|
Witness B+, A-
US/1985/Color/Widescreen 1.80:1/Stereo Surround/112 minutes/Directed by Peter
Weir/Starring Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis/ Par/CLV/$39.95
By combining suspense and romance in an exotic setting, Peter Weir has crafted a
thoroughly successful film on multiple levels. T
he screenplay moves in linear fashion with little wasted motion. Weir introduces the
Amish country economically by looking in at a ritual ceremony, then quickly moves along to
young Samuel and his mother Rachel. On a trip with his mother while waiting to change
trains in Philadelphia, the young Amish boy witnesses a murder in the rest room of a train
station. The police interrogate him as the only witness against the resistance of his
mother. When detective John Book discovers that the murder has been perpetrated by one of
his colleagues he winds up with a bullet wound and flees with mother and boy in tow back
to their home in Amish country.
Each section of the film builds suspense, even those bucolic picturesque scenes of the
Amish country, though the barn raising, with sumptuous photography and soaring musical
accompaniment stands as a joyous set piece.
Weir works marvelously with his actors. Harrison Ford is perfectly cast as police
detective John Book, a city man whose honesty is a reflection of the Amish purity. Ford
brings great adventure credentials with him to the role, and as a bonus, there is terrific
chemistry between him and co-star Kelly McGillis. McGillis has never succeeded in
recapturing the enormous appeal she generated in this, her second film role. Weir succeeds
through the use of well edited close-ups of Ford and McGillis in creating a barrage of
sexual sparks ignited by amorous expressions of the eyes.
Young Lukas Haas, playing Samuel, is a wonderful kid actor. He never looks coy or
overly cute. Frequent Weir co-worker John Seale does a handsome job as director of
photography, ably contrasting the grit of the city with the purity of the country. The
score by Maurice Jarre is very lovely. It’s evocative at times of some of the great
western themes that accompanied epic cattle drives across the country.
The lush transfer captures the beauty of Amish country in summer season. The green of
the blowing fields and the blue of the cloudless skies are rich and vibrant. The Jarre
score sounds full and exciting. The surround information is limited. |
| |
|
Laser Disc
Ratings
|
12
Monkeys Special/A-,B+ |
12
Monkeys/ B+,B |
1941
SE/ C-, B- |
a
la Mode/B+,B+ |
A
Pure Formality/C,B |
After the Fox/C+,B |
Alaska/B,B+ |
Albino
Aligator/C+,B |
Alfie/B,B |
Amateur/B+,C+ |
American
President/ B+, B+ |
Apache/C+,C+ |
Apocalypse Now/A-,A- |
Apollo
13 SpecialA,A |
Apollo 13//A,A |
Appaloosa/C+,C+ |
Assassins/C,A |
Bad
and the Beautiful, The/A,B+ |
Basquiat/C+,B |
Bend of the River/ B, B+ |
Belle Epoque/B+,A- |
Bhagdad
Cafe/B,B |
Big
Country/ B, C |
Big Deal on Madonna Street/B,B |
Big
Picture, The/B,B |
Big
Trees, The/C+,C+ |
Bingo
Long and His Traveling All-Stars/B+,A |
Blood and Wine/B,B |
| Blue Kite/B+,B |
Bogus/C,C+ |
Bordello of Blood/C-,A- |
Borderline/C+,B |
Bound/B+,B+ |
Brazil
Special Edition/B+,A- |
Bride
Came COD/B-,B |
Bringing
Up Baby/A,B |
Brute Force/B+,B+ |
Bulletproof/C,B+ |
| Butch
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid/B,A- |
Call
Nothside 777/B+,C+ |
Camille
Claudel/ A, B+ |
Canterville
Ghost/C+,C+ |
| Caro Diario/A-,A- |
| Captain from Castile/B,B+ |
Casino/
C+, B |
Casper/C+,A |
Cause
for Alarm/C,B- |
Celestial
Clockwork/B+,B- |
| China Moon/B+,A |
Christmas in July/A,B+ |
Christopher
Columbus(1949)/C,C |
| Come and Get It/B,B+ |
Commandments/C+,B+ |
Courage Under Fire/B,A |
Crash/C+,B+ |
| Crimson Tide/A-,A |
Crossing
Guard, The/B,B+ |
Cutthroat
Island/C, A |
Dante's
Peak/B-/B |
Daylight/B,A- |
Dead
Man Walking/C+,B+ |
Dead Man/C+,A- |
Dead
