If you’re tired of buddy-cop shootouts and action-comedy hijinks, it’s time to trade the explosions and wisecracks for something with a little more heart — and a lot more craftsmanship. Witness, Harrison Ford’s haunting 1985 crime drama, is now available to stream for free on Pluto TV starting July 1. It’s a hidden gem that defies genre expectations and delivers one of Ford’s quietly powerful performances.
Directed by Peter Weir (Dead Poets Society, The Truman Show), Witness begins like your typical on-the-lam thriller. A young Amish boy, Samuel (played by a very young Lukas Haas), witnesses a murder in a Philadelphia train station. Enter Detective John Book (Ford), who takes the boy and his mother, Rachel (played by Kelly McGillis), under his protection. But when Book discovers the killers are corrupt cops, he retreats with the pair to their Amish home in rural Pennsylvania — where the true story begins.
What sets Witness apart from nearly every other crime film of its era is its patience. Once the characters reach Amish country, the film slows down — not out of laziness, but to observe. Book learns to live without electricity, to work with his hands, to respect a culture defined by pacifism and community. And in the quiet, a romance begins to form between him and Rachel — delicate, hesitant, and fully human.
Is ‘Witness’ Worth Seeing?
Witness remains Harrison Ford’s only Oscar-nominated performance to date. He plays Book not as a bulletproof badass, but as a tired, soulful man pulled into something far more personal than a routine murder case. His chemistry with McGillis is restrained and believable, and his transformation is gradual. He doesn’t become Amish — he simply starts to see the world differently.
And yet, Witness still delivers tension and payoff. The final act brings the violence back to Book’s doorstep as the corrupt officers close in. One particularly brutal scene involving a grain silo has become infamous. But even then, the Amish community finds a way to stand up without lifting a hand — forcing the final standoff to end not with gunfire, but with eyes watching.
Despite critical acclaim and eight Oscar nominations (including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay), Witness wasn’t embraced by everyone. The Amish community condemned the film, fearing it would attract unwanted attention to their way of life. Their boycott didn’t tank the film’s success — it was a commercial hit and topped the box office weeks after release — but it did lead to Governor Dick Thornburgh eventually promising not to promote Amish Country as a future filming location. While Witness wasn’t malicious in its portrayal, it’s clear that even the most well-intentioned stories can create unintended ripples in the real world.
Witness streams on Pluto from July 1.
