Witness (Special Collector's Edition)(Widescreen)

Witness (Special Collector's Edition)(Widescreen)
by Peter Weir

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DVD details

Actor: Harrison Ford, Jan Rubes, Josef Sommer, Kelly McGillis, Lukas Haas
Director: Peter Weir
Brand: PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO
Cinematographer: John Seale
Producer: David Bombyk
Producer: Edward S. Feldman
Producer: Wendy Stites
Writer: Earl W. Wallace
Writer: Pamela Wallace
Writer: William Kelley
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; German (Original Language); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Special Edition
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 112 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-08-23
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Paramount

DVD Reviews of Witness (Special Collector's Edition)(Widescreen)

DVD Review: Witness (Special Collector's Edition)(Widescreen)
Summary: 5 Stars

Young Amish widow Rachel Lapp is taking her young son Samuel to Philadelphia for the first time. While in a washroom at the train station, Samuel sees two men savagely murder a third. The detective assigned to the homicide case is Det. John Book who informs them that the murdered man was a police officer. It isn't long before the young boy fingers Philadelphia narcotics officer McFee as the murderer. Book soon discovers that McFee was involved in the theft of something called P2P, an ingredient used in the making of methamphetamine. Shortly after Book tells his boss this information, McFee comes after Book and wounds him in a shootout. Book determines that the best way to avoid detection is to blend in with the Amish community, which he does, working with them on their farms and helping with building a new barn. But the corrupt cops Book has exposed are determined to keep their dirty work a secret, and they come looking for Book and Samuel to silence them for good. Harrison Ford gives a solid performance as John Book. I also liked the wholesome female lead Kelly McGillis. A highly satisfying, richly themed, and multifacted and topnotch movie which is well worth watching.

DVD Review: Terrific
Summary: 5 Stars

Please note that I saw this movie on HBO recently so I can't comment on the quality of the video transfer.

I just saw this movie again after 25 years and it held up very well. In fact, looking back now from 35 years after the first Star Wars movie, witness is my pick for Harrison Ford's best performance ever. At this time in his career, only a few years after the last Star Wars trilogy movie was made, that was almost all he had done until Witness. In a startlingly nuanced and sensitive performance it's hard to imagine that you're even seeing the same guy who played the macho, devil-may-care Han Solo. McGillis is also great and up till then she had only appeared in a one or two movies, and mainly a TV serial, if I remember right.

The drama and tension builds in the clash and contrast between the two cultures. Despite himself, Ford is drawn into the Amish way of life even as he runs from the corrupt cops who are chasing him. The Amish way of life is portrayed well, I think, without sentimentalizing it or idealizing it. It has many advantages that the outside world lacks--the support of friends and family, similar values, a close-knit community, the homogeneity of religious beliefs, and their peaceful, pacifistic ways. Speaking of which, the scene in which Ford beats the snot out of a couple of arrogant townies who are insulting the Amish (not realizing Ford is a tough cop), was pretty cool. Wished I'd been there to help because I hate bullies. :-)

The tension and the drama build up to a very satisfying climax and director Weir shows a very firm and confident hand with his material in this movie, only his second for the American market.

DVD Review: One of the best movies in years
Summary: 5 Stars

This is a great movie. Had to purchase my own copy before it was no longer available as the movie is almost 25 years old. I personally think this was one of the best movies Harrison Ford ever made.
I'm sure I've already seen it 1,000 times and I know I 'll watch it many more.

DVD Review: Witness
Summary: 5 Stars

The movie provided everything I expected.A good insight was given in the everydqy way of Amish life.

DVD Review: Perfect acting by Harrison Ford.
Summary: 5 Stars

This may be the best acting performance in the career of Harrison Ford. It is a tie with his performance in Blade Runner.

Description of Witness (Special Collector's Edition)(Widescreen)

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.

When Samuel (Lukas Haas), a young Amish boy traveling with his mother Rachel (Kelly McGillis), witnesses the murder of a police officer in a public restroom, he and his mother become the temporary wards of John Book (Harrison Ford), a detective who's been assigned to solve the crime. After suspect lineups and mug-shot books yield nothing, Samuel, in the most memorable scene of the film, recognizes the murderer as a narcotics agent whose picture he sees in the precinct. Once Book realizes that the police chief is in on it, too, he whisks Samuel and Rachel back home to Amish country, where he himself goes into hiding as a plain Amish man. The juxtaposition between the life of the Amish and the violence of inner-city police corruption work surprisingly well for the story, and Kelly McGillis as the falling in love widow gives an almost perfect performance. Directed by Peter Weir, the film is extremely successful in drawing the viewer into its world and, accordingly, is immensely entertaining. The only thing that mars its polish is the one-dimensional, almost cartoonish handling of the upper-echelon police corruption--a subtler, more realistic treatment of this aspect of the story would have rendered the film near perfect. --James McGrath

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