"Windows" was directed by noted cinematographer (and frequent Woody Allen collaborator) Gordon Willis, and as one would expect, he has a great eye for artful compositions, creative use of light / shadow, and New York. The film is (nearly) always visually interesting, which helps sustain it through a rather thin story. Elizabeth Ashley is both touching and unsettling, but Talia Shire seemed to have already been typecast into the mousy, "Rocky's wife" type of roles. Trivia: apparently in 1979 you could rent an apartment in Brooklyn Heights for $300 a month!! **1/2 out of 4.

I've always wondered about this controversial thriller that came out before I could see R rated movies around the same time as "Cruising". I remember Siskel and Ebert on their TV review show panning both films, and while "Cruising" ended up coming out on VHS later on, "Window" was nowhere to be found. Finding it 40 years after its release, I can understand why it has barely seen the light of day. In spite of a potentially chilling story involving an obsessive lesbian (Elizabeth Ashley) arranging for neighbor Talia Shire to be brutally raped in a violent attack and pretending to be the good neighbor in Shire's time of need, continues to make Shire her prey.

Rather than come out and tell her how she feels or move on because it was obviously unrequitted, Ashley continues to stalk her in spite of seeing a male psychiatrist who requests that she get serious psychiatric help. This isn't a film about being in the closet. It's about being deep inside the walls of somebody's mind and not allowing that mind to breathe peacefully. On that aspect, it is a chilling and horrific melodrama with Ashley genuinely frightening, even when revealing her innermost thoughts. However, as a film, its script never seems to know which direction it is going, and there seems to be some terrible editing as well. Shire, while a good actress, is hardly leading lady material, and the focus on her character after a while becomes as depressing as her character's personality.

One particular gash in the editing comes from Shire having a drink with her new neighbor, Kay Medford, while her husband is way, and all of a sudden, Medord is on a gurney heading to the hospital, no rhyme or reason. Other moments of the film make no sense either. Vintage New York City location footage is always fascinating with fabulous shots from several penthouses overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge and World Trade Centers. This film remained in the closet for so long that the gay and lesbian community seemed to forget it even existed, pretty much having the same impact upon its release that "Cruising" did with obvious homophobia even though that film still remains much discussed. Interesting photography works thanks to director Gordon Willis, a veteran cinematographer who probably should have stuck to that rather than do what his mentor Woody Allen was extremely successful at.

"Windows", a dreadful thriller about a lesbian psychotic and her straight-laced target, might have at least left us with some campy giggles, but alas--it is far too distasteful to laugh at. The opening scene, with Talia Shire attacked by a perv in her apartment, just goes on...and on...and on. What was director Gordon Willis thinking by allowing this ugly sequence to take up so much time? After this unfortunate encounter, our heroine turns inward and goes all quiet. Is there anything more deadly for a thriller then having a somnambulist leading character? She practically sleepwalks through the rest of the picture. The film has that dated, early-'80s look to it (brackish, shabby and "gritty", with thin neon lights snaking into shapes). I waited this thing out to see where the hell it was going. It goes nowhere...slowly. *1/2 from ****