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By
NICK ZEGARAC
Peter Weir's Witness (1985)
is a disturbing thriller set against the backdrop
of an Amish community. When Samuel Lap (Lukas
Haas) goes into a Philadelphia railway bathroom to
relieve himself, he becomes an accidental witness
to a brutal murder. The plot thickens when it is
revealed that the murder victim was actually an
undercover cop. Samuel's mother Rachel (Kelly
McGillis) is understandably shaken and
apprehensive about having her son testify as to
what he saw. But dedicated cop John Book (Harrison
Ford) is not about to give up. He installs Samuel
and his mother at his sister, Elaine's (Patti
LuPone) home -- a move that puts everyone in
danger. Book eventually learns that dirty cop,
James McFee (Danny Glover) is one of the men
Samuel saw committing the crime. An attempt on
Book's life leaves him wounded. But by then, Book
has taken his witness back to the farm --
literally -- and is in hiding with Rachel and
Samuel until protection can be arranged for the
trial.
Weir's prowess as a director is suspect during the
opening sequences. He seems to be just going
through the motions -- rarely exploring
interesting camera angles or staging techniques.
But once the plot moves back to the Amish
community there is a definite taut and unsettling
atmosphere that settles in and carries the film to
its inevitable conclusion.
Thank those lucky stars that frame the Paramount
trademark mountain that someone at the studio is
finally starting to pay attention to the way their
DVD's are mastered. After a rather lackluster
initial transfer with NO extras, we get a special
edition worthy of the moniker. Extensively cleaned
up with narrowly a blemish to be seen throughout,
this DVD delivers a generally smooth, consistent
and accurate film to video presentation that
simply sparkles. Colors are dated but nicely
balanced. Contrast levels are bang on. Blacks are
deep and solid. Whites are clean. The audio has
also been cleaned up. Extras include a five-part
documentary, audio commentary and trailers. Bravo!
If only Paramount would readdress its dismal Fatal
Attraction DVD of a few years back, we'd have even
more to cheer over. |
