Witness
Witness
R | 08 February 1985 (USA)
Witness Trailers

A sheltered Amish child is the sole witness of a brutal murder in a restroom at a Philadelphia train station, and he must be protected. The assignment falls to a taciturn detective who goes undercover in a Pennsylvania Dutch community. On the farm, he slowly assimilates despite his urban grit, and forges a romantic bond with the child's beautiful mother.

Reviews
Sexyloutak

Absolutely the worst movie.

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Humaira Grant

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

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Donald Seymour

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

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Guillelmina

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

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betty dalton

Police thriller in Amish country. Harrison Ford plays a policeman who protects a little Amish child that witnessed police brutality. The policemen go after the kid. Harrison Ford is there to protect the kid. They both flee to Amish country. Will they corrupt policemen find the kid? That is the suspense of this story. Really great suspense and I have seen decades of police thrillers. Witness is out there with the very best.Seriously.However back in the eighties the studios werent interested in this script about a rural Amish community sheltering a little boy who was witness to a police killing. Rural stories dont sell, was the fear of the studio executives. How wrong could they haven been! Witness became the second biggest box office hit of 1985. This movie was directed by Peter Weir known from "The Truman Show" with Jim Carey, "Dead Poets Society" with Robin Williams and "Fearless" with Jeff Bridges. It is one of the few movies that are highly praised by critics and the movie masses simultaneously. Witness is Included among the American Film Institute's 1998 list of the 400 movies nominated for the Top 100 Greatest American Movies and was one of the biggest box office hits of the entire eighties.Initially the Amish community was asked to take part in the movie, but they refused for several reasons: one being the fact that they dont want their picture taken, the other being the violence that was portrayed in the movie. In preparation for her role, Kelly McGillis lived with an actual Amish widow and her seven children for a while before filming began to get the speech cadence down and to observe the daily life of an Amish widowed mother. Harrison Ford worked alongside real policemen to learn the police jargon and attitudes. Harrison Ford was nominated for Best Actor, his one and only Oscar nomination in his entire carreer! When a movie is praised by critics and welcomed by the popular masses it is difficult to choose where I want to begin in reviewing the brilliance of this movie. I want to highlight 2 brilliant parts of this movie that really mesmirized me with their beauty. One being the lighting of this film. I rarely have seen such excellent qualities of lighting and photography in other movies. Some still shots almost resemble the beauty of paintings. Kelly McGillis playing an Amish widow, was lighted and photographed in such a splendid way that it looked as if the director had created a painting like aura of light around her. Breathtaking beauty.The other part I want to highlight is the synthesizer music by Maurice Jarre. Almost resembling church organ sounds, Jarre's soundtrack is overwhelmingly powerful. Altough very modern sounding it fits perfectly into the old fashioned Amish style of living. Some viewers hated it though, but I am very picky about music in movies and I really was impressed by it. I have seen it over 10 times now and some movies just stay as powerful as they were when they were first released. 30 years old, Witness has become a timeless classic. I love it!

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classicsoncall

Take Harrison Ford out of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises and he still delivers the goods. In "Witness", his character Captain John Book, becomes aware of a conspiracy within the ranks of his own police force, and has to fend off his department chief to save a widowed Amish woman and her young son. The film explores the clash of cultures between the Amish and an outside world that often doesn't respect their religious beliefs or the simple way they live. To the picture's credit, the story line doesn't cop out with a feel good ending in which Ford's character and the Amish woman Rachel (Kelly McGillis), wind up as a couple running off together. Neither one, against all temptation, compromises their personal beliefs and morals to take advantage of the other. Though there was that one scene in which they exchanged a passionate moment that ended with a quick cut away leaving their relationship somewhat unresolved. Fair to say that you're not likely to see another film with as ironic an ending for one of the bad guys as you have here - death by corn.

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johnsone-5

"Witness" had all the making of a great movie, until the obligatory shoot-em-up Hollywood ending ruined it all.

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Emerald Reprobates

This movie may have been well received in the mid 80's but unfortunately it doesn't hold up to well. It's a very slow paced and uneventful movie, that being said it's not necessarily a bad movie. The movie follows the seemingly pointless hiding in an Amish community of a detective (Harrison Ford) who is investigating a murder witnessed by a young boy from the community. During his stay Ford falls for the mother of the child (Kelly McGillis) which serves no more purpose then to give us a god awful dance scene and inevitable forbidden love scenario, the one good thing to come out of this arrangement is the obligatory 80's tit shot. The films 3rd act is no better or worse then the proceeding two before it, winding down with two murders and a stern talking to as it's climax this movie leaves you with a feeling of mediocre satisfaction because while the plot and script are paper thin the acting is quite good.Featured on episode 57 of The Emerald Reprobates Podcast.

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