History Film / Witness

* RealityEnsues:
** [[spoiler:Without access to modern medicine or a trained doctor, John spends two days just ''regaining consciousness'' after getting shot, barely living through the heavy blood loss and fever. It takes another few days for him to get back on his feet]].
** Revolvers hold a maximum of 6 bullets and usually one chamber is left empty as a safety measure. After going dry, both [[spoiler:Book and [=McFee=] can't shoot anymore and are forced to flee from each other]].
** When he's confronted by [[spoiler:the entire Amish community, Schaeffer]] realizes he has no chance of escaping justice with so many witnesses and gives himself up rather than [[spoiler:try to kill everyone in town.]]

A 1985 film directed by Creator/PeterWeir and starring Creator/HarrisonFord, who also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Also starring Kelly [=McGillis=], Lukas Haas and Creator/DannyGlover.

* MsFanservice: An extremely emotionally-charged and plot-relevant example of female nudity (and the only example of it in the movie), but the topless scene is legendary nevertheless. Hi, Kelly [=McGillis=]. Hi, Kelly [=McGillis'=] tits.

* ToWinWithoutFighting: [[spoiler:The end has the Amish aid book in defeating Schaeffer simply by bearing ''witness' to his misdeeds. He's unwilling to try murdering them (and probably couldn't, even practically speaking). Instead, Schaeffer surrenders to Book.]]

* {{Fanservice}}: An extremely emotionally-charged and plot-relevant example of female nudity (and the only example of it in the movie), but the topless scene is legendary nevertheless. Hi, Kelly [=McGillis=]. Hi, Kelly [=McGillis'=] tits.

* CrimeAfterCrime: [[spoiler:Schaeffer]] and his gang killed the undercover cop in the first act because he uncovered their drug operation. They then spend the rest of the movie trying to kill Samuel who was witness to that crime as well as Book and Carter who who he told about it. [[spoiler: While they do kill Carter, Schaeffer is unable to murder Book and Samuel because he'd have to murder [[UpToEleventhe entire Amish community]] to cover that crime.]]

* FullNameBasis: Almost all Amish call John by his full name, with only few exceptions. In fact, the more people are intimate with him, the more they are likely to use his full name.

* BottomlessMagazines: Averted in the parking garage shoot-out, then played straight at the climax, where three guys with shotguns appear to divide up ''one box'' of shells. [[spoiler:Fergie]] uses more shells than his gun can hold.

* HaveYouToldAnyoneElse: When Book finds out that the perpetrator of a recent cop murder is a narcotics detective, and upon further investigation realizes said detective was involved in the theft of confiscated drugs, he [[spoiler:goes to Police Chief Schaeffer and, upon telling everything he knows, is asked whether he has told anyone else. When Book says no, Schaeffer tells him to keep it quiet. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] by the fact that Book trusts Schaeffer and, as a police corruption case, it would make sense to keep as few officers in the loop as possible. It turns out Schaeffer was in on it though and he uses this]].

** And said types are police officers themselves.

* TranslationConvention: When Eli is explaining to Samuel all the complicated matters of taking life and staying away from weapons, he makes a quote from The Bible. Said quote is from the King James' version, which the Amish rarely use, but was much more accessible to Anglophone audiences.

* TheQuietOne: A young Creator/ViggoMortensen plays one of the most prominent young Amish men, Moses Hochleitner. He doesn't have many lines, but he's in quite a few scenes, directly assisting Book and Daniel during the barn-raising, and he joins them on the ill-fated ride into town where the rednecks make the mistake of [[MuggingTheMonster provoking John.]]

* PutDownYourGunAndStepAway: Done twice. First by [[spoiler:Schaeffer to Book when he has Rachel hostage, and later by the Amish to Schaeffer. Surprisingly it works, and Schaeffer is shamed into surrendering after realizing he can't actually so many]].

* CultureClash: [[CaptainObvious Duh]]. It's prominent especially early on, when the film is told from Sam's perspective - it's his first time outside the Amish community. And he ends up witnessing a murder. The rest of the film heavily contrasts the relatively peaceful life of the Amish with the hectic, brutal and cynical modern world around them, instead making Book the person experiencing customs and things completely alien to him.

* KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[spoiler: Schaeffer gives up at the end when the ''entire town'' comes to Rachel's rescue, and he realizes that he would literally have to kill every single person there to escape, something he is either [[PragmaticEvil incapable]] or [[EvenEvilHasStandards unwilling]] to do.]]

