61-705: Kelly Ann McGillis (born July 9, 1957) is an American actress. She is known for her film roles such as Rachel Lapp in Witness (1985), for which she received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations; Charlie in Top Gun (1986); Made in Heaven (1987); The House on Carroll Street (1988); and as Katheryn Murphy in The Accused (1988). In her later career, she has starred in horror films such as Stake Land (2010), The Innkeepers (2011), and We Are What We Are (2013). McGillis
122-569: A civil union with Melanie Leis, a Philadelphia sales executive. They had met in 2000 when Leis was a bartender at the Caribbean Bar Grill & Brewery in Key West, Florida , which McGillis owned with her then-husband. McGillis worked full-time with drug addicts and alcoholics at Seabrook House Drug Alcohol Rehab Center, a rehabilitation center in Bridgeton, New Jersey , when she and Leis shared
183-401: A concealed carry permit to protect herself. Following the incident, a 38-year-old woman, Laurence Marie Dorn, was charged with second-degree burglary, misdemeanor larceny, misdemeanor stalking, assault and battery, and interfering with emergency communication. Later, Dorn was convicted of misdemeanor breaking and entering and sentenced to probation. Witness (1985 film) Witness
244-464: A sleeper hit , topping the charts in its fifth week of release. It eventually earned a total of $ 68,706,993 in North America. Internationally, it grossed $ 47.4 million for a worldwide total of $ 116.1 million. Paramount Home Entertainment released Witness on VHS , with a DVD in initially in 1999 and then in 2005, along with a Blu-ray Disc in 2015. British boutique label Arrow Films released
305-561: A "rural movie." Feldman sent the screenplay to numerous studios, and was rejected by all of them, until Paramount Pictures finally expressed interest. Feldman's first choice of director was Peter Weir , but he was involved in preproduction work for The Mosquito Coast and passed on the project. John Badham dismissed it as "just another cop movie", and others Feldman approached either were committed to other projects or had no interest. Then, as financial backing for The Mosquito Coast fell through, Weir became free to direct Witness , which
366-455: A brutal murder in a Philadelphia railway station. Filmed in 1984, Witness was released theatrically by Paramount Pictures in February 1985. The film went on to become a sleeper hit , grossing over $ 116 million worldwide. At the 58th Academy Awards , it earned eight nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Ford, winning Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing . It
427-504: A group of locals harass the Amish. Book retaliates, breaking with the Amish tradition of non-violence . The assault is reported to the local police, and word eventually gets back to Schaeffer. Upset with Book over the assault, Eli orders him to leave. Rachel approaches Book in a field, where they passionately embrace, finally acting on their feelings. Soon after, Schaeffer, McFee and another corrupt cop, Sergeant Leon "Fergie" Ferguson, arrive at
488-648: A home in Collingswood . McGillis currently lives in Hendersonville, North Carolina . As of 2013, she has taught acting at the New York Studio for Stage and Screen (NYS3) in Asheville, North Carolina . McGillis was left scratched and bruised after she was assaulted by a woman who broke into her home on June 17, 2016. She said the attack, as well as others which she has been a victim of in the past, led her to apply for
549-471: A hospital, but Book refuses and states that going there would allow him and, by extension, them to be found. Rachel's father-in-law, Eli, reluctantly agrees to shelter Book. Book slowly recovers in their care and begins to blend into the Amish community and lifestyle. He and Rachel develop feelings for each other, which becomes a source of friction for Daniel Hochleitner (a neighbor who had hoped to court Rachel after her husband's death). Book's relationship with
610-440: A law firm associated with the Amish claimed that their portrayal in the movie was not accurate. The National Committee for Amish Religious Freedom called for a boycott of the movie soon after its release, citing fears that these communities were being "overrun by tourists" as a result of the popularity of the movie, and worried that "the crowding, souvenir-hunting, photographing and trespassing on Amish farmsteads will increase." After
671-517: A novel about an Amish woman who witnesses a murder in Los Angeles. Earl W. Wallace, who wrote for the television Western "How the West was Won" recalled an episode with a similar plot and contacted its writer, William Kelley. Kelley had reworked the plot for the show from a script he had written for a 1972 episode of " Gunsmoke ." Earl Wallace and Kelley wrote the original screenplay together. Feldman liked
