TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Witness

Go To

  • Award Snub: Harrison Ford's sole Oscar nomination thus far, and he didn't win.
  • Awesome Music: Maurice Jarre's score. Conceptually speaking it shouldn't work as it's played entirely on synthesisers, and the Amish wouldn't go near a synth, and yet it's uplifting without being sentimental.
  • Catharsis Factor:
    • Seeing John gun down McFee is pretty satisfying to watch, given that he was the worst of the corrupt cop trio.
    • John punching the bully with the yellow hat in the nose also counts, given that he and his pals were tormenting the amish (Daniel included) and taking advantage of their pacifism.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: McFee stepping in cow manure and exclaiming ‘shit’ becomes this when Danny Glover plays a cop two years later who’s known for his catchphrase of ‘I’m too old for this shit.’
  • Moral Event Horizon: McFee doubtlessly crosses this by slitting the throat of a fellow cop with a knife, all because said cop found out about the drug operation.
  • Narm Charm: The Big Damn Kiss is decidedly un-sexy - and in some parts it looks like John is trying to bite Rachel's mouth off - but it's so raw that it works in the context of the scene.
  • Parody Displacement: The Simpsons parodying all the Amish coming when the bells are rung in the episode "Itchy and Scratchy Land" is probably more remembered among younger viewers - some of whom might not realise it's parodying the climax of this movie. Same with the episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun where the ice cream scene is parodied.
  • Retroactive Recognition: This was Viggo Mortensen's first movie, playing Moses Hochleitner, an Amish man who is present in a number of scenes but has no lines of note.
  • Signature Scene: The ice cream scene of course, since it's been referenced and parodied so many times over the years. The barn-raising and Shower Scene count as well.
  • Stoic Woobie: Rachel, considering she buries her husband at the start of the movie, has to deal with her son being a witness to a murder and eventually falling for Book (which would make her an outcast in her community). All this time, she remains composed and doesn't complain, other than getting a bit snappish when her father-in-law tells her off for fooling around with Book.

Top