‘Witness’ With Bill Simmons and Mallory Rubin
August 26, 2025 · Witness (1985) · Crime · Drama · Romance · 1:58:12 · ▶ Listen on Spotify
Categories
Most Rewatchable Scene
Bill SimmonsMentions the barn raising scene as riveting and beautiful, and the sponge bath stare down scene▶ 49:22
Mallory RubinThe barn dance scene with Harrison Ford and the car radio playing music - describes it as maybe their favorite scene in a movie ever▶ 46:17
Butch's Girlfriend Award
Bill SimmonsRachel moving on too quickly from her husband Jacob's death and being in the stepdad market▶ 1:15:18
Mallory RubinInitially disagreed with SPEAKER_01's pick, saying Rachel wasn't interested in Daniel and was only attracted to Harrison Ford's character, but eventually seemed to concede the point▶ 1:15:48
Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award
Bill SimmonsThis is Harrison Ford's best part of any role he's ever played, ranking it above Indiana Jones and Han Solo▶ 1:23:17
Mallory RubinWitness is not really a cop movie - it's a Western and genre mashup, with the cop plot just being mechanism rather than core focus▶ 1:21:48
Casting What-Ifs
Bill SimmonsGeena Davis — Geena Davis for Kelly McGillis's role - she was relatively anonymous, only been in Fletch, tall brunette with curly hair▶ 1:29:28
Mallory RubinKelly McGillis — Keep Kelly McGillis - agrees with Peter Weir that famous American actresses like Michelle Pfeiffer know too much to be believable as Rachel▶ 1:30:15
Apex Mountain
Bill SimmonsHarrison Ford — Harrison Ford - yes, this movie is his Apex Mountain as he's 'the first phone call after this movie for any movie he wants'▶ 1:34:21
Mallory RubinHarrison Ford — Harrison Ford - yes, after being Han Solo, Indiana Jones and Deckard, getting nominated for Best Actor for this movie nobody wanted to make proves his peak juice▶ 1:34:45
Best Double Feature
Mallory RubinThe Mosquito Coast — Pair with Mosquito Coast - the two Harrison Ford/Peter Weir team-ups in consecutive years▶ 1:55:50
Movies Referenced (40)
| Title (year) | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blade Runner (1982) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 9 | Mallory Rubin, Bill Simmons | ▶ 3:30 |
| Top Gun (1986) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin | ▶ 31:47 |
| Out of Africa (1985) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin | ▶ 15:57 |
| Atonement (2007) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Mallory Rubin, Bill Simmons | ▶ 49:04 |
| Walk of Shame (2014) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin | ▶ 48:57 |
| Blade (1998) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Mallory Rubin | ▶ 14:41 |
| Die Hard (1988) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 33:08 |
| Lethal Weapon (1987) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 32:38 |
| Patriot Games (1992) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 37:38 |
| Philadelphia (1993) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin | ▶ 15:11 |
| Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin | ▶ 3:30 |
| The Fugitive (1993) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 14:13 |
Directors Referenced (8)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Weir | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 21 | Mallory Rubin, Bill Simmons | The Way Back, Witness | ▶ 4:32 |
| Martin Scorsese | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Mallory Rubin, Bill Simmons | Taxi Driver, Killers of the Flower Moon, Mean Streets | ▶ 1:39:55 |
| Anson Jew | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Mallory Rubin | Wonder Woman | ▶ 1:37:28 |
| David Cronenberg | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | The Fly | ▶ 1:26:43 |
| Peter Jackson | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Mallory Rubin | King Kong | ▶ 33:30 |
| Ridley Scott | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Mallory Rubin | The Martian, Blade Runner | ▶ 15:02 |
| Sean Penn | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Mallory Rubin | Mystic River, 21 Grams, Dead Man Walking | ▶ 1:14:36 |
| Warren Beatty | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | Heaven Can Wait | ▶ 11:28 |
Actors Referenced (49)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrison Ford | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 78 | Mallory Rubin, Bill Simmons | Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, The Fugitive | ▶ 1:10 |
| Kelly McGillis | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 17 | Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin | Witness, Top Gun | ▶ 3:04 |
| Danny Glover | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 12 | Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin | Lethal Weapon, Lethal Weapon 3, Lethal Weapon 4 | ▶ 19:13 |
| Han Solo | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 8 | Mallory Rubin, Bill Simmons | ▶ 7:07 | |
| Paul Newman | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 8 | Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin | Road to Perdition, The Verdict | ▶ 3:37 |
| Robert Redford | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 8 | Bill Simmons | The Natural, Ordinary People, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | ▶ 3:37 |
| Elando Baltimore | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Mallory Rubin, Bill Simmons | ▶ 27:41 | |
| Brad Pitt | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Bill Simmons | Fight Club, 12 Monkeys, Mr. & Mrs. Smith | ▶ 9:20 |
| Tom Cruise | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin | Top Gun, Minority Report | ▶ 5:05 |
| Burt Reynolds | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | Boogie Nights, Smokey and the Bandit, Striptease | ▶ 4:46 |
| Michelle Pfeiffer | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin | What Lies Beneath | ▶ 1:29:54 |
| Omar Doom | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Mallory Rubin, Bill Simmons | Inglourious Basterds, Death Proof, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood | ▶ 4:22 |
Writers Referenced (3)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critical Role | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Mallory Rubin | ▶ 1:29:21 | |
| Earl W. Wallace | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | Witness | ▶ 35:14 |
| Roger Ebert | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 36:32 |
Cinematographers Referenced (2)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gabriel Goodenough | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons | Man of the Year, A Beautiful Mind | ▶ 2:45 |
| John Seale | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Mallory Rubin | Mad Max: Fury Road, The English Patient, Witness | ▶ 17:59 |