Witness

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Weir directs. John Seale behind the camera. Maurice Jarre scores. Thom Noble cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in German, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Made its money back 9.7× over at the box office.
• 241 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
• 3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: German, English.
• 4Directed by Peter Weir, shot by John Seale. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by Maurice Jarre. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor Thom Noble shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis and Josef Sommer carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "A big city cop. A small country boy. They have nothing in common... but a murder.".
• 9IMDB entry: tt0090329 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Classified under 17 themes, including "police brutality", "philadelphia, pennsylvania", "corruption", "pennsylvania, usa".
• 11Released under 12 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography

John Seale

Original score

Maurice Jarre

Editing

Thom Noble

Production design

Stan Jolley

Makeup / hair

Leland V. Crawford

Sound

Robert Glass

Stunt coordinator

Glenn R. Wilder

Runtime

112 min · 1h 52m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$12,000,000

Box office

$116,107,459

Return

968% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Witness (1985) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

92% 🍅 Fresh

Metacritic

76/100

IMDB rating

7.3/10 · 113,048 votes

MPAA

R

Also by

Peter Weir

• 
  Dead Poets Society

  1989 · ★ 8.3
• 
  The Truman Show

  1998 · ★ 8.2
• 
  Three to Go

  1971 · ★ 7.5
• 
  Picnic at Hanging Rock

  1975 · ★ 7.2
• 
  Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

  2003 · ★ 7.2
• 
  Gallipoli

  1981 · ★ 7.1

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Original Trailer

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  Trailer

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  Witness Wins Film Editing: 1986 Oscars

  Featurette · Official
• 

  ▶
  Out of Africa and Witness Win Writing Awards: 1986 Oscars

  Featurette · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• John Chard2019-01-20
  ★ 9/10

  As 80s thrillers go it's pretty smart to say the least. The formula of this thriller (Drama) is not (was) new or even flag bearing as regards action set pieces and hide behind your hands suspense, yet it is still one of a kind for the genre and the decade it came from. The plot is a sizzler as it involves the central theme of outsiders who are considered outside of the mainstream norm. To have a thriller involving the Amish community not only brings into focus how different folks' beliefs can be, but to also hit home at just how ignorant many are to the ways of minorities and what they stand for. So many great things about the movie stand out. Harrison Ford is perfect, yes it's a perfect performance, his John Book is gruff and rugged yet as the story moves on he nails the endearment and knowing traits that the character calls for. Kelly McGillis is an actress who I feel drags down nearly all the films she leads in, yet here I forgive her because she is marvellous as Rachael, an Amish woman fighting her inner feelings as much as she is the bad outside world that wants to hurt her son. Peter Weir IMHO is one of the most under praised modern day directors around (yes even now), and here his deft hands put the story together adroitly, whilst John Searle's cinematography is gorgeous and out of the top draw. It's an almost perfect movie as regards acting and the process of making a film, I do however fly in the face of popular opinion as regards the score, it doesn't work for me (I'm sad to say), Maurice Jarre's drawn out synth seems to me out of place for the setting we are watching, I personally would have liked a more subtle string arrangement - but that is me... For those looking for a first time viewing in the Drama/Thriller genre then they can do no worse than seek this one out. It delivers on a plot front, and the ending doesn't pander to studio yearnings either. 9/10 The S/E DVD has a wonderful making of feature that is crammed full of quality input, and for Ford worshippers such as I, it contains none aloof input from the legend himself, that alone was worth the 5 Euros it cost me for this cracking film.

  Read full review ↓
• GenerationofSwine2023-01-13
  ★ 10/10

  My Fiance is a Millennial and I've been trying to get her and her friends to watch some classic films. Some, Taxi Driver, Chinatown, The Godfather, Godfellas, The Princess Bride, Blazing Saddles were epic fails for a variety of reasons. Witness actually stood the Millennial taste test for some reason, and this is significant because it is really hard to get them to watch or listen to anything that is older than 4 years. That says something, I'm not sure what, but it was a film that they actually sat through. It is also one of the tightest scripts Hollywood has produced, which is saying something since it was released in 1985 following almost a decade of the best movies that Hollywood has ever produced. It's pure story, and that story is backed up with acting and directing making for a beautiful picture all around.

