List Price: $19.99 Our Price: $15.99YOU SAVE $4!
Buy it
DVD Witness (Special Collector's Edition)
When Samuel (Lukas Haas), a young Amish boy traveling with his mother Rachel (Kelly McGillis), witnesses the murder of a police officer in a public restroom, he and his mother become the temporary wards of John Book (Harrison Ford), a detective who's been assigned to solve the crime. After suspect lineups and mug-shot books yield nothing, Samuel, in the most memorable scene of the film, recognizes the murderer as a narcotics agent whose picture he sees in the precinct. Once Book realizes that the police chief is in on it, too, he whisks Samuel and Rachel back home to Amish country, where he himself goes into hiding as a plain Amish man. The juxtaposition between the life of the Amish and the violence of inner-city police corruption work surprisingly well for the story, and Kelly McGillis as the falling in love widow gives an almost perfect performance. Directed by Peter Weir, the film is extremely successful in drawing the viewer into its world and, accordingly, is immensely entertaining. The only thing that mars its polish is the one-dimensional, almost cartoonish handling of the upper-echelon police corruption--a subtler, more realistic treatment of this aspect of the story would have rendered the film near perfect. --James McGrath
Review(s): DVD Witness (Special Collector's Edition)
Cinematography Informed by History of Art
That this film is counted among the great classics is beyond question; Rather than repeat the accolades and précis found in the comments of my fellow reviewers, I shall take this opportunity to direct your attention to something that seems to have been missed by others. The cinematography is not merely the work of a talented genius, but is also informed by a history of western art. Here, caught from time to time throughout the film are works of Rembrandt, Vermeer and others. Pay attention, for example, the view of the elders at the sick bed; how much does this scene owe to the Staalmeesters and the Anatomy School? Pay attention to the scene at kitchen sink, and again at the kitchen door as Rachel Lapp (Kelly McGillis) glances shyly out; for a moment, one fleeting moment, you will see the Girl with the Pearl Earring.
5 stars for Ford's best movie, 2 stars for the dvd
Seeing Witness in the theatre was the biggest high I've ever been on......I was a kid who'd been madly in love with Ford since Empire Strikes Back and ran a fan club on him......and watching him flex his acting muscles and woo McGillis in the barn sent me into a frenzy of every pleasurable emotion possible. This is his best along with (arguably) his performance in Mosquito Coast, his other film with Weir. These guys need to get together again! I have nothing to say about the film that hasn't already been said here so I want to talk about the dvd itself. The documentary is interesting and well-done - I was particularly moved by McGillis' sudden outburst at the end - but I'm afraid that that and a few tv spots are just not enough. 1 deleted scene? Come on! Where are the outtakes? Some more interviews? I've got loads of interviews of Ford and McGillis plugging the film in 1985 that would make great dvd extras. How about them at the Cannes festival? And finally - this DVD TRANSFER IS PATHETIC! The color films in the John Wayne preview looked in better shape than this film which is not that old - so why is the source print in such bad condition? It's very grainy and no better than the previous dvd. What is it with Paramount and these big studios? Some, like Universal, don't even bother to put a menu on some of their movies! Just want to make money, of course. Well, plenty of people want high quality transfers and lots of special features, so milk some more money out of us and release this again - 2 disc set loaded with extras, high definition picture. After all, they put out special editions of Jaws every other year!
Two worlds come together
One of my favorite films ever! Harrison Ford should definetly have won the Academy Award for playing Detective John Book. Both he & Kelly McGillis are superb in this movie. As is, Lukas Haas who plays young Amish boy Samuel Lapp. This movie was full of alittle bit of everything - suspense, romance, thrill, drama, even comedy (when John Book came out the first time wearing the Amish clothes). I am an avid visitor of Amish Country in Lancaster County which led me to watch this film. I am glad I did. Beautiful scenery, wonderful acting, great plot: a well-rounded film.
The Special Collector's Edition had some great interviews about the making of the movie. It featured a collage of interviews with Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Lukas Haas, Viggo Mortensen, and director Peter Weir. That part was great. It showed them presently. The part I was disappointed with was the deleted scene selection, first of all, they only had one deleted scene on the DVD. It was a scene with Rachel and Samuel staying at Book's sister's house. Secondly, I was disappointed that they didn't include the deleted full love scene between Book & Rachel. They said that the movie "didn't need it", but some of us viewers would liked to have seen it.
