Harrison Ford in Witness on DVD
Director Peter Weir Combines Two Separate Worlds Through Romance
Jul 18, 2008
Winner of Academy Awards for best original screenplay and film editing, Witness combines a nearly perfect blend of action and romance. The story depicts two cultures colliding when John Book (Harrison Ford), a tough Philadelphia police detective, is assigned a case in which a young Amish boy (Lukas Haas) witnesses an undercover police officer being murdered at a train station. The boy’s mother, Rachel (Kelly McGillis), a recent widow, wants no part of big-city laws or handsome police detectives.
A Witness in Danger
When the boy identifies the killer as another policeman (Danny Glover), John realizes that the boy, his mother, and he are in immediate danger from a corrupt police department headed by his former partner (Josef Sommer). After taking a bullet in the torso, John sets out for Amish territory to return the pair home safely. When his injury incapacitates him, John must remain with the Amish until his wounds heal (through bed rest and some nasty tea) and he devises a plan for dealing with the inter-departmental corruption.
In order to disguise himself from outsiders (including gawking tourists and townsfolk who torment the Amish), John also dons plain clothing with no buttons, frills, designer styles, or individuality. Masking his rugged appeal, however, only makes him that much more enticing to Rachel, who lives in a fairly isolated location with her son and cranky father-in-law (Jan Rubes).
Peter Weir’s Painterly Scenes
Before long, John and Rachel cast longing glances at each other, most notably during her late-night sponge bath in front of an open door. In addition to their cultural differences, her quick-to-shun clan and would-be suitor (Alexander Godunov) pressure her to send John back to the city as soon as possible.
Australian director Peter Weir (The Year of Living Dangerously, The Mosquito Coast) has an artist’s eye for creating painterly scenes in the quaint Amish area. Life in Philadelphia, however, seems much uglier, grittier, and harsher in comparison. The loud, violent, fast-paced action and characters in the big city create a shocking and unpleasant contrast to the quiet romantic calm of the pastoral scenes.
Witness DVD Bonus Features
The riveting five-part documentary includes interviews with Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Lukas Haas, Peter Weir, Viggo Mortensen (who had a small part here before he became famous in The Lord of the Rings), and others associated with the film. The five parts are comprised of Origins, Amish Country, The Artistic Process, The Heart of the Matter, and Denouement. Although the segments don’t seem particularly focused or well organized, the information contained within them provides lots of interesting background material.
The segments discuss many fascinating aspects of film production, including studying for their roles (as a police detective and an Amish woman), the pivotal barn-raising, dancing in the family barn scene, working with a child actor (Haas), casting the role of Rachel (McGillis), and performing the topless bathing scene. Bonus features also include a strangely discordant deleted scene from the network television airing that begins with a lovely kitchen vignette and soon turns into an ugly confrontation between Rachel and John’s sister, Elaine (Patti LuPone) – a scene wisely deleted from the theatrical version.
- Witness (2005 Special Collector’s Edition)
- Director: Peter Weir
- Run time: 112 minutes
- Rating: R (Graphic Violence, Partial Nudity, Language)
- DVD Bonus Features: Between Two Worlds: The Making of Witness – Five Part Documentary; Deleted Scene; Three Television Spots; Theatrical Trailer; English/Spanish Subtitles.
For more information about romantic dramas, read Bridges of Madison County on DVD.
