Deliberate mistake: To keep things simple, the movie relies on the Lancaster County Sheriff as a county police force. In reality, the county sheriff serves the county court (transporting prisoners, for example) but does not serve as a county wide police force. In PA, each city, borough, and township has its own police force. Note the varied colors of police cars at the farm in one of the final scenes. These were borrowed from the various local police forces (Lancaster City, for example, is robin egg blue with a white top).
Witness (1985)
1 deliberate mistake
Directed by: Peter Weir
Starring: Harrison Ford, Danny Glover, Viggo Mortensen, Lukas Haas, Kelly McGillis, Josef Sommer
Character mistake: When Schaeffer, McFee, and Fergie walk down the dusty road to Amish village, Western gunslinger style, they make a silly mistake no cop would make - they assume that Amish villages are unarmed and undefended. No so. The Amish have no prohibition on guns and almost every house would have at least one hunting rifle or shotgun. The three bad guys are risking being shot to bits before they get halfway down that hill; they don't even make an attempt at concealment. (Wouldn't they also at least think John - a police officer - would still have his gun or might have got hold of a firearm from the Amish?)
Rachel Lapp: Are you enjoying your reading?
John Book: Oh yeah. I'm learning a lot about manure. Very interesting.
Trivia: Harrison Ford was very taken with the Amish and the beautiful scenery in which Witness was filmed. Mr. Ford is a supporter and contributor to the Lancaster Farmland Trust, which helps save and preserve precious family farmlands. The Krantz' farm (where Witness was filmed) was saved and preserved by this trust fund.
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