The Witness

The brother of Kitty Genovese investigates the circumstances of her murder and the truth of the story that dozens of locals witnessed the crime and did nothing to intervene.

This is a story I have been aware of for 20 years. I never investigated it in any detail, but had been fascinated and did hear that much of the original story as reported in the media (and subsequent textbooks) was wrong. Here, in painstaking detail, we get to the bottom of things.

Anyone who takes the time to seek out the documents, track down witnesses,and even speak with the killer's son... that deserves a commendation. This should be winning awards right and left. The fact it is a family member makes it even stronger.

The Witness is a well-directed documentary about the journey Bill Genovese embarks on to uncover the truth about the murder of Kitty Genovese that pulls on the heart strings of viewers. It features interviews with family members who reflect on their life with Kitty and witnesses who recall their experiences from the night of her murder. The Witness exposes parts of Kitty's life that you can't get from basic research and paints her as the human she was, rather than a psychology study or social figure. At times the documentary can seem a bit over dramatic but it plays in well with the topics brought up and the events that occurred. This documentary represents the effects that exaggerated and untrue journalism can have on public opinion. Although it was a little slow at parts, it captures the attention of viewers and is well worth the watch.

I recently had the pleasure of viewing the documentary Witness in my intro to writing English class. The documentary shows an in-depth analysis of the murder case of Catherine "Kitty" Genovese. She was murdered around 3 am by a man named Winston Moseley who has had an unrepresented history of murdering and raping women. Before I watched the doc, I read the first article posted by the New York Times (38 who saw murder and didn't call police) that was printed a couple weeks after Kitty's murder. From viewing Witness, I found that this article was intentionally skewed to push the blame of kitty's murder onto the residents of Kew Gardens in Queens, where kitty was murdered. It also neglected to inform its audience of the details of her murderer, the true antagonist of this story. This documentary has shown me that I shouldn't just stop at ground level if I want the true story, I need to really investigate what I'm being told. Thank you, Bill Genovese and family, for opening your world to us.

The Witness, seeks to explore the truth behind Kitty Genovese's murder. Despite the public story, the truth of the matter is widely unknown. As Bill Genovese, brother of Catherine "kitty" Genovese, searches for truth, he uncovers shocking details that the original New York Times failed to mention. Images of the scene, numerous interviews, and a powerful reenactment in the exact locations of the attacks painted a clearer picture of what occurred that night. Already familiar with the case, this film answered many of my questions, but managed to leave some lingering. For instance, what goes through a sociopath's head like Moseley? This emotional work was phenomenal at portraying Kitty as a vivacious human being versus a character in a tragic story. The most exceptional thing about this film was its ability to convey such strong emotions and show the importance of journalism and its influence in this case. Highly recommend.

"The Witness" (2015 release; 88 min.) is a documentary about the life and death of New Yorker Kitty Genovese. As the movie opens, we learn how Kitty was brutally murdered in Kew Gardens, a densely populated area of Queens and, as the New York Times then reported, how 38 witnesses watched and did nothing. Now 50 years later, Kitty's brother Bill is still bothered by many aspects of the whole thing. "The end hasn't been reached yet", he murmurs as he decides to get to the bottom of this. At that moment we're not even 10 min. into the documentary but to tell you more of how it plays out would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to watch it for yourself.

Couple of comments: this documentary is directed by James Solomon, but is really driven by Bill Genovese, whose investigation we follow on screen (and who co-produced the movie). The most puzzling aspect of the entire story is how the famed NYT got this story so wrong, I mean, their reporting has holes the size of Manhattan in it! Bill also takes the opportunity to look back at Kitty, not just her death, but also her life, in which we get a couple of interesting surprises as well. All that, plus a look back at the 50s and early 60s era, make for interesting viewing, and then some.

I happen to catch this on a recent trans-Atlantic flight, and it certainly helped the time move along. If you like crime documentaries, you could to a lot worse than this.