![]() The exhibit also makes passing mention of the controversy stirred up by the movie, which critics said exploited the Amish. “It was at the suggestion of supposedly an Amish neighbor, even though the Amish were not enthused about having the film made,” Metzler said during the tour. The company was on the verge of moving the production to Portland, Ore., when it came upon a farm owned by Emma and Paul Krantz, who were not Amish.ĭiane Huber, of Lancaster, Pa., takes a picture inside the barn where actors Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis filmed the dance scene from the film Witness. Paramount Pictures looked at about 350 Pennsylvania farms in search of a site secluded enough for the set, according to tour guide Paul Metzler. Lancaster County is the world’s second-largest Amish settlement (after Holmes County, Ohio), with approximately 33,000 people. Afterward, it traverses other country roads back to the visitors’ center and passes through the village of Intercourse, where other scenes were filmed outside a general store. The tour then rolls through the countryside to the “Witness” farm where the fictional Lapp family lived near Strasburg, about 10 miles southeast of Lancaster. The museum’s “Witness to Witness” exhibit mixes movie memorabilia with facts about the Amish, who shun most modern conveniences, dress plainly, and drive horse-drawn buggies. Its first stop is the Lancaster Heritage Museum. Tours are given two times a day on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays. On a recent morning, a group of 18 people boarded a bus at the visitors’ center just outside Lancaster to embark on the trip. ![]() For a limited time this year, the 20th anniversary of the film's release, the farm is one stop on a three-hour guided tour that offers a behind-the-scenes look at the movie, which was filmed on location in Lancaster County and Philadelphia and introduced Amish culture to a worldwide audience. Visitors walk around the grounds of the farm near Strasburg, Pa., where the movie Witness was filmed. Kelly McGillis played the widow, Rachel Lapp. “Witness” also explores how Officer John Book, portrayed by Harrison Ford, tries to assimilate with the Amish while hiding from fellow policemen involved in the murder. “If you talk about ‘Witness’ to anyone, whether you’re in France or you’re in Germany … they recognize the movie … and that’s their concept of what they know about Lancaster County and the Amish community,” said Wendy Nagle, president of the Pennsylvania Dutch Convention and Visitors Bureau. Filmed on location in Lancaster County and Philadelphia, the movie introduced Amish culture to a worldwide audience. The farm is one stop on a three-hour guided tour that offers a behind-the-scenes look at the movie. But that hasn’t deterred curiosity-seekers from sneaking peeks over the years.įor a limited time this year – the 20th anniversary of the film’s release – tourists can get an even closer look at the site where movie romance blossomed between an Amish widow and a Philadelphia narcotics officer investigating a murder witnessed by her son. ? The 82-acre farm featured in the 1985 movie thriller “Witness” is tucked into a small valley, hidden from the view of travelers on Lancaster County’s back roads.
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