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IMDbPro

Witness

  • 19851985
  • RR
  • 1h 52m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
98K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,360
84
Harrison Ford and Lukas Haas in Witness (1985)
Watch Official Trailer
Play trailer1:19
3 Videos
99+ Photos
DramaRomanceThriller
When a young Amish boy is sole witness to a murder while visiting Philadelphia with his mother, police detective John Book tries to protect the boy until an attempt on Book's life forces him... Read allWhen a young Amish boy is sole witness to a murder while visiting Philadelphia with his mother, police detective John Book tries to protect the boy until an attempt on Book's life forces him into hiding in Amish country.When a young Amish boy is sole witness to a murder while visiting Philadelphia with his mother, police detective John Book tries to protect the boy until an attempt on Book's life forces him into hiding in Amish country.
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
98K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,360
84
    • Peter Weir
    • William Kelley(story by)
    • Pamela Wallace(story by)
    • Earl W. Wallace(story by)
  • Stars
    • Harrison Ford
    • Kelly McGillis
    • Lukas Haas
    • Peter Weir
    • William Kelley(story by)
    • Pamela Wallace(story by)
    • Earl W. Wallace(story by)
  • Stars
    • Harrison Ford
    • Kelly McGillis
    • Lukas Haas
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 244User reviews
    • 106Critic reviews
    • 76Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 2 Oscars

    Videos3

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:19
    Watch Official Trailer
    'Witness' | Anniversary Mashup
    Clip 1:10
    Watch 'Witness' | Anniversary Mashup
    What Roles Has Harrison Ford Turned Down?
    Video 4:33
    Watch What Roles Has Harrison Ford Turned Down?

    Photos112

    Lukas Haas in Witness (1985)
    Harrison Ford, Viggo Mortensen, and Jan Rubes in Witness (1985)
    Harrison Ford in Witness (1985)
    Alexander Godunov in Witness (1985)
    Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis in Witness (1985)
    Harrison Ford, Lukas Haas, Viggo Mortensen, Alexander Godunov, and Jan Rubes in Witness (1985)
    Kelly McGillis in Witness (1985)
    Lukas Haas in Witness (1985)
    Jan Rubes in Witness (1985)
    Harrison Ford in Witness (1985)
    Brent Jennings in Witness (1985)
    Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Viggo Mortensen, and Alexander Godunov in Witness (1985)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Harrison Ford
    Harrison Ford
    • John Book
    Kelly McGillis
    Kelly McGillis
    • Rachel
    Lukas Haas
    Lukas Haas
    • Samuel
    Josef Sommer
    Josef Sommer
    • Schaeffer
    Jan Rubes
    Jan Rubes
    • Eli Lapp
    Alexander Godunov
    Alexander Godunov
    • Daniel Hochleitner
    Danny Glover
    Danny Glover
    • McFee
    Brent Jennings
    Brent Jennings
    • Carter
    Patti LuPone
    Patti LuPone
    • Elaine
    Angus MacInnes
    Angus MacInnes
    • Fergie
    Frederick Rolf
    • Stoltzfus
    Viggo Mortensen
    Viggo Mortensen
    • Moses Hochleitner
    John Garson
    • Bishop Tchantz
    Beverly May
    • Mrs. Yoder
    Ed Crowley
    Ed Crowley
    • Sheriff
    Timothy Carhart
    Timothy Carhart
    • Zenovich
    Sylvia Kauders
    Sylvia Kauders
    • Tourist Lady
    Marian Swan
    • Mrs. Schaeffer
      • Peter Weir
      • William Kelley(story by) (screenplay by)
      • Pamela Wallace(story by)
      • Earl W. Wallace(story by) (screenplay by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    The Life and Times of Harrison Ford

    The Life and Times of Harrison Ford

    Take a look back at Harrison Ford's movie career in photos.
    See more Harrison
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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      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.
    • Goofs
      John Book's Volkswagen hit the birdhouse and broke its windshield. Later the car is seen in the barn with an unbroken windshield.
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      Eli Lapp: [to John Book] You be careful out among them English!