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#1732855664139732-433: A number of good performances, but there is something exhausting about its neat balancing of opposing manners and values... One might be made to care about all this if the direction by the talented Australian film maker, Peter Weir... were less perfunctory and if the screenplay... did not seem so strangely familiar. One follows Witness as if touring one's old hometown, guided by an outsider who refuses to believe that one knows
793-527: A production of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune by Terrence McNally , which toured the United Kingdom in 2010. She began working in television again in 2006, then in 2007 joined the cast of Showtime 's The L Word for its fifth season. She had a role in the 2010 vampire film Stake Land , directed by Jim Mickle, starring alongside Nick Damici , Connor Paolo and Danielle Harris . McGillis
854-693: A recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award for lifetime achievement in poetry. Porter was born in Sydney. Her father was barrister Chester Porter and her mother, Jean, was a high school chemistry teacher. Porter attended the Queenwood School for Girls . She graduated from the University of Sydney in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in English and History. Porter's awards include The Age Book of
915-632: A thoroughly absurd shoot-'em-up, like ketchup poured over a delicate Pennsylvania Dutch dinner." Time Out New York observed, "Powerful, assured, full of beautiful imagery and thankfully devoid of easy moralizing, it also offers a performance of surprising skill and sensitivity from Ford." Halliwell's Film Guide chose Witness as one of only two films from 1985 to receive a four-star review, describing it as "one of those lucky movies which works out well on all counts and shows that there are still craftsmen lurking in Hollywood." Radio Times called
976-473: A thought in their heads—that Witness arrives like a fresh new day. It is a movie about adults whose lives have dignity and whose choices matter to them. And it is also one hell of a thriller. Ebert also praised Ford's work and claimed he had "never given a better performance in a movie." Vincent Canby of The New York Times was much more negative, saying of the film: It's not really awful, but it's not much fun. It's pretty to look at and it contains
1037-659: A weighted average score of 76 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times rated the film four out of four stars, calling it: [F]irst of all, an electrifying and poignant love story. Then it is a movie about the choices we make in life and the choices that other people make for us. Only then is it a thriller—one that Alfred Hitchcock would have been proud to make... We have lately been getting so many pallid, bloodless little movies—mostly recycled teenage exploitation films made by ambitious young stylists without
1098-402: Is a 1985 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Peter Weir . The film stars Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis , with Josef Sommer , Lukas Haas , Jan Rubeš , Danny Glover , Alexander Godunov , Patti LuPone and Viggo Mortensen (in his feature film debut). Its plot focuses on a police detective protecting an Amish woman and her son, who becomes a target after he witnesses
1159-509: Is based on the verse novel of the same name by Australian poet Dorothy Porter . McGillis's early television roles included a part on the daytime soap One Life to Live in 1984. She starred in the 1984 television movie Sweet Revenge (also known as Bittersweet Revenge ) with Alec Baldwin . Other television films during the 1980s included Private Sessions in 1985, and as a narrator in Santabear's First Christmas . She also narrated
1220-499: Is later ambushed in his apartment parking garage by McFee, who shoots and wounds him before fleeing. Since only Schaeffer knew of Book's suspicions, Book realizes that Schaeffer is corrupt and tipped off McFee. Knowing that Samuel and Rachel are now in danger, Book orders Carter to hide their police files. He then drives them back to their farm. While beginning his drive back to Philadelphia, he passes out from his wounds and crashes into their birdhouse . Rachel insists that he be taken to
1281-541: Is primarily concerned with the intersection of contrasting cultures, a recurring theme in several of Weir's films, including The Last Wave (1977) and The Year of Living Dangerously (1982). Weaver-Zercher notes that the conflict between Amish and non-Amish as depicted in Witness "reflect[s] well on the Amish ways" and also serves as a redemption story for Captain Book, who regains a new sense of humanity during his displacement in
