Witness (1985)

Director:

Peter Weir

Writers:

William Kelley (story) and
Pamela Wallace (story) ...

Release Date:

8 February 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Blood | Buggy | Female Nudity | Cop | Kiss

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 25 nominations

Cast

Harrison Ford	...	Det. Capt. John Book
Kelly McGillis	...	Rachel Lapp
Josef Sommer	...	Chief Paul Schaeffer
Lukas Haas	...	Samuel Lapp
Jan Rubes	...	Eli Lapp
Alexander Godunov	...	Daniel Hochleitner
Danny Glover	...	Det. Lt. James McFee
Brent Jennings	...	Det. Sgt. Elden Carter
Patti LuPone	...	Elaine
Angus MacInnes	...	Det. 'Fergie'
Frederick Rolf	...	Stoltzfus
Viggo Mortensen	...	Moses Hochleitner
John Garson	...	Bishop Tchantz
Beverly May	...	Mrs. Yoder
Ed Crowley	...	Sheriff

Also Known As:

Called Home (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R (certificate #27540) | Australia:M | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Ireland:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The song for the "serenade" scene, "Wonderful World" by Sam Cooke, was selected by Harrison Ford himself. Director Peter Weir said that since Ford had to sing and dance to it, he should be able to choose which song he wanted to use for that scene.

Goofs:

When the Philadelphia cops are talking on the phone to the cops in Lancaster, first the Lancaster cop pronounces Lancaster (lank aster) like we natives do, but in the next breath, he pronounces it LANcaster like everyone outside a 25 mile radius does. Is he local or isn't he?

Quotes:

Eli Lapp: If you are well enough to do that, can you work for me?
John Book: Yeah, how can I help?
Eli Lapp: Milking, maybe.
John Book: Milking.
Eli Lapp: Yes, you know, cows.
John Book: Yeah. I've seen pictures.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Ten (2007)

Soundtrack:

(WHAT A)WONDERFUL WORLD

As good as film-making gets

I've seen hundreds, maybe thousands, of films, and when asked which is my favorite my decision keeps coming back to "Witness," Australian director Peter Weir's masterpiece. Fabulously acted, beautifully photographed . . . it's just perfect. Outside of the well-known stars (Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Danny Glover) look for brilliant work from Josef Sommers and an amazingly understated performance by the late Alexander Godunov.