Witness – Special Collector’s Edition
Reviewer: Tim Isaac
Issue 76 April 2006
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When only Amish will do.
The Lowdown: After a young Amish boy witnesses a murder in a train station, city detective John Book begins to investigate and becomes a target himself. Book takes the youth and his mother, Rachel, back to their simple country home and ends up hiding in Amish country. Soon he begins to fall in love with the local’s simple ways as well as with the widowed Rachel.
Review: Apparently, before Harrison Ford was cast as the lead in Witness, Sylvester Stallone was offered the role of John Book. Imagine what a different movie that would have been! Although Ford seems the perfect choice for the role now, back in 1985 his fame came entirely from sci-fi (Star Wars, Blade Runner) and Indiana Jones. It was Witness that proved he could break free of those roles and earned him what remains his only Oscar nomination. While it hasn’t aged brilliantly, Witness is still a powerful film that impressively mixes formulaic thriller elements with a far more elegiac and slow moving rural romance. Ford may not have won an Oscar but the screenplay and editing did, and deservedly so.
Normally something is either called a ‘Special’ or a ‘Collector’s’ edition, but this one’s got both words in its title, so you’d expect it to be absolutely bursting at the seams with features. It isn’t. There’s only one thing that’s worth your time and that’s the hour-long ‘making of…’ documentary. It is extremely good, but other than a not particularly impressive deleted scene, there’s little else, not even an audio commentary. It’s a bit of a missed opportunity and makes you wonder what they’re going to call it if they ever release a more diverse edition. A ‘Super Duper We Promise It’s Got Loads Of Stuff This Time Collector’s Edition’?
FILM: 8
EXTRAS: 6
Disc Info:
Starring: Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Lukas Haas
Certificate: 15
Director: Peter Weir
Distributor: Paramount
Original Release: 1985
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Visuals: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Running Time: 107 mins
Price: £19.99
Special Features:
Scene Selection
‘Between Two Worlds: The Making Of Witness’ Five-Part Documentary
Deleted Scenes
TV Spots and Trailer
