The Public Eye (1992)

This criminally underrated movie features a fascinating central character, an outstanding performance by Joe Pesci and a dark, moody recreation of 1940s New York that's absolutely stunning. Its story about the circumstances that lead to a man abandoning one of his most important principles and the high cost that he has to pay as a consequence of doing so, is full of danger, deceit and disappointment and contains many moments of humour and pathos that add immeasurably to the enjoyment of watching this totally gripping film.Leon "Bernzy" Bernstein (Joe Pesci) is a freelance photographer who inhabits the city's streets and clubs late at night in order to capture sensational pictures which he sells to the tabloid newspapers. Photos of gangsters, victims of violent crime and celebrities behaving badly are his speciality but much of his success is also attributable to his amazing ability to arrive at the scene of a crime, a suicide or a huge fire before anyone else and it's this talent that led to him becoming generally known as "The Great Bernzini".Despite Bernzy being uncouth and preoccupied with sleaze, he also has aspirations to achieve recognition for his work which he considers to be worthy of being published in book form. Unfortunately, the publishers he approaches don't see any merit in his material which they simply regard as being vulgar and distasteful. Bernzy's lifestyle and dedication to his work resulted in him living a very lonely life and on certain occasions he wistfully watches happy couples together showing their affection for each other.When Bernzy's work brings him into contact with a beautiful, wealthy widow called Kay Levitz (Barbara Hershey) who shows him some warmth and understanding and also seems to appreciate his work, he becomes putty in her hands and has no hesitation in agreeing to her request to investigate a gangster who approached her shortly after her husband's death and claimed that he owned part of her business. Bernzy's decision quickly leads to him becoming a murder suspect and confronting further dangers when he gets too closely involved in a gang war that's linked to a conspiracy which involves mobsters, politicians and a black market in gas rationing coupons.Joe Pesci is exceptionally good in showing the dedication and determination of his character as well as his desperate need for love and recognition. Bernzy had achieved great success in his career through being absolutely professional and enjoying good relations with both the police and the gangsters because he made a point of never taking sides but his deal with Kay changed things and suddenly put him in great danger."The Public Eye" is beautifully photographed, skilfully directed and features some great dialogue as well as a strong supporting performance by Barbara Hershey but it's ultimately Bernzy's character and Pesci's performance that make this film so memorable.

The Private Eye (1992)This is a fictionalized story of the very real NYC crime photographer Weegee, and if you've seen pictures of Weegee or heard his story, Joe Pesci is the perfect cast for the role, coming right after "Goodfellas." He nails it, a terrific performance, even down to handling the cameras well.Too bad the rest of the film is hit or miss. Maybe on the hit (good) side is the general set design and atmosphere. It feels like a slightly simplified and cleaned up 1942 Manhattan (where most or all of this occurs). And Barbara Hershey as the leading woman (not quite a femme fatale, it seems, but she has that look) is solid, especially with her hair up. You'll see, a good strong look. And the cameras are pretty right on (I'm a photographer, and I shoot with one of these 4x5 Graflex press cameras all the time), though at a glance it seemed that at least one of his Graflexes was a post-war model. We'll let that slip. And on the plus side it has to be said that Mark Isham's last minute hiring for the score was inspired, because it gives the movie the depth it needs.The misses on the film are deeply integral to enjoying it all the way--the plot, the secondary actors, the direction. The latter is hard to pin down within the obvious and almost purposely clichéd plot, but you feel all along that the movie is put together functionally, as if the director knows most of all that these pieces have to go in order. But giving it flow, elegance, power, and even a convincing mise-en-scene is not just a matter of logic. It feels off, as it out of tune. It's especially noticeable because so much of the film is going right, including Pesci.There is the question of why did they take Weegee (a.k.a. Arthur Fellig) and turn him into Bernzini (a.k.a. Leon Bernstein)--apparently it was a rights issue with the original story, but certainly the new story could have still been based on Weegee. The images in the film look like pseudo-Weegee moments as much as Pesci looks like Weegee, and Wikipedia says that some of these are actual Weegees. (I have my doubts, but who knows?) Both men had outrageous rubber stamps for the back of their prints that are almost identical--Weegee's said "Weegee the Great." The car is identical, for sure, and even the pace and the world are Weegee's.Beyond all of this, the movie is entertaining if never commanding, and quite beautifully photographed--I'm talking the cinematography, now. My copy was VHS, and it doesn't sound like the DVD service through Amazon called the Universal Vault Series has very high standards (one user said it looked like VHS quality). I would think a full widescreen version would be worth the trouble--maybe try an Amazon instant play for $3. This says specifically that it is widescreen.

