MovieChat Forums > Witness (1985) Discussion > 1985 must be an incredibly bad year for ...

1985 must be an incredibly bad year for original screenplay...

posted 9 years ago by milhouse_van_houten
14 replies | jump to latest

The mediocrity of the story of this film could put the stories of Lifetime TV movies to shame.

How could this film have the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay?

Any of its competitor for the award could have been slightly more deserving as Best Orig Screenplay (Back to the Future, Brazil, Purple Rose of Cairo, The Official Story) even if those film's screenplay are not remarkable and noteworthy too. I guess 1985 is a bad year for original screenplay.

[–] !!!deleted!!! (63057267) 9 years ago

No taste, huh? That's really too bad. The script for WITNESS is exceptional on all fronts, wringing a great deal of originality from a heavily explored sub-genre. Good thing the Academy could recognize what you cannot.

[–] McQueen1980 8 years ago

the problem with the script is the ending which is awful

the city cops come back and one gets killed in a haybarn

the finale is a brief confrontation between john book and his boss , where john book just says ENOUGH ENOUGH and the cop boss meekly drops his gun, oh wow how exciting

[–] Degree7 9 years ago

The fact that the screenplay won the writer's guild award and many others, and is frequently used in screenwriting classes to exemplify narrative structure, proves that it is a fantastic piece of writing and the OP IS A CLUELESS PLEBIAN.

~ I'm a 21st century man and I don't wanna be here.

[–] manram24 9 years ago

The script is well written, it's simple but deep and moving. It's a beautifully written script.

[–] Burgershmurger (1414) 2 years ago

"Back to the Future" has a much better setup. As much as I liked "Witness", I fail to see the extraordinary narrative structure. It's just another crime story.

[–] Hows_yer_arm_john 9 years ago

Did you say this in 1985 or just now in 2016?

[–] lauriegonzalez11 8 years ago

This post just goes to show how anyone with an ill-conceived opinion can write whatever drivable he deems worthy.

[–] Robot-Werewolf 8 years ago

Nobody likes Milhouse!

[–] timothysimon 8 years ago

I agree with the original poster, the screenplay is nothing more than mediocre, and it doesn't create particularly deep characters. I like some of the themes of the clash of cultures, but they are not explored beyond a surface level. As a result the film was underwhelming to me, pretty forgettable.

[–] Rinn13 (167) 2 years ago

I'm sure others have pointed it out, but it's funny you say this, when this script is to this day used in films schools as an example of a great script.

[–] overseas7 (4601) 2 years ago

This movie is all but mediocre

[–] ccr1633 (1531) 2 years ago

Harrison Ford's best acting job in my view.

[–] overseas7 (4601) 2 years ago

Yes, one of the best as in "Frantic" or "Raiders of the lost ark "