À l'oeil nu

A surprisingly well, even if not brilliantly, filmed voyeurism tale, it is cleverly shot, quite reasonably acted, and almost rather intriguing, with a number of allusions to 'Rear Window'. There are some interesting ideas raised, but in general the screenplay has nothing new to offer. The film is made from is an original screenplay by Jeffrey Bloom, who would later go on to write and direct a poor adaptation of 'Flowers in the Attic', so perhaps this should be taken into account? Other than its storyline, this is quite a well made film considering that it was produced for television. If it is showing one night, it is certainly worth checking out, even if it is not a great film in itself.

This is gorgeously shot and in pristine quality on prime. gorgeous cinematography of the city and fun 80s outfits and make up to look at as always. Keeps wavering from quality to camp, with a strange atmosphere. It was actually really enjoyable. Maybe a guilty pleasure? Maybe justified. I love the soundtrack as well. This is a great movie to get someone into the style of 80s films

In THROUGH NAKED EYES, flautist William Parrish (David Soul) and photojournalist Anne Walsh (Pam Dawber) live directly across from each other in opposing high-rise apartment buildings. At night, they watch each other through binoculars and a camera respectively. After coincidentally crossing paths a few times, they decide to get together.

The two hit it off right away, and Bill entertains Anne with his instrument.

Meanwhile, a maniac is killing off residents with a big knife. The police suspect Parrish after he's the last person to see one of the victims alive. This could have detrimental effects on his flute practice!

As made-for-TV thrillers go, this one isn't bad. However, it does tend to drag in spots and bog down in romantic cheeeze. Thankfully, it rebounds nicely in the end. If you are a Soul Or Dawber fanatic (and who isn't?), you won't be disappointed.

Watch for a young Ted Levine as a uniform cop!...

Attractive TV performers David Soul and Pam Dawber do decent work in formulaic TV-made thriller about residents of a Chicago high-rise apartment complex, a professional flautist and a tour guide at the Planetarium, spying on each other from their facing windows and later dating; there's also a maniac on the premises running around with a knife, and the musician is high on the list of suspects. Jeffrey Bloom's teleplay is surprisingly rich with detail (and may have inspired author Ira Levin with his future novel "Sliver"), but the plot is ultimately served up in a by-the-numbers fashion. The list of police advisors in the end-credits looks impressive, however the finished results make the Chicago police force look like bungling idiots. Had Bloom concentrated more on the relationship between Soul and Dawber--who have an interesting chemistry--and less time on the crime investigation, this might have been something special.

David Soul is the only good thing about this film - seriously. I enjoy TV films of the 70s and 80s but this one was not my cup of tea. It took way to long to get to the murderer - the reason we are watching the film.

1/10