Witness (1985)

Réalisateur:

Peter Weir

Writers:

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

Release Date:

8 février 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drame | Romance | Thriller

Accroche:

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 | Cop | Kiss | Lancaster County | Buggy

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 25 nominations

Avis des utilisateurs:

One Of The Best Crime Moves Ever

Ensemble

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

Autre(s) titre(s) :

Called Home (USA) (working title)
Témoin sous surveillance (Canada: French title) [fr]
Witness: Témoin sous surveillance (France) [fr]

Durée:

112 min

Pays:

USA

Langue:

Anglais | Allemand

Couleur:

Couleur (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Son:

Dolby

Classification:

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

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

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

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Anecdotes:

The "evening serenade" scene in the barn, in which Book and Rachel dance, was actually filmed during the day in the heat of the summer. The barn was blacked out and sealed, and that's why both Ford and McGillis perspire so much in that scene. The kerosene lantern they had added even more heat.

Goofs:

Continuity: John Book's Volkswagen hit the birdhouse and broke its windshield. Later the car is seen in the barn with an unbroken windshield.

Guillemet:

Tourist Lady: [Book is in town with Eli. Eli and the other Amish are trying to avoid the tourists with cameras] Hi! We're just here for the day, would you mind...
John Book: Lady, you take my picture with that thing and I'm gonna rip your brassiere off... and strangle you with it! You got that?
Tourist Lady: [in disbelief, to no one in particular] Did you hear what that Amish just said to me?

Connexions De Film:

Referenced in "Due South: The Witness (#2.3)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

SHOCKING BEHAVIOR

One Of The Best Crime Moves Ever

You want to know how to make a successful movie? Just look here. You have tremendous suspense, a top-flight popular actor as the hero, a touching romance story, plenty of action, a different kind of setting than normal, people you care about, nice photography, very moral and very immoral people, a little humor.....I mean, this is how it's done.

I also appreciated seeing Amish people (of which I am not) portrayed in a better light than secular Hollywood usually puts them. I also liked the wholesome female lead Kelly McGillis (although she was the only Amish character out of character, a bit loose than what you would ever find) and who didn't think young Lukas Haas was the cutest kid they ever saw on film?

Harrison Ford gives a typical solid performance as John Book, a Philadelphia detective who winds up protecting the young boy ("Samuel Lapp"), his mom (McGillis as "Rachel Lapp") and others against crooked cops (Hollywood's favorite kind). Along the way, he is near-fatally shot and winds up being cared for and living in the Amish community in which the Lapps reside. During that time, we also have the blossoming romance between the two leads and then a dramatic shootout at the end when the cops find out where "Book" is staying.

There are many memorable scenes in this movie, from the boy hiding in the bathroom stall as a murder takes place; Ford slugging some goon who was making fun of the Amish; Ford and McGillis dancing in the hayloft to an old rock 'n roll tune; the Amish lifestyles and the raising of the barn; and the suspenseful ending.

This is a great stuff: one of the best crime stories of the "modern age" and one of the few "R-rated" films that reached this high a popularity.