Released in 1985, Witness is one of Harrison Ford’s best films, although it is often not one of the first that come to mind when his name is mentioned. Alongside a cast including Kelly McGillis, Alexander Godunov, with the relatively then-unknown Danny Glover and Viggo Mortensen in smaller roles, the film still holds up 40 years later, and Arrow Video have done the usual wonderful job in delivering an all bells and whistles version of it to the UK after being released in the USA several months earlier.
Following the death of her husband, young widow Rachel leaves her Amish community to travel to Baltimore with her young son, Samuel, to visit her sister. Due to a three-hour delay at a change in Philadelphia, Sam accidentally witnesses a murder in the men’s toilets, but manages to escape without the culprits seeing him. The victim, it turns out, was an undercover police officer, and Detective John Book, played by Ford, has the job of protecting Rachel and Samuel. At the police station, Samuel notices a photo of one of the killers, and the framed newspaper article shows that he was a Lieutenant being awarded for his work in a narcotics bust, confirming Book’s suspicion of police corruption.
With nowhere else to run, Book returns with Rachel and Samuel to her Amish home, staying as a guardian to them. At first, the locals don’t trust him, as he arrived carrying a firearm, but as time goes on, he falls in love with their peaceful way of life, the sense of community he never felt in the city, and possibly with Rachel herself.
It might sound cheesy, but it’s a terrific thriller, with a few chuckles along the way, though not at the expense of the Amish lifestyle. With great performances from all involved, lush cinematography, and a terrific score from Maurice Jarre, each component enhances Peter Weir’s US directorial debut to make it a fantastic piece of cinema.
Picture quality on this release is generally good, if sometimes looking a bit washed out, but sometimes striking, showing some truly beautiful shots of the Amish life. Scenes featuring the unique Pennsylvania Dutch language feature player-generated subtitles.
Here are three English soundtracks: DTS-HD 5.1, Theatrical Dolby Stereo and a Home Video mix, though I couldn’t tell any difference with the latter two. The 5.1 mix is nice to have, though not exceptional, but it opens up the soundscape of the train station and the Amish countryside effectively. One thing worth noting is that all film soundtracks are noticeably quieter than the Special Features, so be prepared if you’re using headphones to watch this.
As usual, Arrow have supplied Special Features in abundance.
Australian historian Jarret Gahan provides an informative commentary, mentioning that this was originally planned as a TV movie, talks about Amish representation in other films and pretty much everything from its conception to it’s 1986 Oscar win for Best Screenplay. It’s a great listen.
Cinematographer John Searle is interviewed in ‘Eye Of The Witness’, where he talks about how 17th-century Dutch paintings inspired him in his staging choices. Show Don’t Tell looks at the body language in the film, where emotions are expressed purely physically, not verbally. Some of it is stating the obvious, but the whole it is worth the 15 minutes of your time.
There are vintage featurettes included, including archive interviews with Ford, Peter Weir, and Kelly McGillis, a scene that was added to the TV version, a trailer and a still gallery.
The jewel in this special feature section is Between Two Worlds – The Making Of Witness, a 67-minute, 5-part documentary covering nearly all aspects of creating it. Featuring input from all the key players, including a now grown-up Lucas Haas, it’s a terrific watch. McGillis in particular, is brilliant, saying how she lied about her Amish knowledge to get the role, and how she was waitressing when she found out she had been cast, and living with an Amish family, including seven children, to get the mood of her character. The troubles of filming in a real Amish settlement are discussed and so much more. There is no padding here, just fascination technique discussions and lots of terrific on-set anecdotes.
Witness is currently available as a limited edition in Blu-Ray and 4K UHD versions, each housed in a hard case with a 60-page book of essays, a reversible poster and six postcards. As usual, editions without the physical extras will be available once sales of the limited edition start to dwindle.
FILM – 8 PICTURE – 8 AUDIO – 6 EXTRAS – 10
Many thanks to Steve Wells for this in-depth review.
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