The Harrison Ford movie Wes Anderson considers “perfect”
Director Wes Anderson has rightly crafted a meticulously preened spot on the Mount Rushmore of modern cinema. His movies, from Royal Tenenbaums to Fantastic Mr Fox to his latest, Asteroid City, have showcased the director to be one of this century’s most widely celebrated auteurs. Using joyfully nuanced storylines alongside a set of always reliable actors, Anderson’s movies can be stacked neatly side by side, providing a perfectly painted and always symmetrical vision of the man who created them.
Perfection is a prominent facet of the filmmaker’s work. A part of a recent TikTok trend that saw users replicate his classic style, Anderson’s filmmaking vision is as usual to us as an audience as paying for a ticket to see them on the big screen. When arriving at the movie theatre to see such a production, we expect finely tuned shots of symmetrical buildings, delicately handcrafted production design, unique colour palettes, and the kind of mise-en-scène that is perfumed with cinnamon baked goods.
All of this enaction of Anderson’s vision is down to his notorious perfection. Much like Stanley Kubrick, Anderson’s eye for detail is second to none. It makes this following statement all the more impressive for those involved. When speaking with Konbini as part of their Video Club feature, which sees prominent Hollywood names take a trip around one of Paris’ last remaining physical video stores, Anderson selected a classic Harrison Ford movie as one he considers to be “perfect”.
Witness isn’t the first movie one thinks of when picking out some of Harrison Ford’s best work. The actor has been a part of so many tremendous cinematic events, such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones, that a lesser-known action movie set in Amish country from 1985 can never be your first pick for a “perfect” Ford movie.
Starring alongside Kelly McGillis, Danny Glover, Luke Haas and more, Ford is the centre of the neo-noir crime thriller. Released three years after Blade Runner put Harrison Ford’s smouldering visage into a new light, Witness sees Ford as Detective Sergeant John Book as he tries to solve a murder case that involves police officers who have gone dark. Romance, intrigue and thrilling suspense ensue as Ford unravels the case, all while protecting the wife and child of Jacob Lapp in an Amish community.
While the movie may not rank too highly in the public eye, it was a sleeper hit, generating $116million from a comparatively paltry $12m budget. And according to Wes Anderson, there is a good reason for it. “I kinda always think,” starts Anderson while holding a copy of the Peter Weir-directed movie, “What is a perfect movie? There aren’t that many movies you would think of as ‘perfect’.”
“There are movies that are great and powerful. But, every now and then, there is one that is great, but it is also just sort of perfect. And this one,” he shares, holding the case like a game show assistant, “Is quite simple, but everything about it works perfectly. It’s not very long, and it’s very direct, and Harrison Ford is so good in it.”
Anderson continues: “An unforgettable scene is Lukas Haas (Samuel) realising who has done this — he sees in the police station this photograph of who the killer is. Harrison Ford comes over, looks at the picture and puts his finger down. It has so many moments like that, sort of cinematic and unforgettable. Peter Weir is a great director. Peter Weir has a big body of work of many great movies.”
There is one final reason Anderson believes it to be a perfect movie. After a conversation with the movie’s editor, Tom Noble, it became clear how neatly shot and created Witness really was: “It was such a simple task of just putting it together the way he shot it. He just put it together, and that was the movie. According to Tom Noble, it was one of the simplest movies to edit, and that’s part of what makes it perfect. The first draft was perfect. Like Mozart.”
