The Witness

The Witness (1978)

Le Témoin

An Italian painter, Antonio Berti, pays a visit to Reims to his friend Robert Maurisson, a banker with political views on the town hall, who hides, under an affable air and an irreproachable dignity, a libertine and cynical temperament. Charged by the notable with the restoration of paintings exhibited in the cathedral, the artist calls on Cathy, a young girl from the choir, to serve as his model. The young girl will be found dead a few hours after their interview, near one of Robert's properties.

Date of release
1978-09-20
TMDB
6.8 / 10 (31)
Runtime
1h 30m
Genres
Crime, Drama
Director
Jean-Pierre Mocky

Casting

Interesting facts

The Witness is a French-Italian crime-thriller film written and directed by Jean-Pierre Mocky and starring Alberto Sordi and Philippe Noiret. It is loosely based on the novel Shadow of a Doubt by Harrison Judd.

Production

Initially, the director Mocky chose Jean Gabin for the leading role, that of a piano teacher accused of murdering a young girl. The actor agreed but said he wanted Philippe Noiret to be his screen partner. Noiret agreed as well but Gabin died during the pre-production stage. Noiret suggested Alberto Sordi, in that case the film could be a co-production with Italy.

Some scenes were shot at the forest in Verzy and the church in Taissy, both located in the Marne department.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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