Presidents Special/ B+,A |
Dersu Uzala/B+,B |
Diabolique(1995)/C+,C |
Diary
of Ann Frank/ A-,B |
Dodes'ka-den/ B+, B+ |
Double
Happiness/ B+,B+ |
Dragon/B+,A |
| Dune/C+,B+ |
Earrings
of Madame de.../ B+, B+ |
Enemy
Below/ B, B |
| Englishman Who Went..../C,B |
English Patient/B+,A |
Ermo/B-,B- |
Escape from LA/B-,A |
Everybody's
Fine/C+,C+ |
Executive
Decision/B+,A |
Eye
for an Eye/B,B+ |
F.I.S.T./B,B |
| Face-Off/B+,A |
| Family Thing/B,B+ |
| Farewell My Concubine/A-,A |
Far
Country/ B-, C+ |
Field
of Dreams Special/A-,B+ |
Field
of Dreams/ A-, B |
Fierce Creatures/B-,B+ |
| Fires on the Plain/B+,B |
Firestarter/C+,C+ |
First
Knight/ C-, B+ |
First
Wives Club/C+,B+ |
| For Whom the Bell Tolls/B-,B+ |
| French Kiss/B-,B+ |
| Fugitive,The(1947)/B-,B |
Frankie
Starlight/B+,B |
Freaks/B+,B |
Free
Willy 2/B-,B+ |
Funny Bones/A,A |
Get Shorty/ A, A |
Goldeneye/
B, A |
| Ghost Story/B,B |
Great
Escape(MGM)/A-,B- |
Great
Expectations/A,B+ |
Greystoke:
The Legend of Tarzan/B+,C |
| Grosse Point Blank/A-,A- |
Grumpier
Old Men/B-,B+ |
Gun
in Betty Lou's Handbag, The/B,C- |
Happy
Gilmore/ B-, A- |
| Hard Boiled/B-,B+ |
Hard Eight/B,C+ |
Harriet
the Spy/B,A |
Haunting,
The/A,B+ |
Head
Above Water/D+,B |
Heat/A-,B |
| Heaven
and Earth/B+,A- |
Helen
of Troy/C+,B+ |
| Henry V/A,B |
Hill,The/A-,B |
Hoop Dreams/A,A |
| Horseman on the Roof/B-,B |
Innocent,
The/ C, C |
Innocents,
The/ A, A- |
Interrupted
Melody/C+,C |
| Into the West/A,B+ |
Inventing
the Abbots/B-,B+ |
| Jack/C+,A- |
Jean
de Florette/ A-, B- |
Jumanji/
B+, B+ |
Kansas
City/D+,C+ |
Kentuckian/B-/B |
Kingpin/B,B+ |
Kolya/A-,A- |
Kwaidan/A,A- |
La
Dolce Vita/ A, B |
Last
Dance/B,B+ |
Last
Man Standing/C,B |
Last
Supper, The/B-,B+ |
League of Gentlemen/B,B |
Leave
Her to Heaven/B+,B+ |
Les
Miserables/ B, B+ |
Liar,Liar
Special/B+,A |
Lili/A-,C |
List
of Adrien Messinger/B,B+ |
| Lonely are the Brave/A-,A- |
| Lord of Illusions/B,A- |
Love
Jones/B,A- |
| Malice/B+,B+ |
| Mask,The/A-,A |
| Mi Familia/A-,A- |
| Michael/C+,A |
Miracle
of Morgan's Creek/B,B- |
Mirage/B,B- |
Mission
Impossible/C+,B+ |
Mona Lisa/B+,B+ |
Morgan/B,C+ |
Mulholland Falls/C+,B |
Muriel's
Wedding/ B, B+ |
My
Name is Nobody/C,C |
Mystery of Rampo/ A-, B |
| Natural Born Killers/B,B+ |
Nell/B,A- |
Net,
The/ C, B+ |
Nixon/B+,A |
Nothing
Sacred/B,C |
Old
Man and the Sea/B,B |
Othello/A-,B+ |
| Peeping Tom/A-,A- |
| Raw
Deal/B+,B |
| Red Firecracker,Green Firecracker/B+,A |
| Repulsion/A,A |
Restoration/B+,A |
Richard III/A,A |
Ridicule/A-,B- |
River Wild/B+,A- |
| Romy and Michele's High School Reunion/B,B |
Room
at the Top/A-,B |
Rosewood/B,B+ |
Scopio/B,C |
Seven
SE/ B+, A |
| Shawshank Redemption/A-,A |
| She/B,B- |
Shining
Through/C+,B |
| Silence of the Lambs/A,A |
| Sling
Blade/A,B+ |
Slingshot/A,A- |
Something
to Talk About/ B-, B+ |
| Spartacus Special Edition/A,A |
Species/C,B+ |
Star
Trek: First Contact/C+,A- |
Stars Fell on Henrietta/ C+,B+ |
Stealing
Beauty/B,B |
Strange
Days/ C+, B+ |
Striptease/D,A- |
Sudden
Death/ B, A- |
Sullivan's
Travels/B+,B |
Surviving
Picasso/C,B+ |
| T-Man/B,B |
That
Old Feeling/B-,A- |
That
Thing You Do/B,C+ |
They
Drive By Night/B,B |
| Thieves(Les
Voleurs)/B,B |
Things
You Do in Denver When You're Dead/D+,B+ |
This
Sporting Life/A-,B+ |
Timemaster/
D, C |
Tom
and Viv/B-,B- |
Tortilla
Flat/B+,B |
Trainspotting/B-,B+ |
Trees
Lounge/B-,B- |
| Trigger Effect/B-,B+ |
Two
Bits/C,B |
Unforgettable/C,C+ |
| Umbrellas of Cherbourg/B+,B |
Unzipped/B-,B- |
Usual
Suspects/ B-,C+ |
| Valdez is Coming/C+,B- |
Vengeance
Valley/B,C+ |
Vertigo/A-,A- |
Virtuosity/
C+, A |
Wait
Until Dark/B,B- |
Walk in the Clouds, A/ A-, |
Walkabout/B/B- |
Waterworld/ B+, B |
White
Man's Burden/ B, B+ |
White
Squall/ B,A |
| Whole Wide World/B,B |
Wicked
City/ B, C+ |
Wild
Bill/ C+, B |
Window
to Paris/ B,B |
| Witness/B+,A- |
| Wonderful,Horrible World Life..../B+,B |
|
