Witness 1985 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Silent witness is a 1985 american television film starring valerie bertinelli and john savage, directed by michael miller. Silent witness is a 20 chinese crime thriller film written and directed by fei xing and starring sun honglei, aaron kwok and yu nan. Harrison ford silent movie actor simple english wikipedia.
Harrison ford born july, 1942 is an american actor, aviator, and environmental activist. In peter weirs thriller witness, samuel lukas haas, a young amish boy, witnesses a. Then it is a movie about the choices we make in life and the choices that other people make for us. Crimes through the eyes of a team of forensic pathologists and forensic scientists. A private jet crashes into woodland outside london. He investigates a murder, witnessed by a young amish boy played by lukas haas. When book uncovers evidence of police corruption involving narcotics lieutenant james mcfee danny glover, book must take rachel and samuel, and flee to the amish countryside where rachel. Witness 1985 the following weapons were used in the film witness. In addition, the birds in the pond in the film were imported, and never left.
I daresay that i would have enjoyed witness 1985 even more had it remained a conventional mystery thriller. A history of the episcopal church 17821985 read full ebook. Retrace harrison fords footsteps on witness tours of lancaster county, pa. The lapps amish farm where harrison ford stays belonged to paul and emma krantz. Witness 89 movie clip rachels choice 1985 hd youtube. Later, rachel and samuel travel by train to visit rachels sister, which takes them into philadelphia. The rest of the cast was pretty good for their roles as well, especially lukas haas as samuel lapp who becomes the sole witness hence, the movies title to a graphic murder. For an enhanced browsing experience, get the imdb app on your smartphone or tablet. One thing i really like is that the producers were able to use harrison fords ability as a carpenter in the barn raising scenes. When a young amish boy is sole witness to a murder, policeman john book goes into hiding in amish. Ford is chicago detective john book, assigned to investigate a murder that was committed by crooked cop danny glover. The only witness is the son of an amish widow, played by kelly mcgillis.
It is located near strasburg, near lancaster, pennsylvania. Witness is a 1985 american neonoir crime thriller film directed by peter weir and starring harrison ford, kelly mcgillis, and lukas haas. Samuel sees the murder through a gap in the door, and escapes the killers detection by standing on the toilet seat inside the stall. When book uncovers evidence of police corruption involving narcotics lieutenant james mcfee danny glover, book must take rachel and samuel, and flee to the amish countryside where rachel grew up. It premiered on october 14, 1985 on nbc and is based on a true rape case in massachusetts. Trailer youtube peter weir, harrison ford, movie trailers. Witness is one of those films that you can revisit and enjoy afresh each time you see it. He discovers police corruption and has to go into hiding in the amish community. I just recently watched this movie in my development of film class. Peter weir this was also harrison fords first role in the uncharted, more complex territory, and is today considered as one of his finest, if not the finest, performance. One of the main figures of the australian new wave, peter weir, earned the attention of the film appreciating community with such films as the mystery drama picnic at hanging rock 1975, the renowned antiwar historical drama gallipoli 1981 and the mel gibson and sigourney weaverled drama the year of living dangerously 1983. I got into a tricky spot with my first american film, witness.
Too many times is the 80s seen as just a shallow, popcorn era. Captain john book harrison ford is the policeman assigned to the case. Harrison ford, kelly mcgillis, josef sommer and lukas haas directed by. Hes one of those people who just have a presence on film. From internet movie firearms database guns in movies, tv and video games. This, perhaps, reflects rather negatively on my film buff credentials, but the film s opening act mounted the tension so brilliantly that it was a pity to see that suspense slowly dissipate into the background. The story begins in a small amish community in lancaster, pennsylvania. John book harrison ford takes care of a creep who bullies the amish. Nonetheless, one can appreciate the film for its unique storyline, even if the quality. Thomas investigates the apparent suicide of a successful businessman, finding unexpected connections to the plane crash.
Harrison ford, in a daring break from his previous diet of blockbusters, stars as john book, a hardened but decent and honest philadelphia detective. Apr 23, 2008 excellent film and still harrison fords best performance. I have enjoyed all of his movies but absolutely loved witness and the year of living dangerously. One covers the victims head with a coat while the second draws a switchblade and cuts the victims throat. Moonlighting 19851989 witness for the executionmavi ay 2. But greta nissen proves in this film that she was a star to be reckoned with. Jan 12, 2012 i have enjoyed all of his movies but absolutely loved witness and the year of living dangerously. Ford was born in kansas city, missouri on march 16, 1884. After witnessing a brutal murder, young amish boy samuel lukas haas and his mother rachel kelly mcgillis seek protection from police officer. A 1985 film directed by peter weir and starring harrison ford, who also earned an academy award nomination for best actor.
Book soon learns to relax among the amish, a people who stay away from violence and most types of modern life, including electricity and cars. Witness harrison ford, kelly mcgillis, movie sites, silent auction, birdhouse. This is, first of all, an electrifying and poignant love story. In peter weirs thriller witness, samuel lukas haas, a young amish boy, witnesses a murder in the restroom of a philadelphia bus station. Harrison edward ford march 16, 1884 december 2, 1957 was an american stage and film actor. Harrison ford march 16, 1884 december 2, 1957 was an american stage and movie actor. This harrison ford film includes glimpses into another culture the life of the amish, a fantastic barnraising scene where the whole local amish community come together to build their new barn in one day and very good casting. Witness is still a powerful and sympathetic commentary on the clash of cultures, and features perhaps harrison fords finest performance of his. Witness movie filming locations the 80s movies rewind. H arrison ford, the silent film star, first appeared in pictures in 1915 and went on to star with many of bestknown actors and actresses of his day, including clara bow, wally reid and sisters constance and norma talmadge long before han solo. Officer john book harrison ford becomes the protector, but when the bad guys decide to target him as well, he decides that the best place to hide out is the. I dont think any other actor could outperform him for the character. With harrison ford, kelly mcgillis, lukas haas, josef sommer.
