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Continuing his ongoing fascination with outsiders and marginalized cultures, Australian director Peter Weir made a successful transition to American filmmaking with a boundary-stretching thriller. A Philadelphia detective (Harrison Ford) is forced to take refuge with an Amish family when a murder involving police corruption is witnessed by one of the community's children (Lukas Haas). While the film's opening and closing passages provide plenty of action and nail-biting suspense, the heart of the movie focuses on a touching romance between Ford, the awkward outsider, and Kelly McGillis, as an assured but lonely widow. Witness builds tension not only through its thriller plot but also by constantly playing off the natural conflict between modern society and the isolated, tradition-bound Amish. Thanks to Weir's feeling for behavior and his inspired eye for landscapes, the film is strongest in passages involving silent actions and interactions, saving the dialogue for mere exposition. Beautifully photographed, with a moral and romantic depth rarely touched on in most suspense movies, Witness is one of those rare genre films that appeals equally to both male and female audiences. Amy Robinson

All Movie Guide

In Peter Weir's thriller Witness, Samuel (Lukas Haas), a young Amish boy, witnesses a murder in the restroom of a Philadelphia bus station. Harrison Ford stars as John Book, the police detective investigating the murder. When Book discovers that the crime was part of a conspiracy involving several officials in his department, he flees Philadelphia to the Amish community where Samuel lives with his widowed mother, Rachel (Kelly McGillis). Slowly assimilating himself into the Amish community, Book eventually finds himself falling in love with Rachel in the midst of his investigation. Eventually, the corrupt police track Book down, and he is forced to confront them, while also trying to protect Rachel and Samuel. Matthew Tobey

Product Details

• UPC: 097360309546
• Source: PARAMOUNT
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Editions: Special Edition, Subtitled
• Time: 1:52:00
• Sales Rank: 7,956

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Harrison Ford Triple Feature

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