A Testemunha Ocular

i bought this movie because i became a fan of mark lester after watching oliver. however i was somewhat dissapointed in this movie while it is exciting theres i snoyt much too it other than the boy being chased around by the bad guys. in is very voilent for a flim rated pg but of course pg 13 did not exsit back then.i guess basically it is a good movie to watch when you have nothing better to do.

Pros: a beautiful scenery, the plot itself is OK, a few not quite expected events, there's some suspense, a few chases and some of the actors did pretty well. Not an amazing film, but it's pretty good, all things considered.

Cons: the grandfather is way too eccentric and behaves like a retired magician, or a circus ringmaster, not at all like a retired high rank military officer. I get that he likes his grandson and is amused by his free spirited attitude, and while that is cute, there's simply no way to take the grandpop's behaviour seriously. It's just not believable and it did spoil the film for me a fair bit. With that being said, while he acts strangely throughout most of the film, he turns into some sort of action hero towards the end.

"Eyewitness", a.k.a. "Sudden Terror", is an engrossing adaptation (by Ronald Harwood and an unbilled Bryan Forbes) of a novel by John Harris. While it holds no major surprises, it does deliver at least one twist that the viewer *might* not see coming. It also delivers some fine suspense and action scenes, and benefits a lot from its exotic locale.

It's set on the island of Malta, where an imaginative boy, Ziggy (Mark Lester of "Oliver!" fame) lives with his sexy older sister Pippa (Susan George, "Die Screaming Marianne") and his grandfather (Lionel Jeffries, "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang") in a lighthouse. Ziggy is prone to a rich fantasy life, so naturally his family is inclined *not* to believe him when he tells them the truth: he witnessed a policeman committing the murder of a visiting dignitary. Thus, the perpetrator (top British character actor Peter Vaughan, 'Game of Thrones') and his accomplice (Peter Bowles, "Blowup") spend the remainder of the running time hunting down the unfortunate Ziggy.

"Eyewitness" is quite fun, as it spins a fairly familiar "Boy Who Cried Wolf" type of yarn. It makes time for a little romance, between Pippa and a vacationing nice-guy stranger named "Tom Jones" (Aussie actor Tony Bonner, "The Man from Snowy River"), as well as some entertaining character details & humour. (Tom dislikes brandy, yet it seems to be the only drink that Grandpa will offer him.) It's willing to go to some dark places along the way, and there is also some fairly graphic violence when characters get shot. It all culminates in a well-executed vehicle chase.

The excellent cast features Betty Marsden ("Carry On Camping"), Joseph Furst ("Diamonds Are Forever"), and David Lodge ("The Return of the Pink Panther") as well, although it is Jeffries, as the crusty, witty "old" man (he was in his mid-forties at the time), that tends to steal the show. Knowing the difference between fantasies and outright lies, it is Grandpa that is first to start lending some credence to Ziggy's story.

All in all, a good film that kick-started the filmmaking career of John Hough, whose 70s classics include "Twins of Evil", "Dirty Mary Crazy Larry" (working with George again), "The Legend of Hell House", and the two Disney "Witch Mountain" features. Actor-turned-filmmaker Forbes was also the unbilled executive producer; Jonathan Demme was the music coordinator, and Gary Sherman (director of "Death Line", "Dead & Buried", "Vice Squad", and "Poltergeist III") designed the opening titles.

Seven out of 10.

I very rarely write reviews that are not positive, but once in a while when I see a movie that is particularly painful and I personally find way overrated, well, I feel I should at least leave a brief comment about it, even though it may be against the tide or opinion.

Maybe, it's just that the film itself is a product of its time (1970) but for me, having to wade through the first almost 30 minutes and all the 'Cutesy' little scenes and the scenes that set up the parade that too FOREVER, and then when I got to when Mark Lester is trying to tell them about the shooting, and then having to endure the ever so painful Susan George's HUGE overacting, well... seriously, we are already a 1/3 the way through the movie and, at least for me, has been quite a trial.

I SUPPOSE that if you can put up with all the what I feel are very Cheeeeeeezy directorial flourishes and almost every scene screaming 'Look at me how showy I'm being!', and can just get through the story, maybe you possibly might be able to get something out of it.

It's not that I am a snob by any means and I do love a variety of films, some can be rather silly or over the top, some more clever, some deeply scary and atmospheric, that's fine. But, when the combination of what I feel is very amateurish direction (where I would personally lay the most fault) and grossly overacting and paper thin characters at best, I'm sorry, for me I honestly just find it truly painful to watch.

I hope that this may help those who may feel similar to the way I do, as opposed to the many rather positive reviews that are here. I gave it a fairly rare '4'...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MY PARTICULAR WAY OF RATING:

5 - Flawed, but with some entertainment value.

6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.

7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.

And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )

This had all the trademark features to turn out be a first rate thriller in the frame of Hitchcock, but something just comes off short. Maybe because we already know how the story will play out, but director John Hough's confident, stylistic verve in his set-pieces shows how talent can transcend basic material into something better then it should. Well lets not forget the other aspects that seem to draw you in too. A beautifully picturesque Mediterranean backdrop is easy on the eyes. David Holmes' fancily off-kilter camera-work maintains a smooth flow, despite its constant imaginative changes (reflections, tilts) in positioning to invoke intrigue and tension. The music engraved in the feature by composers' Fairfield Parlour and David Whitaker has a real cheeky twinge, and very edgy awe that peppers the on screen action. It was only Hough's second feature, but definitely one of his sleepers. Some of the exciting acts (of destruction), could go on to cement themselves in his bang-bang, gust buster film "Dirt Mary Crazy Larry (1974)", which also starred Susan George. She co-stars here, but the ravishing starlet seems underdone. However Lionel Jeffries is appealingly amusing whenever in shot and Mark Lester ably does the job. There are good turns by Peter Vaughan, Tony Boner and Jeremy Kemp. The plot is straight-forward, but held together by its "The boy cried wolf" theme interwoven into a cat and mouse thriller with cracking suspense and startling jolts. Some plot devices are too convenient, but it throws up some little gloomy and lethal surprises along the way. An acceptable thriller done with enough panache.