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#17328556641391342-535: The 30th Street Station waiting for a connecting train, Samuel goes into the men's room and witnesses the murder of undercover police officer Detective Ian Zenovich. Detective Captain John Book and his partner, Sergeant Elton Carter, are assigned to the case. They question Samuel, who is unable to identify the perpetrator from mugshots or a lineup. Samuel then sees a newspaper clipping in a trophy case of narcotics officer Lieutenant James McFee and points him out to Book as
1403-572: The Juilliard School , where she graduated in 1983, Group 12 . After making her film debut in Reuben, Reuben in 1983, McGillis's breakout role was that of an Amish mother in Witness (1985) for which she received Golden Globe and BAFTA award nominations. Her next high-profile role was that of flight instructor Charlotte Blackwood (call sign "Charlie") in the 1986 fighter-pilot film Top Gun starring Tom Cruise . In 1987, McGillis acted in
1464-471: The extras were actually Mennonites . Halfway through filming, the title was changed from Called Home to Witness at the behest of Paramount's marketing department, which felt the original title posed too much of a promotional challenge. Principal photography was completed three days before the scheduled DGA strike, which ultimately failed to materialize. During the set-up and rehearsal of each scene, as well as during dailies , Weir would play music to set
1525-470: The Amish area. However, since Amish communities have no modern means of communication and little contact with the outside world, he hits repeated dead ends. When Book goes into town with Eli to use a payphone to call his precinct, he learns that Carter was killed in the line of duty. Realizing that Schaeffer was behind it, Book calls him at his home (where the call cannot be traced), chastises him for being corrupt and threatens to kill him. As they leave town,
1586-401: The Amish community deepens as they learn that he is skilled at carpentry and seems like a decent, hard-working man. He is invited to participate in a barn raising for a newly-married couple, gaining Hochleitner's respect. However, the attraction between Book and Rachel is evident and causes gossip in the tight-knit community. Meanwhile, Schaeffer searches for Book by contacting authorities in
1647-443: The Amish community. Producer Edward S. Feldman , who was in a "first-look" development deal with 20th Century Fox at the time, first received the screenplay for Witness in 1983. Originally titled Called Home , which is the Amish term for death, it ran for 182 pages, the equivalent of three hours of screen time. The script, which had been circulating in Hollywood for several years, began with an idea by novelist Pamela Wallace for
1708-466: The Lapp farm. They take Rachel and Eli hostage. Eli manages to alert Book, and Book tells Samuel to hide at Hochleitner's farm. Book tricks Fergie into the corn silo and suffocates him under tons of corn . He then uses Fergie's shotgun to kill McFee. Schaeffer holds Rachel and Eli at gunpoint, but Samuel secretly comes back to ring the Lapp farm's bell. Book confronts Schaeffer, who threatens to kill Rachel, but
1769-1094: The Shakespeare Theatre, Washington, DC. In 2004, she appeared in the stage play The Graduate as Mrs. Robinson , touring the United States. McGillis starred in a Pasadena Playhouse stage production of The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman in May 2009, co-starring with Julia Duffy . Her stage work includes: Don Juan (1982), The Sea Gull (1985), Peccadillo (1985), The Merchant of Venice (1988), Twelfth Night (1989), Mary Stuart (1990), The Merry Wives of Windsor (1990), Hedda Gabler (1994), Mourning Becomes Electra (1997), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999), Measure for Measure (1999) and The Graduate (2004), together with additional roles in Love for Love , Six Characters in Search of an Author , Three Sisters and The Winter's Tale . She also appeared in
1830-519: The United States. After 1988's The Accused , she appeared in Cat Chaser with Peter Weller , a film she despised and which discouraged her from pursuing an acting career. McGillis appeared in dozens of television and film roles throughout the 1990s before taking a break from acting for a few years. McGillis played the part of Babe Ruth 's second wife, Claire Merritt Ruth , in The Babe (1992). From
1891-689: The Year for poetry, the National Book Council Award for The Monkey's Mask and the FAW Christopher Brennan Award for poetry. Two of her verse novels were shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award : What a Piece of Work in 2000 and Wild Surmise in 2003. In 2000, the film The Monkey's Mask was made from her verse novel of the same name. In 2005, her libretto The Eternity Man , co-written with composer Jonathan Mills ,
