Witness For the Prosecution
by Billy Wilder
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester, John Williams (II), Marlene Dietrich, Tyrone PowerDirector: Billy Wilder
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 116 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-12-11
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Movie Reviews of Witness For the Prosecution
Movie Review: Make that 83 people who love it
Summary: 5 Stars
Though Thomas Wolfe advised against it, sometime heading home is a good thing. And what creates home more than those films you saw during your formative years? My first Marx Brothers, my first time with Bogart, my first gigantic plot twist all clank around in my brain even now. Sometimes, as with The Ipcress File, a return visit is massively disappointing. Sometimes though, a trip back is more exciting than imagined. Such a trip is Witness for the Prosecution, a film I loved when I first saw it, probably on TV way back when, and a film that looks even better today, especially in this lovely print.
How could anyone dislike this film? While others here praise Power and Dietrich, I find their performances somewhat stilted and artificial. The plot conclusion muddies those waters, but they do not carry this tale. I'm happy to be in the minority, as they cannot sink this battleship. While Billy Wilder makes a wonderful captain, steering and choosing and selecting with a deftness not often seen, it is Charles Laughton, in what is certainly one of the finest performances on screen, who elevates this tale from the mere plot-driven supriseroo (like Ten Little Indians) to the realm of classics. He is extraordinary, moving from condescending, arrogant, sneering, scowling, and cranky, to overwhelmed with his own ignorance and staggered by how badly he is mistaken. Breathtaking in the smallest mannerisms and slightest vocal inflections. Elsa Lanchester, who often played the dithering wacko, is the perfect blend of subservience and skill. The supporting cast is all excellent. Familiar faces from a hundred films walk in, do a great job, and depart. But watching the aging Laughton, a man who no one could have seen as a box office draw, triumph, is a treat. A fine film with a fine transfer to display its greatness.
Summary of Witness For the Prosecution
Billy Wilder cowrote and directed this brilliant 1957 mystery based on Agatha Christie's celebrated play about an aging London barrister (Charles Laughton) who's preparing to retire when he takes the defense in the most vexing murder case of his distinguished career. In his final completed film (he died of a heart attack less than a year later), Tyrone Power plays the prime suspect in the murder of a wealthy widow, and Marlene Dietrich plays the wife of the accused, whose testimony--and true identity--holds the key to solving the case. A classic of courtroom suspense, Witness for the Prosecution is one of those movies with enough double-crossing twists to keep the viewer guessing right up to the very end, when yet another surprise is deftly revealed. This being a Billy Wilder film, the dialogue is first-rate and the acting superb, with both Laughton and his offscreen wife Elsa Lanchester (playing the barrister's pesty nurse) winning Academy Awards for their performances. Although later films would concoct even more complicated courtroom scenarios, this remains one of the best films of its kind and a model for all those films that followed its lead. --Jeff ShannonTyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich and Charles Laughton star in this brilliantly made courtroom drama (The Film Daily) that left audiences reeling from its surprise twists and shocking climax. Directed by Billy Wilder, scripted by Wilder and Harry Kurnitz and based on Agatha Christie's hit London play, this splendid, six-time Oscar-nominated* classic crackles with emotional electricity (The New York Times) and continues to keep movie lovers riveted until the final, mesmerizing frame. When a wealthy widow is found murdered, her married suitor, Leonard Vole (Power), is accused of the crime. Vole's only hope for acquittal is the testimony of his wife (Dietrich) but his airtightalibi shatters when she reveals some shocking secrets of her own! *1957: Best Picture, Actor (Laughton), Supporting Actress (Elsa Lanchester), Director, Sound, Film Editing
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