Witness
by Peter Weir
This unit was prepared by Peter Yorke, St Marys Senior High School.
About the film and director
Film genre
Story and plot
Characters
Setting
Issues and themes
Film techniques in Witness
Camera placement
Editing
Close study of two important sequences
Other techniques
Writing tasks
References
About the film and director
Witness is an American film made in 1985 by Australian film maker Peter Weir. He is also well known for such films as Picnic at Hanging Rock (1973);Gallipolli (1981); Dead Poets’ Society (1989); Fearless (1994);The Truman Show (1998) and others. It was a financially successful film that was popular with audiences. Summing it up for potential audiences, reviewers described it as both a ‘crime film’ and as a ‘romance’. It might be said to fit into both these genres.
For a short summary of Peter Weir's films look at The Internet Movie [pic]Database [pic].This site also contains a complete set of credits for all Peter Weir's films, including Witness.
Film genre
A film of the same genre refers to a film of the same kind or category. By describing Witness to audiences as 'a crime film' or a 'romantic film’, critics inform potential audiences of what to expect when they go to see the film. Some of the best films are often difficult to fit into any particular genre, but nevertheless, this term genre is useful as a starting point for anyone analysing or evaluating a particular film. For examples of different genres click onto the Internet movie data base mentioned above.
Questions:
Having viewed the film at least once, you should consider the following: 1. Identify some examples of crime films. 2. If Witness is a crime film, what sort of characters, actions or events does it have in common with any of these other films? 3. Where are crime films usually set, or in what