The Public Eye is a 1992 American crime thriller film produced by Sue Baden-Powell and written and directed by Howard Franklin, starring Joe Pesci and Barbara Hershey.

In the 1940s, Leon "Bernzy" Bernstein is a freelance crime and street photographer for the New York City tabloids, dedicated to his vivid and realistic work and his unique ability to capture shots that nobody else can.

With a police radio under the dashboard of his car and a makeshift darkroom in his trunk, he quickly races to the scene of horrific crimes and accidents in order to snap exclusive photographs.

Bernstein makes a connection with a local gangster, Sal, uncovering a conspiracy involving a mob turf war about illegal gas rationing, and the Federal government.

[2] According to journalist Doug Trapp, Franklin was inspired to write the screenplay after seeing a show of Fellig's photos in the 1980s at the International Center of Photography in New York City.

Director Franklin says he was looking for "edgy, modern, high-contrast 40's" lighting and compositions with the “stark, rather lurid effects of flash, which pick out the central subject while everything around falls off rapidly into darkness”[4] The Public Eye began filming on July 24, 1991 and completed October 28, 1991.

Even though the film takes place in Manhattan, it was shot in Chicago, Illinois, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Los Angeles, California.

Time Out magazine liked the acting and the script, and wrote, "The main virtue of screenwriter Franklin's debut as director is Pesci's portrayal of Weegee, the famous low-life tabloid photographer of urban disaster, lightly concealed as Bernstein, 'The Great Bernzini'... good dialogue, nice period recreation, great performances.

Despite the usual quippy, perky performance from Pesci, as well as cinematographer Peter Suschitzky's moodily delineated images, the movie is superficial and unengaging.

[10] The original score for the film was written and recorded by Jerry Goldsmith, but he was replaced by Mark Isham at a late stage.

Mark Isham crafts a dark melody focusing on piano, string, and trumpet parts, while mixing in symphonic, jazz, and electronic music.