Witness (1985)
Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Josef Sommer
A young Amish boy, visiting Philadelphia with his widowed mother, witnesses a murder. When the detective on the case discovers a police cover up, he realizes his, the boy's and the mother's lives are in jeopardy. He hides out in Amish country, living amongst the community and having to abide by thei... (read more) A young Amish boy, visiting Philadelphia with his widowed mother, witnesses a murder. When the detective on the case discovers a police cover up, he realizes his, the boy's and the mother's lives are in jeopardy. He hides out in Amish country, living amongst the community and having to abide by their peaceful customs. Things get more complicated when he falls in love with the young widow. But, soon the idyllic life is shattered when the villains discover his whereabouts.
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R, 1 hr. 52 min.
Directed by:
Peter Weir
Release Date: Feb 08, 1985
DVD Release Date: Jun 29, 1999
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It wouldn't be a movie with Amish if I didn't have a barn raising and talk of shunning.
An almost Disney like "fish out of water" tale of cultures clashing. Add a dash of Ford, an evil Glover and an early role for Mortensen to make a classic 80's cop flick.
i don't check out that many 80s films these days, but i'm glad my friend recommended this one. it's a measured and sensitively made thriller which i also found quite touching. it was good seeing another strong film with harrison ford in the lead. unf... (read more) i don't check out that many 80s films these days, but i'm glad my friend recommended this one. it's a measured and sensitively made thriller which i also found quite touching. it was good seeing another strong film with harrison ford in the lead. unfortunately the fully-synthesised score does date the film significantly.
Listen, lady, you take my picture and I'm going to rip off your brassiere and strangle you with it." was one of my favourite scene from Ford in this movie.To me, this was more of a love story, a forbidden romance than a cop drama as the story unfolds... (read more) Listen, lady, you take my picture and I'm going to rip off your brassiere and strangle you with it." was one of my favourite scene from Ford in this movie.To me, this was more of a love story, a forbidden romance than a cop drama as the story unfolds. Ford was fine in Raiders and yes he still puts up a decent performance here. I find the romance between the characters Book and Rachel is not convincing enough. Kelly Mcgilis was not making any effort here
I quite enjoyed this film old film. It's pretty basic and doesn't tend to go too overboard. It'd be interesting to learn what the Amish community would think about a certain aspect of this film.
I'm sure it seemed really creepy at the time, but there are much better suspense movies out there. The bit that was supposed to be the big scary payoff was over too fast.
Great crime plot, but overall ends up being a documentary on Amish life. Really too bad.
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