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1952-532: The bell has alerted and summoned all of the neighbors. With so many witnesses present, Schaeffer surrenders and is later arrested. With Rachel and Samuel no longer in danger, Book departs for Philadelphia, bidding farewell. Before he drives off, Eli wishes John well by saying, "You be careful out there among them English.” As per film's end credits: In his book The Amish in the American Imagination (2001), scholar David Weaver-Zercher notes that Witness
2013-413: The concept, but felt too much of the script was devoted to Amish traditions, diluting the thriller aspects of the story. He offered Kelley and Wallace $ 25,000 for a one-year option and one rewrite, and an additional $ 225,000 if the film actually were made. They submitted the revised screenplay in less than six weeks, and Feldman delivered it to Fox. Joe Wizan, the studio's head of production, rejected it with
2074-656: The conclusion, and tried to convince him otherwise, but Weir insisted that the characters' emotions could be expressed only with visuals. Witness had its world premiere at the Fulton Opera House in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in on February 7, 1985. The film was screened out of competition at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival . The film opened theatrically in 876 theaters in the United States on February 8, 1985, and grossed $ 4,539,990 in its opening weekend, ranking number two behind Beverly Hills Cop . The film went on to become
2135-679: The documentary Out of Ireland for PBS in 1995. While at Juilliard she performed in William Congreve 's Love for Love , directed by John Bletchley. She appeared in a couple of off-broadway and Broadway theater productions during the 1980s in New York City. During the late-1980s and through the mid-2000s, McGillis was a featured actress at the prestigious Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington DC . In 2002, she appeared in production of John Webber's play " The Duchess of Malfi " at
2196-463: The film "partly a love story and partly a thriller, but mainly a study of cultural collision – it's as if the world of Dirty Harry had suddenly stumbled into a canvas by Brueghel ." It added, "[I]t's Weir's delicacy of touch that impresses the most. He ably juggles the various elements of the story and makes the violence seem even more shocking when it's played out on the fields of Amish denial." Leading up to and following its release, Witness
2257-427: The film in the United States on 4K Ultra HD disc and remastered Blu-ray on October 31, 2023. On Rotten Tomatoes , Witness holds an approval rating of 93% based on 45 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The site's critics consensus states: "A wonderfully entertaining thriller within an unusual setting, with Harrison Ford delivering a surprisingly emotive and sympathetic performance." On Metacritic , it has
2318-450: The film's climactic scene in a chapter titled "The Witness" in his 1999 book Getting to Peace (later republished with the alternative title The Third Side: Why We Fight and How We Can Stop ) and used the scene as a symbol of the power of ordinary citizens to resolve conflicts and stop violence. This scene from the popular movie Witness captures the power of ordinary community members to contain violence. The Amish farmers were present as
2379-598: The homicide department of the Philadelphia Police Department, researching the important details of working as a homicide detective. McGillis did research by moving in with an Amish widow and her seven children, learning how to milk cows and practicing their Pennsylvania German dialect. Weir and cinematographer John Seale went on a trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art , which was running an exhibition of 17th-century Dutch Masters. Weir drew attention to
2440-620: The late-1980s to the mid-1990s, McGillis appeared in Winter People (1989), and North (1994), her second Amish part in television or film, as well as several made-for-TV films. In 1999, McGillis co-starred with Val Kilmer (who plays Virgil, a blind man), for a second time as his over protective sister in At First Sight . She played the suspect in the disappearance of a young woman in The Monkey's Mask , an international lesbian cult film from 2000 starring Susie Porter . The film
2501-414: The mood, with the idea that it prevented the actors from thinking too much and let them listen to their other instincts. The barn-raising scene was only a short paragraph in the script, but Weir thought it was important to highlight that aspect of Amish community life. They shot the scene in a day and did, in fact, build a barn, albeit with the aid of cranes off-camera. To film the scene in the corn silo, corn
