The Witness

  • 2016


MOVIE IS compelling powerful notorious fascinating provoking
Close Video

68 %
91 % Certified Fresh
$ 0 Million
See Where to Watch The Witness
Positive Reviews 47
Negative reviews 2
Average Rating 3.9/5
compelling powerful notorious fascinating provoking

  • All
  • Positive
  • Negative
3.2
Its not for a lack of trying that it fails to create a satisfying punctuation. Av Club
3.8
The film makes its mark when it leans in on the deeply personal connection between its subject and its storyteller. Indie Wire
4.4
This is a powerful movie, but perhaps its greatest triumph is that for a brief time it resurrects Kitty Genovese and lets us see her as a person. Rogerebert
3.5
In its writing and direction, it couldnt be more droll, satirically pointed and effortless accomplished. Rogerebert
3.8
Yes, you have to love your subject in order to make a documentary.But you cant be so over protective that you miss the real story. The Globe And Mail
4.0
In 1964, 28 year old Kitty Genovese was killed on a street in Queens, New York City, in the middle of the night. Spirituality And Practice
5.0
For fifty years now, one case of nighttime screaming has been held up as evidence that Americans and New Yorkers especially are monsters of apathy and .. Village Voice
5.0
See our full review: The best films of 2016 The Readers J.R. Jones picks his favorite movies of the year. Chicago Reader
3.8
It humanizes the victim, revealing a sparkling personality and a private life that have gone mostly overlooked. News Day
3.8
What lifts The Witness out of the true crime documentary genre is its portrait of Bill Genovese. Cs Monitor
4.5
While the film could have benefited from a deeper dive into the social ramifications of the Genovese case coverage, its narrators daunting journey int .. Film Journal
3.0
The Witness, like many feature documentaries, is fascinating, but also frustrating as cinema.There are frequent clips from news shows like 20/20 and 6 .. The Guardian
4.0
Even more than an expose of bad reporting and social hysteria, The Witness is an intimate exercise in grief and healing. Az Central
4.0
The Witness Looks Back At Those Accused Of Ignoring A Murder Enlarge this image toggle caption The Witnesses Film The Witnesses Film Before we had the .. Npr
1.0
Though one might see it as obsession, it does not seem debilitating. Reel Talk Reviews
4.2
But the powerful thrust of the film comes from its critique of the media. Ew
5.0
The movies one reenactmentan ingenious experiment in forensics and social scienceunites drama, journalism, and first hand experience in a masterstroke .. New Yorker
3.1
There are so many tangled, compelling threads within the scene, but Solomon merely allows them to stay as such by retreating back to Bills plight once .. Slant Magazine
3.8
Kitty Genovese was murdered in Queens in 1964, five years after this photo was taken. Washington Post
4.0
In March 1964, the fatal stabbing in Kew Gardens, Queens, of 28 year old Catherine Genovese, known as Kitty, caused international outrage. The New York Times
2.5
And it turns out thats largely what the story of 38 witnesses is: a myth. The Film Stage
5.0
An engrossing detective story, an enlightening sociological study, and a heartbreaking story of unreconciled grief, The Witness is one of the best doc .. Boston Globe
4.0
James Solomons moving documentary chronicles Bill Genoveses quest for the truth behind his sister Kittys notorious murder. Hollywood Reporter
4.5
The filmmakers leave no stone unturned in building a tour de force documentary that provides more than just food for thought; it delivers a sense of c .. Coles Mithey
4.0
At first glance, the title of The Witness would seem to reference the 38 residents of Kew Gardens in Queens, N.Y., who were pilloried in the press for .. Los Angeles Times
4.5
Shot in an off the cuff handheld style that engenders intimate empathy with its subject, and energized by line drawn animation sequences that evoke th .. Variety
3.5
Solomons storytelling is strong, but not compelling enough to hold the viewer in thrall throughout its running time. The Play List
3.0
But it also suggests a much more complex work that might have emerged from this material. Now Toronto
4.4
Since 1964, Bill Genovese has been haunted by his older sisters murder; so has New York. New York Post
5.0
The Witness is not an escape but a test of familial responsibility and a deep act of humanism through bare bones, first hand filmmaking, collecting th .. Lw Lies
3.8
The Witness may function as potent journalism, then, but it also leaves the faint whiff of reality television. Larsen On Film
5.0
Watch a clip from the documentary, The Witness, directed by James D. Solomon, and starring William Genovese and Shannon Beeby.Photo: The Witness Film .. Wsj
3.0
The filmmakers drop these crucial threads in favour of pursuing Genoveses obsession with reconstructing that fatal morning, and the results, while int .. Straight
4.0
Near the conclusion of the astonishing new true crime documentary The Witness, William Genovese hires a woman to play his sister.That sister was Kitty .. News Week
3.5
The Witness Director James Solomon begins by approaching his film as a true crime documentary, investigating the notorious tale of Kitty Genovese, the .. Flavor Wire
4.0
And when it comes to that, Solomons film is entirely effective and often riveting stuff. No La
4.0
But even the fleeting feeling of not having all the right plot boxes checked serves the films greater revelation: showcasing how one moment can ripple .. Under The Radar Mag
4.0
Its that intimacy that propels The Witness beyond mere docu noir, rising above clunky pacing as it hurtles in every direction, probing different threa .. The Daily Beast
4.4
Director James D. Solomon lets the story build slowly. What seems at first like a crusade for justice how could 38 people have done nothing soon evolv .. National Post
4.0
(It is Catch 22 footage that really has to be in the film, even though it feels almost exploitative). Theepoch Times
4.4
The small scale movie doesnt deeply examine how the New York Times managed to so shabbily sensationalize Kittys tragedy. Sf Examiner
3.5
Humans are capable of some astonishing inhumanity to one another, and theyre also strangely eager to believe the worst about each other. Sf Weekly
5.0
It offers, for the first time, a tangible picture of who Kitty was and who she hoped she might become, while keeping her shrouded in mystery, while po .. Am Ny
2.8
It is an often gripping film, elevated by the unique form of reconstruction that animation provides. The Film Experience
5.0
The Witness Resurrects Kitty Genovese, The Woman Stabbed To Death In Front Of 38 Witnesses: BUST Review 38 Watched Murder And Did Nothing That New Yor .. Bust
2.0
However, as the storys elemental power is derived from its simplicity, whats good for the historical record here doesnt make for a compelling viewing .. Bk Mag
3.5
The Witness screens at 6pm on Tuesday, October 6, and at 8pm on Wednesday, October 7 as part of the documentary spotlight within the 53rd New York Fil .. Bk Mag
3.5
A true mystery story in which even the film makers do not know the ending. Its Just Movies
3.8
It turns out that the The Times exaggerated the story just to sell papers. Ny 1
4.5
Join us as we explore whats good, whats bad, whats too bad to miss, and anything else TV has to offer. News Observer



See Where to Watch The Witness