Movie NEEDS to be on DVD stat.This movie is wonderful...wonderful and severely underrated.Its beautifully filmed, beautifully acted, beautifully edited, beautifully photographed, beautifully scored via Mark Isham. This film is the best example i can ever give anyone when talking about film as art.I cannot believe how underrated it is--not only as a forgotten film from the early 90's but just how forgotten it is as a film starring Joe Pesci. Just today i was in a Staples and i found a DVD set that contained both The Super and With Honors--and while both of those are just dandy if you like Pesci--i just can't for the life of me understand how both of those are widely available and this jewel is somehow lost. C'Mon Universal--I know you're not the best at getting your back catalog to DVD but this should be a no brainer--its from the 90's for god's sakes. How is something like Splitting Heirs or Pure Luck available from your backlog and this isn't?!?!?!? If you need a synopsis--Pesci is a very omnipresent shutter bug--he prowls the night taking with his camera and his police scanner frequently crashing crime scenes just to be the first one to get a photograph of the leftover carnage. He lives through his camera if you will. He's forever dreaming of getting a coffee table book published of his crime scene photos--and one day he gets a phone call from night club owner (and very high on the social ladder) Barbra Hershey who wants Pesci to investigate the shady circumstances of her dead husband, etc, etc. The plot is pure noir of course---i hate to say given how much i love it, but the plot is actually kind of irrelevant---the whole point of this gorgeous movie is just to bask in the wonderful atmosphere the movie provides. I mean the plot is fine--Pesci soon finds himself over his head in corruption, and feuding gangsters, and etc--and there are a lot of wonderful moments throughout that come from Pesci's character reacting to the latest obstacles that the film's plot is throwing in his path--(LOVE that one quick scene of him squirming on the floor while the gangster interrogating him is calling him a cockroach and Pesci lifts his fingers to simulate a cockroach....there are just too many quick visual scenes like that throughout.) but again the whole beauty of the movie is just the wonderful wonderful atmosphere.This is a film where truly everything comes together just perfectly to form a glorious movie experience. (i know that sounds dumb to say--but its truly one of the best films i can recommend to anyone interested in just observing how a film can function as both a movie and as art.) It helps of course if you're a fan of black and white photography and classic film noir--but you don't really have to be to just sit back and enjoy this one either. (The end shootout in particular is so beautifully shot---and so stylistically original--I can't for the life of me think of one other film that has even tried to rip it off over the years.) Howard Franklin (who directed this as well as my own personal favorite film Bill Murray's Quick Change) sadly never got to make another serious film along the lines of this one--and that i think is a real shame because judging just from this one film--he could've been one of the best today instead of just a one off director. (I'm sure it didn't help that this prob cost Universal a pretty penny to make and only eked out about 3 mil in total--and i remember being in 5th grade when this came out--this had a pretty substantial campaign behind it because i clearly remember seeing the ads for it when it came out, so right there i know universal must've been expecting something to happen from this) I can't implore all of you hard enough to check this one out--even if it means watching it on a plain olé' VHS tape (altho i believe there are torrents of it available to download) Good Lord if there's one movie--if there's ONE film that i wish would see the light of DVD right now it would be this one.This Thing Never Shuts Off. You Can't Shut It Off.Throw In The Hat. People Love To See The Dead Guy's Hat.God I Love This Movie!

Well, I've just seen the movie tonight and Pesci is certainly great in it. I finally saw a side of him that I've never seen before. In almost all his other movies, he got on my nerves, but in this one, he managed to make me respect his acting. I have to agree with the other comments. I've never heard of this movie and that's too bad. It's very touching and gave me a feeling of je ne sais quoi... It's a very attractive movie in a quiet sort of way. I don't know. I really enjoyed it and it's too bad that it hasn't been credited as one of Pesci's best (if not THE BEST) movies.