Witness (1985) Retrospective
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- čas přidán 20. 04. 2023
- George discusses Peter Weir's Witness with Granite from the Granite Mountain Movie Club Podcast.
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I really love Witness. When it comes on I always watch it .
I agree, Peter Weir is such a master ! In my opinion, his best is from his Australian period, « The Last Wave ». So atmospheric, poetic, mesmerizing
As a child I rented Witness, Blade Runner, Mosquito Coast and Empire Strikes back the most when they came out. Peter Weir is such an underrated Director and Master and Commander is probably my favourite of his varied output
Master and Commander is making such an incredible underground resurgence amongst young Zoomer guys- you love to see it!
Witness is a beautifully shot and scored film. A lot of the communication between John Book, Samuel and Rachel are just knowing looks. Really beautiful. The handsome Alexander Godunov (the rival) was a Russian ballet dancer in real life before making it in Hollywood. Also notable, look for Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings) as a member of the Amish community. 😉 Thanks, really enjoying the channel and analysis!
Thanks so much! Glad you’re enjoying my stuff!
Great episode. I've seen the edited for Sunday afternoon local TV version of Witness, now I'm going to have to watch the full version.
Enjoy!
The last words where Eli says to John, “you be careful out among them English.” He always referred to John as the English, but at this point, by Eli saying this, he accepted John as Amish and was telling him to be careful. A great wish as John leaves forever. 😢
Never thought of it that way- good insight!
Yes, Peter Weir! Absolutely love his work. Witness is wonderful, but for me Gallipoli is probably up there with The Longest Day in the US as far as its cultural impact in Australia - it so perfectly captures Aussie and Kiwi sensibilities without ever seeming cliched or patronising. I think Weir's real strength is that he engages with each story like a documentary film maker, always reverent to the cultural and sociological stage upon which his stories play out.
In preparation for this interview I read John C. Tibbit's compilation book of Peter Weir interviews and I think Weir did a nice job articulating the impact that the battle of Gallipoli had on the Australian consciousness. Something I'd never considered before. Gallipoli is a masterful movie with an incredibly powerful 3rd act. Also- his decision to delay the portrayal of the war and instead to focus on the lives of two disparate men in the Australian outback was brilliant.
Thanks for having me on the show George-I had a great time. Love the final product.
There are podcast issues- moves are in motion to get that fixed. Thanks for coming on Granite! Happy to see people are responding well to the video already!
I love Witness it introduced to me to Peter Weir films. His films are very poetic visually. He made great films from Gallopoli, The Picnic At Hanging Rock, Fearless and The Truman Show.
Harrison Ford demonstrated how he has got range as an actor from this film. Also credit to the rest of the actors. Yes it is probably Peter Weir mainstream film but it still got art film sensibilities from its shots to Maurice Jarre score but it is a great film from its Suspense, great acting, great story, and great directing.
If I had to rank Weir films- The year of Living Dangerously is my absolute favorite and it's a crime there's no blu ray release. Never has Sigourney Weaver been so beautiful in any film and Gibson so handsome. As for Maurice Jarre, I own the vinyl soundtrack to TYOLD- which is just excellent. Gallipoli is an incredibly powerful film- the ending is excruciating.
@@FilmJournal I never seen The Year of Living Dangerously. That Film seems to be off the radar but always wanted to watch it. Another film I never seen but it looks great from trailer is The Last Wave which I heard Richard Chamberlain is brilliant in it. Gallipoli is a great film, especially the ambiguous final shot which very powerful and is the real shot. It is a shame that Gibson and Weir didn't make another film together as I feel Weir knew how to get a great performance out of Gibson from seeing Gallipoli it also demonstrated has got range as an actor. I know Gibson almost was considered to play Max in Fearless.
1. This fits easily in my top 10 because I find the Amish fascinating people.
2. I prefer Kelly's performance over Charlie in "Top Gun".😍😍
3. This movie gave Ford the opportunity to show off his word working skills.
Fun Fact: Before he became famous he would, from time to time roadie for The Grateful Dead.
4. I met Danny Glover on the set of "Flight of the Intruder". He didn't have to change much to play this guy.
Witness and Regarding Henry are my faves. You were thinking of Presumed Innocent. Never liked Blade Runner or Mosquito Coast.
Visited my sister in Lancaster last week. The amish are odd. But they make so good food. And are very nice
Would love to visit sometime
I wouldn't necessarily agree that the portrayal of the Amish is so positive or sympathetic. Book is taken into their community out of necessity (to protect Samuel and their unwillingness to interact with the police). There are clear indications of the disapproval of the community elders for Book's presence and Rachel's perceived relationship (to whatever extent) with Book. Their community functions harmoniously, but with very clear limits placed on their members. The advantages and disadvantages of this community are shown/implied.
Clear limits are placed one anyone in any society. I feel it's healthy- and normal- for outsiders to respect the culture they find themselves in- oftentimes this happens because of subtle enforcement from the exiting members around them. I think what Granite and I were getting at though, is that- in our opinion- the amish community is portrayed as a relatively prosperous and functional society- on their terms.
Yes, that's very valid. I'm Irish and certain parts of Irish society would be insular and closely knit. Tradition can be both positive and negative and I perceived the same strengths and flaws in the Amish characters in this film. Regardless, I've enjoyed your discussion twice now and will be continuing to watch your consistently thoughtful and incisive videos.