Take a look back at these Hollywood icons in their early days to see how far they've come in their careers—and how little they've visibly aged.
Related lists from IMDb users
Title: Witness (1985)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Harrison Ford | ... | John Book | |
| Kelly McGillis | ... | Rachel | |
| Josef Sommer | ... | Schaeffer | |
| Lukas Haas | ... | Samuel | |
| Jan Rubes | ... | Eli Lapp | |
| Alexander Godunov | ... | Daniel Hochleitner | |
| Danny Glover | ... | McFee | |
| Brent Jennings | ... | Carter | |
| Patti LuPone | ... | Elaine | |
| Angus MacInnes | ... | Fergie | |
 |
Frederick Rolf | ... | Stoltzfus |
| Viggo Mortensen | ... | Moses Hochleitner | |
|
|
John Garson | ... | Bishop Tchantz |
|
|
Beverly May | ... | Mrs. Yoder |
| Ed Crowley | ... | Sheriff | |
An 8 year old Amish boy and his mother are traveling to Philadelphia, on their way to visit the mother's sister. While waiting at the train station, the young boy witnesses a brutal murder inside one of the bathroom stalls. Police detective John Book is assigned to investigate the murder of the man, who was an undercover cop. Soon after, Book finds out that he's in great danger when the culprits know about his investigation and hides out in the Amish community. There, he learns the way of living among the Amish locals, which consists of non-violence and agriculture. Book soon starts a romance with the mother of the little boy, but their romance is forbidden by the Amish standards. But, it's not long before the bad guys find out Book's whereabouts. Written by blazesnakes9
I would like to clear up a couple of comments made by movieguy1021, who wrote:
"One thing I didn't understand is how come everyone seemed to use such strong accents yet they've been living in America for a long time."
Most Amish communities mainly speak Pennsylvania Dutch, which is a dialect of German, hence the accents in the film. Amish children learn English in school.
And:
"Also, although I may not be the end-all, be-all of Amish knowledge, it seems like for people so strict in their rules, they broke them easily. They didn't seem to object to riding in trains or cars, or even using technology."
The Amish accept some forms of modernisation as long as it is not deemed disruptive to their social structure. Some forms of primitive technology are accepted in their community, such as devices that assist with milking cows. Likewise they accept rides in cars, but members of the community cannot own them.