Case study: Witness (1985)

This is a few general facts and reviews of the film.

Director: Peter Weir
Writers: William Kelley (story and screenplay),Pamela Wallace (story) & Earl W. Wallace (story and screenplay)
Actors: Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Josef Sommer, Lukas Haas, Jan Rubes and Danny Glover.
Awards: Won 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 25 nominations

Storyline: Samuel Lap is a young Amish boy who witnesses a murder in Philadelphia while traveling with his mother Rachel. A good cop named John Book must go with them into hiding when the killers come after them. All three retreat to Amish country and Book has to adjust to the new life style, and his feelings for the boy's mother. Of course the killers are still on their trail. Written by Greg Bole.

 
User Reviews: As good as film-making gets 9 May 1999
by ken c. (Windermere, Fla.)
I've seen hundreds, maybe thousands, of films, and when asked which is my favorite my decision keeps coming back to "Witness," Australian director Peter Weir's masterpiece. Fabulously acted, beautifully photographed . . . it's just perfect. Outside of the well-known stars (Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Danny Glover) look for brilliant work from Josef Sommers and an amazingly understated performance by the late Alexander Godunov.
This review tells us that Witness is a good all round film and that the well known stars are not always the best performing actors. He describes it as "As good as film making gets" meaning it obviously had a great impact upon the viewers.
Professional review:
1985 saw its fair share of ultra-trashy thrillers but Peter Weir's "Witness" bucked the trend with an overall far calmer veneer, under which hid considerable tension. It's a fascinating and quiet world that Weir paints.A lot of care and attention has gone into both the Oscar-winning screenplay and the beautiful cinematography, to create a powerful and romantic story. By the BBC
For the full review go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2000/09/04/witness_review.shtml
This review from the BBC tells us that this thriller tops all of the 1985 thrillers because it isn't "trashy". I think that the reviewer thinks this because it is original, it isn't your run of the mill thriller. The plot doesn't follow the stereotypical thriller, it demonstrates that not all thrillers are about psycho individuals.
My opinion of the film:
I thought that Witness was a very shocking but also beautiful film because it had a lot of aspects of the thriller genre which created fear,suspense and shocked the audience. But it also created the beautiful aspect of the countryside and romance. The film demonstrates the good and evil in the world at the time, it shows the audience the difference that technology makes within the world. It tells the audience how corrupt the world is slowly becoming.
Aspects of the Thriller Genre within the Train station scene, the Toilet scene and the Street scene:


Train station:
The scene starts off at Grand Central Station, this is a repeatedly used location within thriller films. An example of this is Once Upon A Time in America. The high angle shot of the station is used make the people look small and insignificant but it is also used to connote a sense of confusion and fear from the Amish point of view. The Amish would enter this place and be quite scared because of how busy and fast everything is. I also think that this shot makes the people below look like ants, it shows that everyone is busy working and moving incredibly fast. The use of low lighting also gives off a corrupt and degrading feel to the station, the muted colours also contribute to this.
This high angle shot of Samuel Lapp, one of the main characters, demonstrates how insignificant he is within the station. The shot also shows the audience how lonely it can be in the station,within the world because you are so small in comparison. The shot is also a mixture of an over the shoulder shot and POV shot, it is as if the statue is watching over Samuel; the low lighting adds a dark,lonesome and miserable feeling to the shot.This all contributes to the thriller genre.
Toilet Scene:

The toilet scene has thriller written all over it. The toilet is small and dirty, it adds a claustrophobic feel to the scene and to the characters, as if they are trapped. The claustrophobic spaces in thrillers are repeatedly used to frighten people. The toilet is very grungy and dirty adding to the corrupt, worn down and "low life" feel in the scene. It connotes that people don't care about the conditions, they mind their own business and couldn't care less about their surroundings. As Samuel enters the toilet he looks at the surroundings and doesn't feel safe, but when he looks at the police officer he feels comfortable. The lighting in the toilet is very low and makes a murky and grimy effect which adds to the corrupt feel, it isn't bright and safe. As the two other men enter the room, Samuel is in the cubicle looking through the gap. This connotes a feel on entrapment and fear. Although the cubicle is claustrophobic, it seems that Samuel seems safe for a short period of time.

During the murder scene there are a lot of close ups to capture the emotions in the scene and to capture focus points, for example, the knife cutting the officers throat. These shots are used to show the viewers whats going on and give them clues about whats about to happen.

There are also a few extreme close ups of Samuel's eye, this is used to show how shocked and scared samuel is. It is also used to show that it is something that is life changing, something disturbing. The use of POV shots from Samuel's point of view is very effective as well because it brings audience into the film, it connects them with Samuel and makes them see what hes seeing. Making the audience feel for Samuel and what is happening.
When Mcfee ( Danny Glover) starts to open the cubicle doors, it creates a huge amount of tension and anticipation, it makes the viewers scared for Samuel. This is used to grab the audience from their seats. As Mcfee leaves, the camera is on Samuel and the audience rely on his reaction and Mcfee's footsteps to tell if he is safe or not.

Street Scene: 
As John Book (Harrison Ford), his friend,Rachel and Samuel are in the car, there are a lot of indicators about the place that they are in. The streets are very low lit, dark, gloomy and dim which connote depression and corruption. The roads and paths are dirty and messy, the area looks like a slum and children are playing in it. This shows that the world is changing, it is becoming more corrupt and violent. There are sirens in the background signifying trouble and danger, making it seem a dangerous and violent place as well. It is as if the city represents corruption in the world and the Amish are the peaceful and innocent part. As the scene reaches its end, Book gos into a bar and grabs a man. John Book seems like a very aggressive and violent character, this is his flaw, later on in the film this is demonstrated again when he fights three townspeople when they were picking on the Amish. The flaw in a main character or hero is another signifier of a thriller.

In this film the representation of ideology is very common or cliche. This is because "good"(The Police) are helping to fight the "evil" but the "good" are the evil in the end. This happens more than you would expect in films but still catches out the audience. This is a common ideology in thrillers because it fools the audience into thinking what is wrong.