| The Public Eye | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Howard Franklin |
| Produced by | Executive Producer: Robert Zemeckis Producer: Sue Baden-Powell |
| Written by | Howard Franklin |
| Starring | Joe Pesci Barbara Hershey Stanley Tucci Richard Schiff Jerry Adler Dominic Chianese |
| Music by | Mark Isham |
| Cinematography | Peter Suschitzky |
| Editing by | Evan A. Lottman |
| Distributed by | Universal Studios |
| Release date(s) | October 16, 1992 |
| Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15,000,000, (Estimated) |
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.[1]
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.[2]
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Leon "Bernzy" Bernstein is a free-lance photographer for the New York City 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.
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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.[3]
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.[4]
Even though the film takes place in Manhattan, it was shot in Chicago, Illinois, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Los Angeles, California.
The producers used the following tagline when marketing the film:
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.[5] 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.[6][7]
The film was released in video format on April 14, 1993 and in laserdisc 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.
Chicago Sun-Times 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."[8] 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."[9]
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."[10]
The original score for the film was written and recorded by Jerry Goldsmith 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.[11]
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.[12] 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.