MOVIEmeter
Top 5000
Down 152 this week

Witness (1985)

7.5
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 7.5/10 from 45,863 users   Metascore: 76/100
Reviews: 145 user | 68 critic | 14 from Metacritic.com

A young Amish boy is sole witness to a murder; policeman John Book goes into hiding in Amish country to protect him until the trial.

Director:

Writers:

(story), (story), 3 more credits »
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 2364 titles created 4 months ago
 
a list of 374 titles created 17 Apr 2011
 
a list of 10000 titles created 2 months ago
 
a list of 1269 titles created 6 months ago
 
a list of 290 titles created 10 months ago
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: Witness (1985)

Witness (1985) on IMDb 7.5/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of Witness.
Won 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 26 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Drama | Romance | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

When a prosecutor leaks a false story that a liquor warehouse owner is involved in the murder of an union head, the man's life begins to unravel.

Director: Sydney Pollack
Stars: Paul Newman, Sally Field, Bob Balaban
Unfaithful (2002)
Drama | Romance | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X  

A New York suburban couple's marriage goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.

Director: Adrian Lyne
Stars: Diane Lane, Erik Per Sullivan, Richard Gere
Dead Ringers (1988)
Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

Twin gynecologists take full advantage of the fact that nobody can tell them apart, until their relationship begins to deteriorate over a woman.

Director: David Cronenberg
Stars: Jeremy Irons, Geneviève Bujold, Heidi von Palleske
Drama | Romance | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

US military leaders plot to overthrow the President because he supports a nuclear disarmament treaty and they fear a Soviet sneak attack.

Director: John Frankenheimer
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March
Drama | Romance | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.9/10 X  

An expatriate British publisher unexpectedly finds himself working for British intelligence to investigate people in Russia.

Director: Fred Schepisi
Stars: Sean Connery, Michelle Pfeiffer, Roy Scheider
Bitter Moon (1992)
Drama | Romance | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

British couple Fiona and Nigel Dobson are sailing to Istanbul en route to India. They encounter a beautiful French woman, and that night Nigel meets her while dancing alone in the ship's ... See full summary »

Director: Roman Polanski
Stars: Peter Coyote, Emmanuelle Seigner, Hugh Grant
Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

Kathryn makes a bet that her step-brother, Sebastian, won't be able to bed Annette (a virgin, who wants to wait until love). If he loses, Kathryn gets his Jaguar, if he wins, he gets Kathryn.

Director: Roger Kumble
Stars: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon
Drama | Romance | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.2/10 X  

When a disgraced former college professor has a romance with a mysterious younger woman haunted by her dark twisted past, he is forced to confront a shocking secret about his own life that he has kept secret for 50 years.

Director: Robert Benton
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman, Ed Harris
Live Flesh (1997)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

After leaving jail, Víctor is still in love with Elena, but she's married to the former cop -now basketball player- who became paralysed by a shot from Víctor's gun...

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Stars: Javier Bardem, Francesca Neri, Liberto Rabal
The Juror (1996)
Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.3/10 X  

When Annie Laird is selected as a juror in a big Mafia trial, she is forced by someone known as "The Teacher" to persuade the other jurors to vote "not guilty". He threatens to kill her son... See full summary »

Director: Brian Gibson
Stars: Demi Moore, Alec Baldwin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Drama | Romance | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.6/10 X  

Barr is a psychiatrist who falls in love with the sister of one of his clients. She's beautiful and married (to a gangster). She hates her husband but is unable to escape from him. To avoid... See full summary »

Director: Phil Joanou
Stars: Richard Gere, Kim Basinger, Uma Thurman
Drama | Romance | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

Harry Caine, a blind writer, reaches this moment in time when he has to heal his wounds from 14 years back. He was then still known by his real name, Mateo Blanco, and directing his last movie.

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Stars: Penélope Cruz, Lluís Homar, Blanca Portillo
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Frederick Rolf ...
...
John Garson ...
Beverly May ...
Ed Crowley ...
Edit

Storyline

Samuel Lap is a young Amish boy who witnesses a murder in Philadelphia while traveling with his mother Rachel. A good cop named John Book must go with them into hiding when the killers come after them. All three retreat to Amish country and Book has to adjust to the new life style, and his feelings for the boy's mother. Of course the killers are still on their trail. Written by Greg Bole <bole@life.bio.sunysb.edu>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

amish | murder | police | train | love | See more »

Taglines:

Harrison Ford is John Book - A big city cop who knows too much. His only evidence: a small boy who's seen too much... See more »


Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

|

Release Date:

8 February 1985 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Called Home  »

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$65,500,000 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(as Dolby Stereo)

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both Harrison Ford and director Peter Weir developed such a good working relationship that Ford immediately signed on to star in Weir's next project The Mosquito Coast. See more »

Goofs

The Amish clothes are shown with buttons, men's shirts and coats. The Amish use straight pins in place of buttons, where Mennonite's use buttons on their clothes. See more »

Quotes

Rachel Lapp: Your sister says you don't have a family.
John Book: No, I don't.
Rachel Lapp: She thinks that you ought to get married and have children of your own, instead of trying to be a father to hers.
John Book: Yeah.
Rachel Lapp: Except she thinks you are afraid of the responsibility.
John Book: That's interesting... anything else?
Rachel Lapp: Mm hm... she thinks you like policing because you think you are right about everything and you're the only one who can do anything, and when you drink a lot of beer you say things like 'none of the other police know a crook from a ...
See more »

Crazy Credits

The closing shot of John Book, driving away in his car passing Daniel provides an initial backdrop for the end credits. See more »

Connections

Referenced in The Golden Girls: Witness (1991) See more »

Soundtracks

"PARTY DOWN"
Written by Alan Brackett and Scott Shelly
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

'Witness' is a remarkably intelligent movie!
29 November 2002 | by See all my reviews

Won Oscars for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, and Best Editing. Nominated for five more Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actor, Harrison Ford, and Best Director Peter Weir. Weir Directed the 'The Year of Living Dangerously', and 'The Truman Show'. After seeing it maybe 10 times, I find it is one of those infrequent stories that still draws my attention. This places it in the company of pictures like 'The Godfather', and some others which stand the test of repeat viewings over time. Kelly McGillis is the film's intelligent and talented secret weapon. Her performance makes me wonder where she is these days. She is an Amish widow from a rural Amish community. On a trip to the city her little boy witnesses a murder in the restroom of a train station. Police investigator Harrison Ford finds himself targeted along with the boy by corrupt cops in his unit that did the murder. He is hurt in a shootout and hides with the Amish. He wears Amish clothes, and labors with the men of the community as he rebuilds his strength. An attraction naturally develops between the McGillis and Ford charactors. The chemistry is remarkably intelligent, and authentically portrayed. Their worlds are seperated by a cultural gulf. They are drawn by each other, and respect one another. The contrasts are drawn clearly between the quaint honesty and almost dreamlike serenity of the Amish, and the horrible violence intruding upon them from the outside world. The resolution of the story should not be given away to someone who has not seen the movie. This film is a different kind of thriller in more ways than one. It's makers kept it intelligent, instead of resorting to another pyrotechnic joyride. -Robert Hartman-


33 of 36 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Best peformance Harrison Ford ever gave cjgalwey
question about the last shot... roger_u_04
What was their plan at the end? blando3
Cop who gets murdered in bathroom = Anthony LaPaglia?? jamesahab
who is this sister in baltimore? jeff.covey
Voice-over Removal? Did I dream it? danvhay
Discuss Witness (1985) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page