I first watched Witness on video in the mid-80s. I've watched a lot of movies since, but none has been able to knock off Witness from my top spot, even for a short period of time. I consider Witness to be a small cinematic miracle, not because it's particularly groundbreaking in any area, but because all the parts (story, acting, editing, cinematography, sound) fit together so perfectly, almost like a latter day Casablanca. The depth of the storyline is particularly impressive. On the surface Witness is a suspense thriller -- a crime story -- and a pretty good one at that. But it's also a tale of romance between the Philadelphia policeman John Book and the Amish woman Rachel Lamb, a love accentuated with a cultural clash between their two worlds. And thirdly the movie is almost a documentary about the Amish. Also I'm always amazed how much of the exposition is handled visually, without a heavy reliance on dialogue or voiceover narration "explaining" what's going on.

I've watched most of Peter Weir's American-released movies, including The Year of Living Dangerously, The Mosquito Coast, Dead Poet's Society, Green Card, Fearless, and The Truman Show. But none of them quite match up to Witness, although some have been more critically acclaimed.

Without further ado, here are my favorite moments in Witness (listed more or less chronologically):

1. The very beginning of the movie which begins with a shot of fields of grain and Amish people slowly rising out of the waving stalks. It's a powerful visual depiction of the saying that the people of the Midwest grow out of the wheat fields they tend. This shot is also repeated to some extent near the end of the movie as the neighboring Amish respond to the bell rung by Samuel in that wonderful expression of community.
2. The subtle juxtaposition of the Amish society with the technology-laden modern society. The movie begins with shots only of the Amish people, so that you almost start to think the movie is a period piece. The first appearance of modern society occurs when the carriage, moving right across the scene, is followed by a large truck. It's a humorous shot because it's possible that the only (negative) impression an East Coast person will develop of Amish culture will be when stuck behind a slow-moving Amish carriage.
3. That great shot of the carriage stopped in front of the railroad crossing. The horizontal and vertical elements of the railroad crossing complements the framework of the carriage beautifully. And you could consider this shot symbolic of the Amish society stagnant in front of a fast-changing modern culture.
4. The scene at the wake where Daniel Hochleitner goes to speak with Rachel. He only says a few words of condolence -- "Rachel, I'm sorry about Jacob. I know he will ... walk with God". But the fact that such an action of a man towards a woman is unusual in Amish culture reveals the nature of Daniel's feelings toward Rachel. Of course, us modern folk would not consider it unusual, so Weir communicates this to us through Daniel's embarassed, furtive glances before he enters the room, and the the curious looks and murmurs of the women around Rachel.
5. The scene at the railroad station where Daniel gives Samuel the small wooden horse. It's heartwarming to see how happy Samuel is made by such a small toy, and the simpleness of the toy contrasts with the elaborate toy constructed later in the movie by Book.
6. Samuel's introduction to the "real world" at the Philadelphia train stations. This is captured nicely by his wandering around station, and the curious looks and mocking smiles of the people at the station. This is repeated later at the police station. A particularly touching moment occurs when Samuel reaches out to touch the man in the black robe, thinking that he'd found something familiar, only to find out it is a Jewish rabbi.
7. One of my favorite shots is POV of Samuel up at the statue of the angel. It's almost as if the movie is saying that the Amish way of life -- while successful in closing themselves off against the violent emotions of the world like murder, hate, war -- also isolates them from our more cherished achievements of beauty, art, and passion. This shot is followed by a bird's eye shot over the shoulder of the angel looking down at Samuel as Rachel comes to take him away.
8. The scene at the police station where Samuel identifies the killer. This scene is beautifully shot. It begins with Samuel wandering around the station meeting various kinds of people. He then wanders over to the photo case and sees the newspaper clipping of McFee. We have a shot directly at his facial expression as he recognizes the policeman's face. The sounds of the hustle and bustle of the police station dies down to a single chilling note. Samuel looks over at Book, who is on the phone. Book sees Samuel, and notices his scared expression. He comes over, nods as he understands what Samuel has found, then closes his hand around Samuel's pointing finger. This is classic pictoral narrative. Without any words being spoken, we learn several things. Samuel has identified the killer, we know that the killer is a decorated policeman, and we know that because Samuel knows this, he is in danger.
9. The scene where Rachel takes care of Book the night after he has been shot and they have returned to the Amish town. The room is illuminated only by a candle, and the cinematographer uses it to create dramatic silhouettes and shadows, reminiscent of Kubrick's camerwork in Tom Jones.
10. There's a nice moment after Book has recovered somewhat. He asks where he can find a phone. She starts off on explaining why the Amish don't have phones, but he cuts her off and specifies a public phone. She says there's one in town, and she starts to tell him he can go when he gets better, but he cuts her off again, telling her he's going that day. The tone of his voice clearly leaving no room for argument. She starts to leave, but he calls her back, and starts to say something, then just mutters "Nothing.". We can tell by his face that he is apologizing for his curtness, and that he appreciates everything she's done for him. And when she smiles, we know that she has recognized that as well. We learn a lot from this scene about the characters and how they feel about each other. And it's done very subtly through the timing of the dialogue and their facial expressions.
11. The scene where Rachel visits Book in the woodshop. This is the scene where we first start to understand that Rachel loves him. She conveys is by the way she looks at him, and by the way she brushes off his question about Hochleitner. I like the way he drinks the lemonade all at once, some of it spilling out onto his shirt, and how she sort of stares at him in awe. It forms a nice counterpoint to the way she and Hochleitner were just sipping the lemonade on the porch.
12. The scene where Rachel and Book dance to the car radio. The sexual tension in this scene is enormous, and yet subtle. It is acheived not by nudity or gratuitous passion like you might find in other movies, but by the way the characters look at each other, or by a subtle hesitation by Harrison Ford as he dances around Kelly McGillis. And again, the scene, lit by a single lantern, is shot beautifully.
13. The barn raising scene. I think everyone who watches this movie remembers this uplifting scene of the Amish community working together to achieve a single goal -- building a barn for a newlywed couple. And after that stirring music and industry, has there been a more profound silence than that of the people bowed in prayer before eating lunch?

