Witness (1985)

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!

An Amish boy Samuel witnesses a murder case in Philadelphia when he goes to Baltimore with his mother Rachel. John Book, a police detective, hides in Amish village with them when the killers come after them.This film has both suspense and human drama aspects.Pictures of this film is very beautiful and Maurice Jarre's soundtrack is also excellent.I didn't know the existence of "Amish" until I watched this film. I like an atmosphere of a quiet and pastoral Amish life and envy their self-sufficient life.I could enter the world of Amish easily through this film. I think that the Amish beautiful life is a contrast with the horrible murder case.There are a lot of memorable scenes in this film, but I was especially impressed by the scene where John Book builds a shed with Amish people. It is wonderful to make something cooperating with companions.I think that cross-cultural understanding is difficult and it is important to accept difference each other.

Australian director Peter Weir has a knack for bringing a fresh perspective to established actors. Here it's Harrison Ford, and in the 90s it was with Jim Carrey in The Truman Show.I love Witness and the performances of all. Danny Glover was a corrupt cop here, before he became a clean cop in Lethal Weapon a few years later. Also Patti LuPone shines, a few years before she featured in Life Goes On, one of the best TV series ever.One of my favorite scenes is when John Book (Harrison Ford) punches out the teenage gang who pick on the Amish. That is a YouTube moment big time!

Rachel Lapp (Kelly McGillis) recently lost her husband. She and her son Samuel (Lukas Haas) are traveling from Pennsylvania by train to visit her sister in Baltimore. While waiting for a transfer, Samuel witnesses a murder at the Philadelphia train station bathroom. The victim is a policeman. Det. John Book (Harrison Ford) hounds Samuel for an ID. At the police station, he recognizes James McFee (Danny Glover)'s picture as one of the two killers but he's a police lieutenant. Book tells Chief Paul Schaeffer (Josef Sommer) but he's in on the corruption. McFee shots Book. He drives them back to their home to hide. He passes out as he's leaving the Lapp home.Director Peter Weir infuses this with tension. The main actors are all terrific. The clash of cultures is compelling and handled well. It's well written. The crime drama is tightly wound like a great coil readying to spring.