80sfilms

One of my favorite Harrison Ford films is Witness (1985).

What’s not to like about a great film with no nudity, little foul language or violence (there is some, though), as well as one that was also referenced in one of my favorite television shows of all time, “Buffy”?

Witnessis about Samuel (played by the very young Lukas Haas), an Amish boy traveling with his mother Rachel (played by Kelly McGillis), who witnesses the murder of a police officer in a public restroom.

The pair need protection, and in steps John Book (played by oh-so-handsome, amazing actor Ford), a detective who’s been assigned to solve the crime.

When Samuel recognizes the murderer as a narcotics agent whose picture he sees in the police precinct, Book realizes his witness is in serious danger. In order to protect them, Book goes undercover himself as an Amish man.

Witness shows the classic struggle between good and evil, as well as the stark contrast between city life and the ways of the Amish. Ford does a great job as a fish-out-of-water cop who must assimilate in a pacifist setting.

Director Peter Weir, Dead Poets Society (1989), The Mosquito Coast (1986), and The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), works well with Ford, and the collaboration brings a depth to the film that could have been lost in the hands of another actor-director pairing.

I much prefer this (more serious, pensive) side of Ford, who also starred in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Working Girl (1988), Frantic (1988), The Mosquito Coast (1986), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983), Blade Runner (1982), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980).

McGillis isn’t my favorite female actor, but she turns in a fine performance here as a woman struggling with feelings of desire while trying to maintain her Amish composure. McGillis also starred in The Accused (1988), Made in Heaven (1987), and Top Gun (1986).

Be sure to watch for Witness costar Danny Glover, who also starred in Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), Lethal Weapon (1987), The Color Purple (1985), Silverado(1985), as well as Viggo Mortensen in one of his first film roles.

Witness has plenty of drama, action, funny moments and romance, and is an overall great showcase of Ford’s acting abilities.

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