Witness (1985)
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A police detective must protect an Amish woman and her son after the boy witnesses a brutal murder.
The story
In an Amish community outside Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a young boy named Samuel witnesses the murder of an undercover police officer at a train station in Philadelphia. The boy is unable to identify the perpetrator from standard police procedures, but he identifies a narcotics officer from a newspaper clipping. The detective assigned to the case, John Book, realizes the officer is involved in a drug conspiracy and is subsequently ambushed. To protect the boy and his mother, Rachel, Book must go into hiding within the secluded Amish community, where he must navigate their distinct culture while evading the corrupt officers seeking to silence the witness.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After being wounded in an ambush by the corrupt narcotics officer James McFee, Detective John Book takes the witness, an Amish boy named Samuel, and his mother, Rachel, to a farm in Pennsylvania. Book hides among the Amish, eventually developing a romantic connection with Rachel while the community accepts him for his skills as a carpenter. Meanwhile, the corrupt officers, including Lieutenant McFee and Sergeant Ferguson, and their accomplice Chief Paul Schaeffer, search for Book. The tension peaks when the officers raid the farm and take Rachel and her father-in-law hostage. Book manages to neutralize the henchmen, and when the officer Schaeffer threatens Rachel, Samuel rings a bell, alerting the entire community. The sheer number of witnesses forces Schaeffer to surrender. Book eventually leaves for Philadelphia, having successfully protected the family.
- First release year
- 1985
- Runtime (minutes)
- 112
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Peter Weir
- Writers
- Earl W. Wallace · screenplay; William Kelley · screenplay; William Kelley · story; Pamela Wallace · story; Earl W. Wallace · story
- Cast and characters
- Harrison Ford · John Book; Kelly McGillis · Rachel; Viggo Mortensen · Amish man
- Genres
- neo-noir; crime thriller
- Themes
- intersection of contrasting cultures; redemption
- Tone and mood
- gentle; affecting; thriller
- Setting
- An Amish community in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and a train station in Philadelphia.
- Premise and plot tags
- Amish; police investigation; witness protection
- Source material / true-story basis
- Original screenplay by Earl W. Wallace and William Kelley
- Reception
- The film received critical acclaim, particularly for Harrison Ford's performance, and became a sleeper hit.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 92% · scale: percentage · review count: 49; Metacritic · score: 76 · scale: 100 · review count: 14
- Awards and nominations
- Best Original Screenplay · Writers Guild of America Award · win
- Production trivia
- The film was originally titled 'Called Home'.; The script was originally 182 pages long.; The film was used as a symbol of the power of ordinary citizens in the book 'Getting to Peace'.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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