14. During the barn-raising lunch, Rachel's growing rebellion to the rules of the Amish community is illustrated beautifully by the scene where she pours Book's drink first. It's a subtle exposition - how she holds her head high, daring them to oppose her. And the shocked looks of the Amish as they realize what she is doing. The wonderful staredown that Hochleitner gives Book, and the way Book stares back at him, asserting not only his own self-pride, but his support of Rachel.
15. The bathing scene. I get kind of annoyed when people talk about this scene only because it has the only bit of nudity in the movie. This really is the pivotal scene in the relationship between Book and Rachel, and it is handled in a masterful fashion. Book comes to the door and sees her bathing. She realizes he is there, but instead of being embarrased or offended, she turns to face him, exposing herself and in effect openly offering herself to him. He looks down, and when he raises his head again, we know by the look in his face that he will not accept her offer. Rachel recognizes that, and turns away. Again, done totally without dialogue, but only with facial expressions and subtle actions. We don't know why he refused -- we'll find that out in their conversation in the chicken coop the next day. But we know he has refused, and that is enough. In the last shots we see Book back in his room, alone. Then it cuts to a shot over his shoulder as he stares out the window. We never see his face, but we know instinctively that it was a tough decision he has made.
16. The scene in the chicken coop the next morning is very poignant. Rachel is there working, and Book comes to the doorway. She looks up and sees him, but immediately looks down, perhaps ashamed of the what was offered and rejected. Then Book tells her his reason for rejecting her, in that simple yet profound sentence, "Rachel, if we'd made love last night, I'd have to stay, or you'd have to leave." After a moment, she looks up quickly, perhaps to say that she now understands and forgives him. But he has already gone. Very moving.
17. The Kiss. The way that in which Rachel comes to realize that Book is leaving is also remarkable in it's subtlety - when she sees the toy that Book has given Samuel, and when she sees him putting up the now-repaired birdhouse. She sends Samuel to bed, removes her cap (reminds one of a similar scene in Dead Poet's Society, doesn't it?), and runs out to meet him. In the end, it's just a kiss, and a bit of a sloppy one at that. But it's so powerful, because of the way that it has been built up. All through the movie we've seen these two people from vastly differing cultures grow to love and respect each other. We've seen them deny that love because they know they're too different. So when they finally put that aside and give in to their feelings, it achieves an energy and emotion greater than those superficial sex scenes that you see in lesser movies.
18. I really liked the ending. It's not your typical Hollywood ending, to be sure, but I thought that made it more realistic. For example, when Schaeffer and Book have each other at gunpoint, with Schaeffer holding Rachel as a shield in front of him, they're not cooly talking with each other in some witty good guy/bad guy repartee. They're acting like any of us would act -- yelling at each other at the top of their lungs, in their hysteria not even hearing what the other person is saying.
    And the resolution of it is not some contrived shootout. Book shows Schaeffer that he has lost, even when he is the one left holding a gun. Schaeffer realizes that to really get away with his rimes, he'll need to kill Book, Samuel, Rachel, maybe even the whole town. He recognizes he can't do that, and simply surrenders. No fancy gunplay, no dramatic suicide, no last-minute vengeance. I thought that was a nice change.
19. "You be careful out among them English". John Book enters the Homish community as a stranger, a dangerous outside influence. As he spends time in the community, contributing to it and defending those in it, he eventually becomes accepted. So how best to communicate this? Can it be done with just a single sentence? Obviously, if you are Peter Weir it can. :)