  Read full review ↓
• Filipe Manuel Neto2024-06-02
  ★ 8/10

  An action film mixed with a guided tour of an Amish community. Here in Portugal, there are few religions other than the Catholic Church and there are no Amish, Mennonite or similar communities. Therefore, this curious religious community is an object of fascination for me and also of renunciation: to explain further, I radically disagree with their religious conceptions, I would never be part of such a religious congregation and, however, I find it fascinating, in today's world, the idea of ​​trying to have a simpler life, without excessive technology and in greater harmony with the natural rhythm. It would be a lifestyle that I wouldn't mind trying, even though I knew I would have difficulty adapting and living without access to the technologies that I work and entertain myself with. In this film, we follow a police officer who, upon discovering a case of corruption in the ranks, finds himself on the verge of having to disappear to avoid being killed and to protect the only witness to a crime in which another police officer was murdered: an Amish boy who lives with his mother, a widow, and his maternal grandfather, in an isolated rural area that is not very receptive to visits from “the English” (as some of them call to the normal people in this film). In the midst of all this, the film shows us the habits, beliefs and customs of these strict religious communities who, out of appreciation for humility and simplicity, renounced everything that could be a luxury and live stoically from subsistence agriculture. I won't go into considerations about the verisimilitude of the plot, but I believe that the script made an effort to create a convincing and reasonable story that we can believe in. It won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, which means something. What I can say is that, although the film is engaging, there are aspects that could be improved: the identity of the killers and villains could be kept a mystery for longer and, on the other hand, their motivations don't seem clear enough for me. Another aspect that was not clear was the fate of the young Amish widow's husband. The tension created between her and the congregation's elders could have been better explored, as well as the community's acceptance/rejection of the police officer. Directed by Peter Weir, the film had serious difficulties in finding a studio willing to commit money to the project, and did not have great support from the Amish community, which not only rejects the capture of images but also fears being invaded by crowds of curious, eager of souvenirs and photographs. Technically, the film is exceptional: in addition to the good cinematography, excellent editing (another Oscar that won) and good action scenes, we have good sets and costumes, which perfectly recreate the environment in which the Amish live, and their simple ways of living. Negative note: Kelly McGillis's nude scene, in addition to being out of place in the film, doesn't fit into the story and seems gratuitous. After many fantastic and sci-fi films, Harrison Ford got a different work, in a style that he would invest heavily in over the following decades: the action hero, with a pistol in hand and willing to do anything to save the day. The actor seems to be completely at ease with the task and gives us excellent work, fully deserving the Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Kelly McGillis doesn't do so well, but she does what needs to be done and doesn't deserve a negative rating. Danny Glover is a convincing villain.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Paramount Pictures

  US

Key crew

• ProducerEdward S. Feldman
• EditorThom Noble
• Foley EditorPamela Bentkowski
• PublicistMichael Klastorin
• Location ManagerMichael John Meehan
• HairstylistLeland V. Crawford
• First Assistant DirectorDavid McGiffert
• Costume SupervisorShari Feldman
• Script SupervisorHope Williams
• ADR SupervisorFred Stafford
• Costume SupervisorDallas D. Dornan
• Production ManagerTed Swanson
• Hair SupervisorBette Iverson
• Second Assistant DirectorPamela M. Eilerson
• Foley EditorAllan Bromberg
• Assistant EditorJoan E. Chapman
• Makeup SupervisorMichael Hancock
• CostumerPaula Cain
• CostumerMichael W. Hoffman
• Color TimerBob Noland
• Set DesignerCraig Edgar
• Supervising Music EditorRichard Stone
• Boom OperatorForrest Williams
• Construction CoordinatorRobert Krume

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• police brutality
• philadelphia, pennsylvania
• corruption
• pennsylvania, usa
• detective
• amish
• witness to murder
• barn raising
• silo
• thoughtful
• reflective
• lancaster, pa
• complex
• introspective
• intense
• romantic
• empathetic

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1985-02-08R

Also known as

International titles

• A TestemunhaBR
• 目击者CN
• 灭口大追杀CN
• СвидетельRU
• Vittne till mordSE
• साक्षीIN
• Único testigoES
• 刑事ジョン・ブック／目撃者JP
• Vitne til mordNO
• 证人CN
• Témoin sous surveillanceCA
• Témoin sous surveillanceFR