Related DVD's Witness (Special Collector's Edition)
Do you know anyone who hasn't seen this movie? A box-office smash when released in 1993, this spectacular update of the popular 1960s TV series stars Harrison Ford as a surgeon wrongly accused of the murder of his wife. He escapes from a prison transport bus (in one of the most spectacular stunt-action sequences ever filmed) and embarks on a frantic quest for the true killer's identity, while a tenacious U.S. marshal (Tommy Lee Jones, in an Oscar-winning role) remains hot on his trail. Director Andrew Davis hit the big time with this expert display of polished style and escalating suspense, but it's the antagonistic chemistry between Jones and Ford that keeps this thriller cooking to the very end. In roles that seem custom-fit to their screen personas, the two stars maintain a sharply... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Andrew Davis DVD Release Date: Released the 01 June 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $14.96 Your Price: $6.47YOU SAVE $8.49!
Buy it
Winner of seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay, this critical and box-office hit from 1973 provided a perfect reunion for director George Roy Hill and stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford, who previously delighted audiences with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Set in 1936, the movie's about a pair of Chicago con artists (Newman and Redford) who find themselves in a high-stakes game against the master of all cheating mobsters (Robert Shaw) when they set out to avenge the murder of a mutual friend and partner. Using a bogus bookie joint as a front for their con of all cons, the two feel the heat from the Chicago Mob on one side and encroaching police on the other. But in a plot that contains more twists than a treacherous mountain road, the... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Paul Newman - Robert Redford Director(s): George Roy Hill DVD Release Date: Released the 31 March 1998 This item is currently not available.
List Price: $19.98 Your Price: YOU SAVE $19.98!
Buy it
Clint Eastwood's 25th film as a director, Million Dollar Baby stands proudly with Unforgiven and Mystic River as the masterwork of a great American filmmaker. In an age of bloated spectacle and computer-generated effects extravaganzas, Eastwood turns an elegant screenplay by Paul Haggis (adapted from the book Rope Burns: Stories From the Corner by F.X. Toole, a pseudonym for veteran boxing manager Jerry Boyd) into a simple, humanitarian example of classical filmmaking, as deeply felt in its heart-wrenching emotions as it is streamlined in its character-driven storytelling. In the course of developing powerful bonds between "white-trash" Missouri waitress and aspiring boxer Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), her grizzled, reluctant trainer Frankie Dunn... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Clint Eastwood - Hilary Swank - Morgan Freeman Director(s): Clint Eastwood DVD Release Date: Released the 12 July 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $29.95 Your Price: $19.47YOU SAVE $10.48!
Buy it
From Hollywood's legendary Cocoanut Grove to the pioneering conquest of the wild blue yonder, Martin Scorsese's The Aviator celebrates old-school filmmaking at its finest. We say "old school" only because Scorsese's love of golden-age Hollywood is evident in his approach to his subject--Howard Hughes in his prime (played by Leonardo DiCaprio in his)--and especially in his technical mastery of the medium reflecting his love for classical filmmaking of the studio era. Even when he's using state-of-the-art digital trickery for the film's exciting flight scenes (including one of the most spectacular crashes ever filmed), Scorsese's meticulous attention to art direction... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Leonardo DiCaprio - Cate Blanchett - Kate Beckinsale Director(s): Martin Scorsese DVD Release Date: Released the 24 May 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $19.96 Your Price: $14.97YOU SAVE $4.99!
Buy it
A big-budget summer epic with money to burn and a scale worthy of its golden Hollywood predecessors, Ridley Scott's Gladiator is a rousing, grisly, action-packed epic that takes moviemaking back to the Roman Empire via computer-generated visual effects. While not as fluid as the computer work done for, say, Titanic, it's an impressive achievement that will leave you marveling at the glory that was Rome, when you're not marveling at the glory that is Russell Crowe. Starring as the heroic general Maximus, Crowe firmly cements his star status both in terms of screen presence and acting chops, carrying the film on his decidedly non-computer-generated shoulders as he goes from brave general to wounded fugitive to stoic slave to gladiator hero. Gladiator's plot is a... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Russell Crowe - Joaquin Phoenix - Connie Nielsen Director(s): Ridley Scott DVD Release Date: Released the 21 November 2000 This item is currently not available.
List Price: $29.99 Your Price: YOU SAVE $29.99!
Buy it
From Hollywood's legendary Cocoanut Grove to the pioneering conquest of the wild blue yonder, Martin Scorsese's The Aviator celebrates old-school filmmaking at its finest. We say "old school" only because Scorsese's love of golden-age Hollywood is evident in his approach to his subject--Howard Hughes in his prime (played by Leonardo DiCaprio in his)--and especially in his technical mastery of the medium reflecting his love for classical filmmaking of the studio era. Even when he's using state-of-the-art digital trickery for the film's exciting flight scenes (including one of the most spectacular crashes ever filmed), Scorsese's meticulous attention to art direction...