly from the soda fountain counter
.
Production
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
winning performance in Goodfellas. It was an attempt to capitalize on his popularity at the time and help elevate Pesci from respected character actor to star status.
Director and writer Howard Franklin was unable to secure the rights to Arthur "Weegee" Fellig's story. Franklin, then, wrote the story of a Weegee-like photographer who smokes cigars and he named him Leon "Bernzy" Bernstein. In the film, like Weegee, cops wonder if Bernzy uses a ouija board
Ouija Board
Ouija Board is a Thoroughbred mare racehorse owned by Edward Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby and trained by Ed Dunlop. In a career spanning four seasons, she won 10 of her 22 races, 7 of them Group 1s, including the Epsom Oaks in 2004 and the Hong Kong Vase in 2005...
to snap his photographs and find the stories.
According to journalist Doug Trapp, Franklin, was inspired to write the screenplay after seeing a show of Fellig's photos in the 1980s at the International Center of Photography
International Center of Photography
The International Center of Photography is a photography museum, school, and research center in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. And Weegee did, in real life, have a "soul-mate" named Wilma Wilcox, who was the woman in charge of the his estate. But, Franklin has always denied that the film was about their relationship.
Filming locations
Even though the film takes place in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, it was shot in Chicago, Illinois, Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, and Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Distribution
The producers used the following tagline when marketing the film:- Murder. Scandal. Crime. No matter what he was shooting, "The Great Bernzini" never took sides he only took pictures... Except once.
The Public Eye began filming on July 24, 1991 and completed October 28, 1991.
The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 1992. The film also was shown at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
and the Valladolid International Film Festival in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
It opened on October 14, 1992 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. It opened wide on October 16, 1992.
The film's box office performance was a disappointment. The first week's gross was $1,157,470 and the total receipts for the run were $3,067,917. According to "The Numbers" box office database the film was in circulation one week (5 days) in 635 theatres.
Home media
The film was released in video format on April 14, 1993 and in laserdiscLaserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
on April 21, 1993.
In September 2007 an Unbox Digital Video Download was made available. The movie is also available at Amazon.com as digital Video on Demand.
It was released on DVD on January 31, 2011 in the Universal Vault Series.
Reception
Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
film critic, Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, was especially complimentary of the film and of actor Joe Pesci, and wrote, "One of the best things about the movie is the way it shows us how seriously Bernzy takes his work. He doesn't talk about it. He does it, with that cigar stuck in his mug, leading the way with the big, ungainly Speed Graphic
Speed Graphic
Produced by Graflex in Rochester, New York, the Speed Graphic is commonly called the most famous press camera. Although the first Speed Graphic cameras were produced in 1912, production of later versions continued until 1973; with the most significant improvements occurring in 1947 with the...
with the glass flashbulbs. In the movie's big scene of a mob assassination, he stares death in the face to get a great picture." Ebert said the film made him "think" a little bit of Casablanca
Casablanca (film)
Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
(1942).
Time Out magazine liked the acting and the script, and wrote, "The main virtue of screenwriter Franklin's debut as director is Pesci's portrayal of Weegee
Weegee
Weegee was the pseudonym of Arthur Fellig , a photographer and photojournalist, known for his stark black and white street photography....
, the famous low-life tabloid photographer of urban disaster, lightly concealed as Bernstein, 'The Great Bernzini'... good dialogue, nice period recreation, great performances."
Desson Howe, film critic for The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
wrote, "Public wants to be taken for an atmospheric film noir, full of intrigue, romance and street toughness. But it's all flash and no picture. Despite the usual quippy, perky performance from Pesci, as well as cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
Peter Suschitzky
Peter Suschitzky
Peter Suschitzky BSC, A.S.C. cinematographer born in Warsaw and raised in London, the son of the cinematographer Wolfgang Suschitzky BSC. Among his most known work as director of photography are Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and the later films of David Cronenberg...
's moodily delineated images, the movie is superficial and unengaging. It's as if Life magazine decided to make an oldtime gangster movie."
Soundtrack
The original score for the film was written and recorded by Jerry GoldsmithJerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith was an American composer and conductor most known for his work in film and television scoring....
but he was replaced by Mark Isham
Mark Isham
Mark Isham is an American trumpeter, synthesist, and film composer. He works in a variety of genres, including jazz, electronic, and film.-Life and career:...
at a late stage. As such, Isham had a lot of work to do and in a short time. He found working with director Franklin a wonderful and educational experience.
A motion picture original soundtrack was released. Shorty Rogers
Shorty Rogers
Milton “Shorty” Rogers , born Milton Rajonsky in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, was one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played both the trumpet and flugelhorn, and was in demand for his skills as an arranger. Rogers worked first as a professional musician with Will Bradley and...
also worked on the score and contributed 1 track. The CD contained nineteen tracks in total. The CD was released on October 13, 1992 on the Varese Sarabande label. Mark Isham uses a dark melody played mostly on piano. Isham mixes symphonic, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
; strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
and trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
also play a major role.
External links
- The Public Eye shooting screenplay draft for educational purposes