The only witness
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The only witness |
| Original title | Witness |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English , German |
| Publishing year | 1985 |
| length | 112 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Peter Weir |
| script |
William Kelley Earl W. Wallace Pamela Wallace |
| production | Edward S. Feldman |
| music | Maurice Jarre |
| camera | John Seale |
| cut | Thom Noble |
| occupation | |
| |
The Lone Witness (original title: Witness ) is a feature film from Paramount Pictures from 1985. Directed by Peter Weir , the leading roles played Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis . The action, which takes place largely among the Amish religious community , was filmed in Philadelphia and Intercourse, Pennsylvania . The film received two Academy Awards .
action
Eight-year-old Amish boy Samuel Lapp is waiting for the train with his widowed mother Rachel in the Philadelphia train station. In the train station toilet, he witnessed the murder of a police investigator by two perpetrators, only one of whom he could see properly. He also tells the responsible investigator John Book.
However, Samuel does not identify any of the criminals brought before him by Detective John Book as murderers, but rather the police lieutenant James McFee, who works in the narcotics department, whose picture he accidentally sees in a newspaper article. Book believes the boy because he worked with the murdered investigator and junior partner Sergeant Elton Carter on a drug trafficking case involving corrupt police officers. He therefore comes to the conclusion that the victim was murdered by the police for their own protection, because he had found them.
The detective then decides to hide Samuel and his mother for their own protection and informs his superior Paul Schaeffer of the new findings. But this is in cahoots with McFee. A little later, McFee ambushes Book in an underground car park and tries to kill him. He seriously injured him from a shot in the stomach .
Book, who also knows about Schaeffer because of this event, drives Samuel and Rachel home to Rachel's father-in-law Eli, on whose farm they live in the midst of an Amish community. On the way, Book tells his junior partner, Sgt. Carter, over the phone about his discoveries and instructs him to remove all information about Samuel from the file, which he does.
Due to his high blood loss, Book has to be looked after on the farm; Treatment in a hospital is not possible because of the obligation to report a gunshot wound and the associated disclosure of his whereabouts by the corrupt police officers.
When he is better, Book dons Amish clothes and participates in the rural community life until his full recovery. Book and Rachel develop feelings for each other. Rachel is also courted by the Amish Daniel Hochleitner. Book can use a public phone when visiting town with the Amish. He tries to reach Carter at Police Headquarters, but learns that his partner has died "while doing his duty". He immediately realizes that Carter was murdered by the corrupt police officers.
When he is on the way back with the Amish group in their horses , they are provoked and harassed by intoxicated youngsters , which the Amish accept, however, since they basically live non-violently. However, Book cannot hold back and intervenes with his fists. Because of his massive intervention, which is atypical for an Amish, the local police are paying attention.
Shortly afterwards, Schaeffer, McFee and their accomplice Fergie, who was the second murderer at the station, come to the courtyard with guns to kill Book. He doesn't have his pistol with him and is hiding in the barn. But he succeeds in luring Fergie into a corn silo and suffocating with the falling grains by opening the gate . Then he shoots the approaching McFee with Fergie's unearthed rifle. With Rachel as hostage, Schaeffer can force Book to drop the rifle. However, Eli was able to instruct Samuel to ring the court bell. Schaeffer gives up in the face of the many Amish people who have come over and is arrested. In the end, Book says goodbye to Samuel and Rachel and leaves the settlement. On the way he meets Hochleitner, who is apparently on the way to Rachel.
background
The film shows the strong contrasts between the rootless and callous urban world in which John Book lives, and the simple pre-industrial rural life of the Amish. In some scenes Harrison Ford was able to bring his experiences from his learned profession as a carpenter.
synchronization
The synchronization was created by Berliner Synchron GmbH Wenzel Lüdecke. The dialogue book and the dialogue direction were created by Ronald Nitschke .
| actor | speaker | role |
|---|---|---|
| Harrison Ford | Wolfgang Pampel | Detective Captain John Book |
| Kelly McGillis | Evelyn Marron | Rachel Lapp |
| Danny Glover | Axel Lutter | Detective Lt. James McFee |
| Alexander Godunov | Detlef Bierstedt | Daniel Hochleitner |
| Josef Sommer | Friedrich W. Building School | Chief Paul Schaeffer |
| Lukas Haas | NN | Samuel Lapp |
| Jan Rubes | Herbert Stass | Eli Lapp |
| Brent Jennings | Ronald Nitschke | Sergeant Elton Carter |
| Patti Lupone | Monica Bielenstein | Elaine |
| Viggo Mortensen | Ronald Nitschke | Moses Hochleitner |
| Timothy Carhart | ( mute ) | Zenovich |
Reviews
| source | rating |
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| Rotten tomatoes | |
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| Metacritic | |
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| IMDb |
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“The clash of different views on life and the constant threat to the dream of a better world form the background of the exciting action and love story. Sensitively staged, except for the striking ending, pleasantly away from the genre clichés. "
“Weir doesn't play one culture off against the other where the seduction would be greatest, in the love affair between Rachel and Book. As elegiacly as he shows the Amish way of life, who live in a longingly felt equilibrium with nature and with themselves, he also emphatically demonstrates that this peaceful harmony can only be obtained at the price of rigid morals and hermetic isolation. "
Others
The film was criticized by the Amish as a display of Amish culture. Accordingly, Amish did not appear as actors or extras in the film. Individual Amish who were willing to work with the film team were threatened with excommunication . The leading actress Kelly McGillis, who had gained access to an Amish family under false pretenses in preparation for her role, caused particular resentment.
In the original English-language version, the Amish mostly speak Standard German among themselves. The dialect of Pennsylvania German spoken in reality is rarely used. In order to create a seemingly authentic Amish-German accent for the English version, important supporting roles were cast with Eastern European actors such as the actor Alexander Borissowitsch Godunow , who came from the Soviet Union . Viggo Mortensen makes his feature film debut in a small role as an Amish.
Awards
- Best original script
- Best cut
- further nominations:
- Best movie
- Best director
- Best Actor: Harrison Ford
- Best film score
- Best camera
- Best production design
- Nominations in the categories:
- Best film - drama
- Best director
- Best Actor - Drama: Harrison Ford
- Best Supporting Actress: Kelly McGillis
- Best script
- Best film score
- Best film score
- further nominations:
- Best movie
- Best Actor: Harrison Ford
- Best Actress: Kelly McGillis
- Best original script
- Best camera
- Best cut
Web links
- The only witness in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The only witness at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- The only witness at Metacritic (English)
- The only witness in the online film database
- The only witness in the German dubbing file
Individual evidence
- ^ The single witness (1985) German synchronous card index . Retrieved November 17, 2017.
- ↑ a b The only witness at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- ↑ a b metacritic.com at Metacritic , accessed September 5, 2014
- ↑ The only witness in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- ↑ The only witness. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Wolfgang Limmer: Not of this world . In: Der Spiegel . No. 3 , 1985, pp. 197-199 ( online ).
- ↑ Resistance of the Amish against the film "The Only Witness". (No longer available online.) Täufersgeschichte.net, archived from the original on September 24, 2015 ; Retrieved January 19, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