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: John and Daniel are the only guys who wear white and navy blue, respectively, during the barn-raising scene, but this seems mostly just to be so the audience can pick them out easier.

* DidNotGetTheGirl: [[spoiler:Book returns home to the city at the end, while Rachel stays in the community. Book isn't ''heartbroken'' about it because he knows Daniel will [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy be a great husband to Rachel and a great father to Samuel.]]

* HardWorkMontage: And what a montage it is. Never has carpentry work looked so awesome and profoundly life-affirming.

* NumberTwo: Viggo Mortensen's character appears to be this for Eli,

* FireForgedFriends: Downplayed, but [[RomanticRival Daniel Hochleitner]] has clearly developed a mutual respect for Book after he joins in on the barn-raising and beats the shit out of the obnoxious redneck who was being a dick to Daniel for no reason. After he's [[spoiler:saved the entire community from Schaeffer and his goons]], they're like flesh and blood to each other, and on passing him on the road out of town, Book waves to Daniel like they're old friends.

* TheQuietOne: A young Creator/ViggoMortensen plays one of the most prominent young Amish men, Moses Hochleitner. He doesn't have many lines, but he's in quite a few scenes, including working closely with Eli, Book, and Daniel during the barn-raising, and he joins them on the ill-fated ride into town where the rednecks make the mistake of [[MuggingTheMonster provoking John.]]

* DoesNotLikeShoes: The Amish women and some of the children, as seen during the feast in the barn-raising scene.

* FireForgedFriends: Downplayed, but Daniel Hochleitner has clearly developed

** Amish call all the outsiders "English". Daniel even jokingly explains to John it doesn't make much difference if they are Yanks or English - they are simply not Amish.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: The Amish women and some of the children, as seen during the barn-raising scene.

** [[spoiler: Later, Rachel and Eli are reduced to prayers about Samuel's well-being as they don't know if he was killed or managed to escape from the corrupt cops. Eli is more than relieved when he notices Samuel hidden in the corridor of their own house, but before that he had a really hard time not to burst into tears, all while trying to put on a strong face and keep Rachel calm]].

* AnAesop: The film depicts violence as never being the answer and depicts it unpleasantly and having negative consequences. As satisfying as it may be to the viewer, Book angrily punching the {{Jerkass}} tourist who was bullying Daniel is what allows [[spoiler: Schaeffer]] to track him down. At the opposite end, the movie, by this same logic, avoids having Book kill [[spoiler:Schaeffer]] in favor of a nonviolent conclusion.
* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler: Police Chief Schaeffer remains calm, collected, cordial and keeps up a friendly attitude rather than trying to antagonise Book or Carter. He still is the mastermind behind a massive drug deal, but remains much more humane than his underlings]].

-->'''John Book''': (in sincere, non-threatening tone) [[ApologeticAttacker You are making a mistake...]]

** When he's confronted by [[spoiler: the entire Amish community, Schaeffer]] realizes he has no chance of escaping justice with so many witnesses and gives himself up rather than [[spoiler: try to kill everyone in town.]]

-->'''John Book''': ..."Whacking"?

* ViolenceIsDisturbing: Big time. The opening murder is, while not overly gory, as brutal and terrifying as you'd expect, and the few gunfights in the film are shown to be messy, chaotic, and over in a matter of seconds. The scene where Book lectures Samuel about playing with his gun makes it clear that while Book won't hesitate to defend the innocent, he'll only choose violence if absolutely necessary. There's no satisfaction in the deaths of the bad guys Book blows away, [[spoiler: [=McFee=]]] only dies because Book gets the drop on him and [[spoiler: Fergie's]] death is [[NightmareFuel quite nasty]] and not at all cathartic or satisfying for the viewer.

* GratuitousGerman: The Amish often speak their "Pennsylvania German" to each other. It is very distinct from the European version, but still can be understood on a basic level.

* RealityHasNoSubtitles: Not a single line is translated from the Pennsylvanian German. Most notable is the opening of the film, where it's more about the atmosphere of the situation than understanding the dialogue.

* SuspectIsHatless: The best description Samuel can give of the killer whose face he saw can be summed up as "he was black". Detective Book gets nowhere until Samuel wanders the police department and spots the murderer in a newspaper clipping of [[ScaryBlackMan McFee]].