Witness (1985)

When 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:

Peter Weir

Writers:

William Kelley (story by), Pamela Wallace (story by)

Stars:

Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Lukas Haas

Won 2 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

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 a 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.

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Plot Keywords:

amish | murder | train | love | police | 

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Taglines:

8 year old Samuel: sole witness to a murder. Three killers who'll stop at nothing to silence him. One honest cop who'll give his life to save him...

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lynne Littman was originally in line to direct.

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Goofs

Most Pennsylvania natives don't pronounce Lancaster as others do, that being pronouncing it as it's spelled. The majority of native Pennsylvanians pronounce it "lan-kiss-ter". However, this is not how they pronounce it in the movie.

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Quotes

Rachel Lapp: Are you enjoying your reading?
John Book: Oh yeah. I'm learning a lot about manure. Very interesting.

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Crazy Credits

For Tom Scott. Scott was a member of the casting department on Witness.

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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.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood Greats: Harrison Ford (2006)

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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 Reviews

One Of The Best Crime Moves Ever

You want to know how to make a successful movie? Just look here. You have tremendous suspense, a top-flight popular actor as the hero, a touching romance story, plenty of action, a different kind of setting than normal, people you care about, nice photography, very moral and very immoral people, a little humor.....I mean, this is how it's done.

I also appreciated seeing Amish people (of which I am not) portrayed in a better light than secular Hollywood usually puts them. I also liked the wholesome female lead Kelly McGillis (although she was the only Amish character out of character, a bit loose than what you would ever find) and who didn't think young Lukas Haas was the cutest kid they ever saw on film?

Harrison Ford gives a typical solid performance as John Book, a Philadelphia detective who winds up protecting the young boy ("Samuel Lapp"), his mom (McGillis as "Rachel Lapp") and others against crooked cops (Hollywood's favorite kind). Along the way, he is near-fatally shot and winds up being cared for and living in the Amish community in which the Lapps reside. During that time, we also have the blossoming romance between the two leads and then a dramatic shootout at the end when the cops find out where "Book" is staying.

There are many memorable scenes in this movie, from the boy hiding in the bathroom stall as a murder takes place; Ford slugging some goon who was making fun of the Amish; Ford and McGillis dancing in the hayloft to an old rock 'n roll tune; the Amish lifestyles and the raising of the barn; and the suspenseful ending.

This is a great stuff: one of the best crime stories of the "modern age" and one of the few "R-rated" films that reached this high a popularity.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

8 February 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Called Home

Filming Locations:

30th Street Station - 3001 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,539,990, 10 February 1985

Gross USA:

$68,706,993

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$68,706,993

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Edward S. Feldman Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (as Dolby Stereo)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1