Editing Witness (1985 film) (section)

==Production==
===Development===
Producer [[Edward S. Feldman]], who was in a "first-look" development deal with [[20th Century Studios|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 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 (TV series)|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]]''.{{sfn|McGivern|2020|p=2}}{{sfn|Feldman|2005|pages=180–190}} Earl Wallace and Kelley wrote the original screenplay together.

Feldman liked 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 the statement that Fox did not make "rural movies".{{sfn|Feldman|2005|p=191}}

Feldman sent the screenplay to Harrison Ford's agent [[The Gersh Agency|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 a "rural movie".{{sfn|Feldman|2005|pages=190–191}}

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 (film)|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 was his first American film. Starting the film immediately was imperative, because a [[Directors Guild of America]] (DGA) strike was looming.{{sfn|Feldman|2005|p=188}} [[David Cronenberg]] was offered the role of director, but declined as he "could never be a fan of the Amish".{{sfn|Rodley|1997|p=116}}

===Casting===
[[File:Kelly McGillis on the set of Witness (1984).jpg|thumb|upright|McGillis on the set of ''Witness'' in 1984]]
[[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 (1983 film)|Testament]]''. The role of Rachel 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.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

Viggo Mortensen 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 (New York City)|Shakespeare in the Park's]] production of'' [[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]''. He credited that decision and the very positive experience on the film as the start of his film career.<ref name="dvdextra">{{cite AV media |people=Keith Clark and Jon Mefford |date=2005 |title=Witness |chapter=Between Two Worlds: The Making of ''Witness'' |medium=DVD |publisher=Paramount Pictures |oclc=949729643 }}</ref>

===Pre-production===
During the weeks before filming, Ford spent time with 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.<ref name=wygantmc>{{cite interview|last=McGillis|first=Kelly|interviewer=[[Bobbie Wygant]]|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSXV-xN5RT4|title=Kelly McGillis for "Witness'|date=January 24, 1985|work=The Bobbie Wygant Archive|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220604042644/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSXV-xN5RT4&gl=US&hl=en|archive-date=June 4, 2022|access-date=June 4, 2022}}</ref>

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 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.<ref name="dvdextra" />

===Filming===
[[Principal photography]] took place between April 27, 1984 and June 29, 1984.<ref>{{cite news|title=Filming of 'Called Home' Will Begin In Area Today|work=[[Intelligencer Journal]]|page=40|first=John|last=Drybred| date=April 27, 1984}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=It's A Wrap: 'Witness' Crew Finishes; Film Opens In '85|work=[[Intelligencer Journal]]|page=28|first=Jon|last=Ferguson| date=June 30, 1984}}</ref> The film was shot on location in Philadelphia and the city and towns of [[Intercourse, Pennsylvania|Intercourse]], [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]], [[Strasburg, Pennsylvania|Strasburg]], and [[Parkesburg, Pennsylvania|Parkesburg]]. Local Amish were willing to work as carpenters and electricians, but declined to appear on film, so many of the [[Extra (acting)|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.{{sfn|Feldman|2005|pages=189–191}}

During the set-up and rehearsal of each scene, as well as during [[dailies]], Weir would play music to set 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 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.<ref name="dvdextra" />

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 the conclusion, and tried to convince him otherwise, but Weir insisted that the characters' emotions could be expressed only with visuals.<ref name="dvdextra" />