The production team did not remove the smear after they left, and was very hard to remove. Watch witness starring harrison ford in this mysterycrime on directv. This was a bit of an annoyance, but something that they lived with. Harrison ford stars as john book, the police detective. Watch witness 1985 online part 1 video dailymotion. Harrison fords performance in the movie was so reigned in and tight. Witness, harrison ford, kelly mcgillis, danny glover, viggo mortensen. He was not related to the living actor with the same name. Also starring kelly mcgillis, lukas haas and danny glover samuel lapp, a young amish boy journeying to baltimore with his mother, the recently widowed rachel, witnesses two men kill an undercover police officer in a philadelphia train station. Why witness remains one of the best hollywood film from the eighties. When they arrive at the train station samuel wants to go to the bathroom, where he wittnesses a murder. A young wife and her husband witness the brutal barroom rape of a young woman and now must decide whether or not to testify against the culprits or remain quiet in. My favourite peter weir film, witness is something special. Part of 8 pages of info for the 1985 movie from the award winning 80s movies rewind.
Witness year 1985 genre crime drama romance thriller type movies idmb rating 7. I have always loved harrison ford s movies and this ones no exception, packed with loads of action from beginning to end. A young wife and her husband witness the brutal barroom rape of a young woman and now must decide whether or not to testify against the culprits or remain quiet in this madefortv drama that. Amanda burtons professor sam ryan is a clever, highlyintelligent and sometimes intimidating coroner and professor at london university. Witness is beautifully filmed on location in philadelphia and lancaster county with excellent direction by peter weir and haunting music by maurice jarre. Excellent film and still harrison fords best performance. In 1984, an amish community attends the funeral of jacob lapp, who leaves behind his wife rachel and eightyearold son samuel. Harrison edward ford march 16, 1884 december 2, 1957 was an american stage. Jan rubes, danny glover, josef sommer, alexander godunov, patti lupone, and viggo mortensen appear in supporting roles. Tycoon lin tais daughter lin mengmeng becomes the murder suspect of her fathers fiance yang dan. He gained worldwide fame for his starring role as han solo in the original star wars trilogy and would reprise the role decades later in the sequel trilogy. Her defense lawyer zhou li and prosecutor tong tao gains indepth understanding through cross examinations in. The film is powerful, assured, full of beautiful imagery and devoid of easy moralising, which is good.
As somebody from a studio said to me recently, were not in that kind of business anymore. While visiting philadelphia, a young amish boy become a witness to a murder, and the killers want to find a way to silence him, permanently. Officer john book harrison ford becomes the protector, but when the bad guys decide to target him as well, he decides that the best place to hide out is the childs family farm. He was a leading broadway theatre performer and a star of the silent film era. Trailer for peter weirs film starring harrison ford,kelly mcgillis,josef sommer, lukas haas,jan rubes,alexander godunov,brent jennings. Only then is it a thriller one that alfred hitchcock would have been proud to make. After witnessing a brutal murder, young amish boy samuel lukas haas and his mother rachel kelly mcgillis seek protection from police officer john book harrison ford. Harrison ford kelly mcgillis josef sommer lukas haas danny glover brent jennings viggo mortensen trailer 1985. Rachel is a young amish widow with an 8 year old son. Witness is one of the examples that prove that the 80s was just as much an era of beautifully crafted, thoughtful movies as any other. Witness, harrison ford, kelly mcgillis, danny glover, viggo mortensen in 1984, an amish community attends the funeral of jacob lapp, who leaves behind his wife rachel and eightyearold son samuel. It was jean harlow that replaced nissen when howard hughs decided to reshoot hells angels 1930 and make it into a sound film.
Trailer for peter weirs film starring harrison ford,kelly mcgillis,josef sommer,lukas haas,jan rubes,alexander godunov,brent jennings. With okezie morro, harrison abel, rebecca oldfield, matthew brenher. Ford died on december 2, 1957 after being runover by a car in the early 1950s. I have always loved harrison fords movies and this ones no exception, packed with loads of action from beginning to end. Witness 99 movie clip right of way 1985 hd youtube. In peter weirs thriller witness, samuel lukas haas, a young amish boy. Witness comes billed as a thriller, but its so much more than a thriller that i wish they hadnt even used the word murder in the ads. Enjoy this gem and lets hope that fox will restore silent witness to its glory and release it on videodvd. Harrison ford plays john book a role originally developed with sylvester stallone in mind, a cop who finds himself having to protect a young amish boy named samuel lapp luke haas who. Born in kansas city, missouri, ford began his acting career on the stage. Harrison ford was perfect for his role as john book.
Harrison ford stars as john book, the police detective investigating the murder. Three years after blade runner, harrison ford is at his best, while kelly mcgillis in her second film role, exudes a grace kellylike. Witness in particular is a shining example of how it all comes together sometimes, and paramount has decided to reissue the film in a new special edition. Retrace harrison fords footsteps on witness tours of.
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