| Witness (1985) | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 113 reviews)
Sales Rank: 8994
Category: Video
Actors: Harrison Ford, Kelly Mcgillis, Josef Sommer, Lukas Haas, Jan Rubes
Director: Peter Weir
Publisher: Paramount
Studio: Paramount
Manufacturer: Paramount
Label: Paramount
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), German (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: VHS Tape
Running Time: 112 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 3.7 x 1.1
ISBN: 0792106865
UPC: 097360173635
EAN: 9786300214569
ASIN: 6300214567
Release Date: December 7, 1992
Theatrical Release Date: February 8, 1985
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com essential video
When Samuel (Lukas Haas), a young Amish boy traveling with his mother Rachel (Kelly McGillis), witnesses the murder of a police officer in a public restroom, he and his mother become the temporary wards of John Book (Harrison Ford), a detective who's been assigned to solve the crime. After suspect lineups and mug-shot books yield nothing, Samuel, in the most memorable scene of the film, recognizes the murderer as a narcotics agent whose picture he sees in the precinct. Once Book realizes that the police chief is in on it, too, he whisks Samuel and Rachel back home to Amish country, where he himself goes into hiding as a plain Amish man. The juxtaposition between the life of the Amish and the violence of inner-city police corruption work surprisingly well for the story, and Kelly McGillis as the falling in love widow gives an almost perfect performance. Directed by Peter Weir, the film is extremely successful in drawing the viewer into its world and, accordingly, is immensely entertaining. The only thing that mars its polish is the one-dimensional, almost cartoonish handling of the upper-echelon police corruption--a subtler, more realistic treatment of this aspect of the story would have rendered the film near perfect. --James McGrath
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| Customer Reviews: Read 108 more reviews...
 Is WITNESS a verb, or a noun? October 4, 2008
A boy sees something he wishes he had not seen. He is a witness to
a crime. He is Amish, as are his parents. He must be protected.
And as it turns out, he must be protected from cops gone bad.
Detective John Book takes the boy to hide out amongst the Amish,
while he tries to figure out what to do.
Book, who has been injured, is nursed back to health. And while
amongst the Amish, a relationship between him and Rachel develops,
but Rachel is supposed to marry somebody else.
In one scene, Book witnesses Rachel bathing, accidently. This
scene is a contrast with what the boy Samuel has seen. (Violence
is the immoral use of physical force. And adultery is a violent
act. Rachel is not married. She is a widow, but is this
violation of her privacy, consensual?) Book, is like a boy, when
he sees Rachel, "the girl", who he discovers is also a woman. Are
they flirting? Is he enthralled, as if gazing upon a painting? Or
is she "sexually assaulting" him? There are no witnesses here.
There is a barn scene, involving a car. John Book is fixing a
car when Rachel walks in to see him work. The car radio begins
to work. The song is, 'It's a Wonderful World'. And the lyrics
are (in part) like,
'Don't know much about algebra,
don't know what a slide rule is for.
But I did know that one and one is two,
and if this one could be with you,
what a wonderful world this would be.'
The song has a childlike simplicity. But if you think about it,
how unlike Book is in comparison to the lyrics. For Book, is
an intellectual, as his name implies. And Book, the carpenter,
must be proficient in mathematics, too. But there is some
similarity between Book and those descriptive lyrics. He does
feel a need for a "new world order" where his world and hers
could somehow co-exist, but it only seems possible within that
barn, surrounded by that song from that car radio. The Amish
are known for their renunciation of motor vehicles. And so
literally, you see two worlds colliding in that barn. Sometimes,
one and one, make one.
John Book is not singing, but lip synching the words to that song.
And he is not dancing, but "making love". It is a very intimate
scene. A man and a woman WED when they "fall in love", and they
MARRY when they lie down together. And a WEDDING CEREMONY falls
between a WEDDING and a MARRIAGE. A wedding ceremony is foreplay.
And that is what it looks like, a wedding ceremony, one that is
interupted by the reality that their make-believe world cannot last.
It's a barn, and that's the car he will be driving out in, when the
radio stops playing, and their world crashes. Like Cinderella at
her fairy tale Dance, the music will stop. Soap bubbles tend to
implode.
The movie is in colour, but it is black and white, as in good versus
evil. In one scene, an elderly man tells Samuel that what he takes
into his hand he takes into his heart. He is speaking of the gun
Samuel was caught with. But it is not good advice. For the same
elderly man asks Book to milk a cow. God did not tell the man in the
Garden that he could not touch the forbidden fruit, but that he was
not to eat (or accept) it. A gun can be a paper weight, or a grizzly
bear repellant. Later, Book takes hold of a lever, and pulls it. His
intention is to save the life of Samuel. What is in your heart will
determine how you touch, handle, or use an object. In the end, John
and Rachel seem resigned to the fact that they are as two stars in a
constellation, light years apart. Sometimes, one and one make two,
and not, One. But John and Rachel, light years apart, will always be
a binary star system. For sometimes, 1 + 1 = 1.
Lyrics:
Now I don't claim to be an 'A' student,
but I'm tryin' to be.
Or maybe he is leaving her because she "flashed" him? As he says
to another woman: "Lady, if you take my picture again, I'm going
to rip off your brassiere and strangle you with it".
One disturbing fact: Why is it that Book is the only one in this
Amish community concerned about making toys for boys to PLAY with?
The Amish men are quite, and industrious, as if they are robots.
And the movie begins with a widow and her child. I guess the Amish,
like the Japanese, also know about "Karoshi" (overwork).
 Witness August 14, 2008
Witness (Special Collector's Edition)(Widescreen)
A DVD to be appreciated and enjoyed as a Collector's item.
Y.A. Howe
Milestone June 18, 2008
A favorite of mine. Viewed so much lost count and will again. Knew nothing of Amish until this and the whole thing works brilliantly. Set the standard for others to follow and does not date. Harrison Ford could not have been better.
Witness, happy to get the Special Collector's Edition June 17, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
My mother bought this movie around 1985 on VHS I think. I hadn't seen it at the theater so I was impressed when I saw it on TV the first time and sorry I had missed it on the big screen. Eventually she replaced her VHS with DVD and so I never bought a copy since I could borrow hers. I'm not waiting any longer to get my own copy with this edition at such an incredible price. Ford, Haas, McGillis, and the rest the cast are exceptional in this movie. The story, acting, sets, music and directing are above most movies and the majority of people will see that clearly. Imagine a young boy witnessing a murder of a police officer and then being pursued by unknown forces. A detective, played by Ford, assigned to his case finds they have opened a can of worms. There is a distinct smell of police corruption as they are pursued by other officers. The beautiful scenes like the barn raising in the Amish community are great with a real feel of their culture and life. Excellent quality DVD with tons of extras. Excellent replayability. I also recommend getting Amazon Prime if you buy much at Amazon since it will more than pay you back not only in shipping costs but delivery time too. If you enjoyed this catch "Narrow Margin", "The Client", "Witness Protection", and even "Eraser" for some Schwarzenegger style witness protection. - C. Luster
Witness to a Great Movie June 11, 2008
Witness is a phenominal movie. It is interesting, exciting, and portrays well, for the most part, life within the Amish community. They do a good job of interfacing the simpler lives of the Amish with the insanity that is modern life for most of us. Harrison Ford is always a pleasure to watch; Kelly McGillis is excellent. Lucas Haas in his premier role as the witness is amazing.
One of the most well-worth it scenes is the barn raising. Not only are the visuals excellent, but the music... the music is magical. You can't watch this and not be moved by the truly incredible music.
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