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Witness: Special Collectors Edition

“Witness” is a brilliant film. That said, I was a little disappointed with this DVD release.

Harrison Ford stars as John Book, a detective trying to solve another cop’s murder. An Amish child, Samuel Lapp (Lukas Haas), is the only witness. When Samuel fingers a police officer, his life – and Book’s – are put at risk. They hide within the Amish community, until Book’s decidedly un-Amish ways lead the dirty cops to the Lapp farm for a showdown.

DVD extras include a revealing five-part documentary “Between Two Worlds” – featuring new interviews with Ford, Weir, Cinematographer John Seale, Kelly McGillis (Samuel’s mother), Patti LuPone (Book’s sister), producer Edward S. Feldman, and Viggo Mortensen (yeah, I’d forgotten he was in the movie, too). There’s one deleted scene, between McGillis and LuPone – it was previously included in some broadcast versions. The other extras are the theatrical trailer (which includes one brief scene that wasn’t in the film) and three TV spots. I was disappointed no commentary was done.

Seale, by the way, earned several awards and an Oscar nomination for his work, but some of the film’s scenes appear grainy - perhaps the transfer or an unfortunate side effect of high def digital television. It’s too bad that couldn’t be cleaned up. It really is a beautifully shot film. “Witness” earned a total of eight Academy Award nominations, including nods for Ford and director Peter Weir; it won two, screenplay and editing.

Part thriller, part romance, “Witness” is an outstanding movie well worth owning.

Written by: Auriette Lindsey

Reviewers Rating: 8.5
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