Excellent movie. Good on so many levels, thriller, love story, educational. Watch it.

Excellent cast and script. Totally believable there exists crooked cops who deal in drugs and kill witnesses, not hard to believe that script at all. Actors are all talented and deliver their lines flawlessly. No wonder so many of them from this movie went on to have fantastic movie careers!

I had seen this movie a few times on tv. I had to buy it because I enjoy watching it.

For quality time with the family

Harrison Ford, who is now 80 years years old and will yet make another Indiana Jones movie, is quite young and handsome in this film. Likewise, Kelly McGillis who plays Rachel, an Amish woman, is young and beautiful in this film.

Rachel who is recently widowed takes her young son, Samuel, by train to Baltimore to visit her sister. They are compelled to wait in the train station for their train whereupon Samuel has to use the restroom. He goes into the cubicle, but he can see through the door. There is a man at the wash basin. Two more men come in. One pulls a bag over the man's head at the sink and then knifes him. Samuel witnesses the murder and clearly sees one man who did the murder. The murderer, McFee, played by Danny Glover, decides to check every cubicle. Samuel locks his cubicle. When McFee comes to Samuel's cubicle, Samuel cleverly slips to the next cubicle which had been cleared and stands on the toilet. When McFeee smashes through the locked cubicle that Samuel had been in, it was empty.

John Book played by Harrison Ford is assigned to investigate the murder. He detains Rachel and Samuel and has Samuel view a lineup and look at mug shots. While Book is on the phone, Samuel walks around the squad room and looks at a trophy case in which there is a clipping of a cop who had been honored for some bravery. Book notices Samuel staring intently at the trophy case. He goes to him and the boy points to the clipping photo of McFee. Book puts his hand on the boy's finger. Hood goes to his superior and tells him it is McFee. Later that night he is accosted by McFee in his underground garage by McFee and a firefight ensues. Book is hit..

Book gets Rachel and Samuel from his sister's house where they had been staying and brings them to the safety of the Amish. Rachel, her father and some of the Amish men nurse him back to health.

In one scene as John Book lives among the Amish, Harrison Ford helps the Amish men build a barn. He authentically goes about working with hammer, nails, studs and dowels. It is understandable since Harrison Ford was a carpenter before he was an actor.

The glimpse into the life of the Amish is interesting.

Harrison Ford is outstanding as John Book. Kelly McGillis is also outstanding as Rachel. Lukas Haas as Samuel is a fine young actor. Danny Glover as the corrupt cop is very good. Patti LuPone who is in a few short scenes as Harrison Ford's sister is very good. Viggo Mortensen as one of the Amish barn builders is young and handsome. The supporting cast is excellent.

Great movie !

This film was magical for me, and I've always enjoyed the topic of forbidden love. For those who haven't seen this movie, other reviewers have spelled out the plot very nicely.
The heart of the story is the juxtaposition of the hardened, big city detective in the midst of Amish country, and it centers on his relationship with a young, beautiful Amish woman and her son. Exteme opposites that do, indeed, attract. The sparks fly between them and keeps the viewer captivated (at least it did for me). Kelly McGillis played an exceptional role in this film (her first film, I believe). I'd rate it as her best performance by a long shot. It was also one of Harrison Ford's better roles. And Lukas Haas was very convincing in all but one scene.
The cinematography and Jarre's music was lovingly layered, and displayed throughout the Pennsylvania local. The barn raising scene was especially wonderful, and gives the viewer a true yearning for a simpler, more family-oriented life.
Not everything worked in this picture, however. In a couple of places the editing seemed haphazardly done. The scene where the cops are on the front porch of Ford's sister and questioning her is an example (the voice-over didn't work at all). Also, the scene at the end when Sommer is leading Ford and McGillis out from the barn, you could almost sense the director calling "action" and the scene beginning. Pretty disturbing for this caliber of film. Another minor annoyance was when Danny Glover, after being shot, raises the shotgun toward the ceiling with one hand and pulls the trigger. There was absolutely no recoil. I don't have a clue why this scene wasn't redone. Anyone who knows anything about firearms will shake their heads. Finally, and more importantly, the `bad' cops just weren't convincing as real people...ala...human flesh and blood. They seemed to be punched out from the standard Hollywood cookie-cutter.
That's a lot of stuff not to like in one of my favorite films (I also have several more minor items that I didn't mention). But I forgave these transgressions to my suspension of disbelief, and ended up really enjoying this film. I haul it out every so often just to be transported to another world and watch a great love story done to perfection (no melodramatic "smaltz" here). Between 1 and 10, I give "Witness" a marginal 8. A little more care in those areas I mentioned and this could have been a 10.

Loved it