    • Crazy credits
      For Tom Scott. Scott was a member of the casting department on Witness.
    • Alternate versions
      In the VHS version, just after John Book is shot, we see a close-up of his gun and a voice-over from an earlier conversation Book had with the captain. We hear the words: "Who else knows about this? "Just you and me." In the DVD version, we see the close-up of the gun and then it segues to Book's sister waking up Rachel and her son Samuel, minus the voice-over.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Songwriter/Nineteen Eighty-Four/Witness/Mrs. Soffel (1985)
    • Soundtracks
      (What a) Wonderful World
      (1959)

      Written by Sam Cooke, Herb Alpert and Lou Adler

      Performed by Greg Chapman

      Courtesy of Abkco Music, Inc.

    User reviews244

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    When two worlds collide
    „Witness" works on 3 levels – as a thriller , drama and romance. The thriller elements of the movie appear at the beginning and the ending of the movie, while the middle of the film is basically a drama with a love story in it. It's an interesting combination and while it might not work for those who like pure thrillers or dramas it certainly worked for me. One has to remember that "Witness" is first a electrifying and poignant love story , then the thriller. A romantic thriller.

    It's a movie worth watching just for the fact that is first and one of the few films to focus on Amish culture. As a kid I would laugh at their philosophy of life . The more and more I'm getting older the more I'm thinking they are right. The Amish way of life has many virtues - they have a deep faith in God , pacifism , sense of community.

    "Witness" is a story about cultural clash between two completely different worlds. Both cultures are forced to come together. Each one had to search out the moralities, prejudices and actions of the other. The film is thankfully devoid of easy moralizing.

    It's an interesting thing that Sylvester Stallone ("Rocky") and Jack Nicholson ("One flew over the cuckoo nest") were considered for the role of John Book . While I do believe that they would handle the role very well , I'm happy that Harrison Ford ("Raiders of the lost ark") got the part in the end. Harrison Ford gives his finest performance in "Witness" , the only one which got him an Oscar nomination. Hord walks away from his hero persona (Indiana Jones , Han Solo). His John Book isn't stereotypical cynical and strong cop. His tough enough to be convincing as a city cop , but it's more about his sense of duty and dignity. It's interesting how the film uses Ford's real-life carpenter's talent. Kelly McGillis ("Top gun") also gives a great and underrated performance , the best in her career. Her Rachel is very sensible and lonely woman , who finds soul mate in Book. Both Ford and McGillis have a wonderful chemistry together . The say much more by the things they don't say (for example the bating scene , the dance scene). The romantic plot reaches it's climax with one of the best on-screen kisses in the history of film. This brief-scene is powerful , sincere and moving. The love story here is beautiful and tragic.

    Danny Glover("Lethal weapon") does a nice job as the bad guy. Who could forget Lukas Haas ("Inception") as the Amish kid. His cheerful , colorful face is something that can't go unseen. Watch out for Viggo Mortensen ("The Lord of the rings " trilogy) in his debut as an Amish.

    Peter Weir gives a brilliant direction . This is a simple story wit heart . Every dramatic moment is powerful and every small scene is important. Weir isn't a action/thriller director , yet he gives us great Hitchcockian set pieces such as the scene in the toilet and the final confrontation in style of "High noon" (silo death).

    The screenplay quite rightfully won the Oscar. The film's script by Earl W. Wallace, William Kelley and Pamela Wallace has become a frequent model for budding screenwriters, often used to display clear structure in a screenplay. It is a film about adults, whose lives have dignity and whose choices matter to them just like it's a story about cops.

    The soundtrack by Maurice Jarre is good , but I think it would have sounded much better with real orchestra instead of synthesizer. John Searle's cinematography is gorgeous – the scene of raising the barn is cinematic lyricism.

    Highly recommended. I give it 8/10.
    helpful•13
    1
    • Maziun
    • Dec 31, 2013

    FAQ7

    • What is "Witness" about?
    • Is this movie based on a book?
    • What language do the Amish speak in this film?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 8, 1985 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
      • German
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Paul Krantz Farm - 758 Bunker Hill Road, Strasburg, Pennsylvania, USA
    • Production companies
      • Paramount Pictures
      • Edward S. Feldman Production
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 52 minutes
      • Dolby Stereo

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