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2562-404: The movie was completed, Pennsylvania governor Dick Thornburgh agreed not to promote Amish communities as future film sites. A similar concern was voiced within the movie itself, where Rachel tells a recovering Book that tourists often consider her fellow Amish something to stare at, with some even being so rude as to trespass on their private property. Negotiation expert William Ury summarised
2623-457: The murderer. Book investigates McFee and discovers that he was previously responsible for a seizure of expensive chemicals used to make black-market amphetamine , after which the chemicals disappeared. Book surmises that McFee sold the chemicals back to drug dealers, and Zenovich was investigating. Book expresses his suspicions to Chief of Police Paul Schaeffer, who advises Book to keep the case secret so that they can determine how to proceed. Book
2684-554: The paintings of Johannes Vermeer , which were used as inspiration for the lighting and composition of the film, especially in the scenes where John Book is recovering from a gunshot wound in Rachel's house. The film was shot on location in Philadelphia and the city and towns of Intercourse , Lancaster , Strasburg , and Parkesburg . Local Amish were willing to work as carpenters and electricians, but declined to appear on film, so many of
2745-411: The romance film Made in Heaven , directed by Alan Rudolph , which was produced by Lorimar Productions . McGillis played the part of caretaker for Miss Venable ( Jessica Tandy ) in 1988's The House on Carroll Street , which also starred Jeff Daniels . She overhears a suspicious conversation in the house next door and suspects that she's stumbled on a conspiracy to smuggle Nazi war criminals into
2806-426: The statement that Fox did not make "rural movies". Feldman sent the screenplay to Harrison Ford's agent Phil Gersh , who contacted the producer four days later and advised him his client was willing to commit to the film. Certain the attachment of a major star would change Wizan's mind, Feldman approached him once again, but Wizan insisted that as much as the studio liked Ford, they still were not interested in making
2867-410: The territory better than he does. There's not a character, an event, or a plot twist that one hasn't anticipated long before its arrival, which gives one the feeling of waiting around for people who are always late. Variety said the film was "at times a gentle, affecting story of star-crossed lovers limited within the fascinating Amish community. Too often, however, this fragile romance is crushed by
2928-399: The third side in perhaps its most elemental form, seemingly doing nothing, but in fact playing the critical role of Witness. Like the Amish, we are all potential Witnesses. Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa cited Witness as one of his favorite films of all time. Dorothy Porter Dorothy Featherstone Porter (26 March 1954 – 10 December 2008) was an Australian poet. She was
2989-539: Was McGillis's fourth Amish themed film and she had the lead role in Mother of All Secrets in 2017 as Rose Lewis. McGillis married fellow Juilliard student Boyd Black in 1979; the couple divorced in 1981. In the mid-1980s, she dated actors Warren Beatty and Jodie Foster . She married Fred Tillman in 1989, and they have two daughters. The couple divorced in 2002. The Centurion , a 110-foot schooner valued at $ 1.5 million owned by McGillis and her then-husband, Fred Tillman,
3050-411: Was a self-described pagan , committed to pagan principles of courage, stoicism and commitment to the earth and beauty. Porter had been suffering from breast cancer for four years before her death, but "many thought she was winning the battle," according to journalist Matt Buchanan. In the last three weeks of her life, she became very sick and was admitted to hospital, where she was in intensive care for
3111-429: Was actually dropped onto the actor, while a scuba diving regulator with a compressed air tank was hidden on the floor so the actor would be able to breathe. Originally, the script ended with a scene of Book and Rachel each explaining their feelings for each other to the audience, but Weir felt the scene was unnecessary and decided not to shoot it. The studio executives were concerned that the audience would not understand
