Mute Witness

Mute Witness
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAnthony Waller
Written byAnthony Waller
Produced by
    • Anthony Waller
    • Alexander Buchman
    • Norbert Soentgen
Starring
CinematographyEgon Werdin
Edited byPeter R. Adam
Music byWilbert Hirsch
Distributed bySony Pictures Classics
Release dates
  • January 28, 1995 (1995-01-28) (Sundance)
  • September 28, 1995 (1995-09-28) (Germany)
  • January 19, 1996 (1996-01-19) (United Kingdom)
Running time
95 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
Germany
Russia
LanguagesEnglish
Russian
Box office$1.1 million[1]

Mute Witness (German: Stumme Zeugin, Russian: Немой свидетель) is a 1995 horror thriller film written, directed and produced by Anthony Waller, his feature film debut. It stars Marina Zudina, Fay Ripley and Oleg Yankovsky and features a brief cameo appearance by Alec Guinness, his final film role in a theatrically-released film. The plot follows a mute American makeup artist working on a slasher film in Moscow, who is pursued by a crime organization making and dealing snuff films after she stumbles upon one of their film sets and witnesses a murder.

A British-German-Russian co-production, the film premiered at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. It was released in Germany on September 28, 1995 and in the United Kingdom on January 19, 1996. It received generally positive reviews from critics, and was nominated for Best Horror Film and Best Actress (for Marina Zudina) at the 22nd Saturn Awards. It won the Special Jury Prize at the Festival international du film fantastique de Gérardmer, with Marina Zudina receiving a special mention for her performance.

  1. ^ "Mute Witness". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 5 November 2021.