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#17328556641393172-707: Was also nominated for seven BAFTA Awards , winning one for Maurice Jarre 's score, and six Golden Globe Awards . William Kelley and Earl W. Wallace won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay and the 1986 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay presented by the Mystery Writers of America . An Amish community outside Lancaster, Pennsylvania , attends the funeral of Jacob Lapp, leaving behind his wife, Rachel, and eight-year-old son, Samuel. Rachel and Samuel travel by train to visit Rachel's sister, which takes them into Philadelphia . While at
3233-805: Was born on July 9, 1957, in the Southern California suburb of Newport Beach , the eldest of three daughters born to Virginia Joan ( née Snell), a homemaker, and Donald Manson McGillis, a physician. Her direct paternal descent is Scots-Irish , including German and Welsh ancestry. She attended Newport Harbor High School . McGillis attended the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, California . After dropping out of high school in 1975, she obtained her GED and then moved to New York City to study acting at
3294-536: Was cast because Weir thought he had the right face for the part of an Amish man. Mortensen had just started his acting career, so this was his first film acting role, and he had to turn down another role as a soldier in Shakespeare in the Park's production of Henry V . He credited that decision and the very positive experience on the film as the start of his film career. During the weeks before filming, Ford spent time with
3355-638: Was destroyed by fire in April 1996 at a marina in Dania, Florida . The fire started on an adjacent boat at the Port LauDania marina on a Dania Cutoff Canal and spread to the schooner. Tillman had brought the boat from the couple's home in Key West in hopes of selling it at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show. McGillis came out as a lesbian in 2009 during an interview with SheWired . In 2010, she entered into
3416-527: Was featured in a breast cancer docu-drama titled 1 a Minute , released in 2010. She starred in Ti West 's 2011 thriller The Innkeepers , We Are What We Are and Tio Papi in 2013, Grand Street, Love Finds You in Sugarcreek, Ohio (which was McGillis's third Amish -themed film), Z Nation , and an episode of Sisters of Mercy in 2014, and Blue in 2015. An Uncommon Grace on Hallmark Channel
3477-490: Was his first American film. Starting the film immediately was imperative, because a Directors Guild of America (DGA) strike was looming. David Cronenberg was offered the role of director, but declined as he "could never be a fan of the Amish". Lynne Littman had originally been in talks to direct the film, and though she ultimately did not, she recommended Lukas Haas for the part of Samuel, because she had recently worked with him on her film Testament . The role of Rachel
3538-404: Was met with controversy from the Amish communities where it was filmed, and was subject to debate from editors, scholars, and other parties regarding its depiction of the Amish. Some accused the film of exploiting the Amish community for commercial purposes, while others felt that the depiction of Amish characters in an R-rated film was insensitive to the Amish's beliefs. A statement released by
3599-748: Was performed at the Sydney Festival . Porter's last book published during her life was El Dorado , her fifth verse novel, about a serial child killer. The book was nominated for several awards including the inaugural Prime Minister's Literary Award in 2007 and for Best Fiction in the Ned Kelly Awards . Two other works have been published posthumously : her poetry collection The Bee Hut (2009), as well as has her final completed work, an essay on literary criticism and emotions, entitled On Passion . Porter, who found many outlets for writing, including fiction for young adults and libretti for chamber operas,
3660-600: Was the most difficult to cast, and after Weir grew frustrated with the auditions he had seen, he asked the casting director to look for actors in Italy, because he thought they would be more "womanly". As they were reviewing audition tapes from Italy, Kelly McGillis came to audition, and the moment she put on the bonnet and spoke a few lines, Weir knew she was the one. The casting director recommended her old friend Alexander Godunov, who had never acted before, but she thought his personality would be right, and Weir agreed. Viggo Mortensen
3721-501: Was working on a rock opera called January with Tim Finn at the time of her death. Porter was an open lesbian and in 1993 moved to Melbourne to be with her partner, fellow writer Andrea Goldsmith . The couple were coincidentally both shortlisted in the 2003 Miles Franklin Award for literature. In 2009, Porter was posthumously recognised by the website Samesame.com.au as one of the most influential gay and lesbian Australians. Porter
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