Reviews (18)

Terrorific as life
Terrorific as life, "Johnny got his gun" tells much more that can be described with words. I was searching this movie years ago, and now that I have found it (and watch it) I can say that this is one of the greatest films ever made, a masterpiece. What Dalton Trumbo shows here will dig deep inside you. There are more subliminal messages, themes and even philosophical reasonings aside from the anti-war message (wich is omnipresent, of course). I'll get the book soon. I won't say anymore, just watch it. You won't see life the same.

a disturbing ,but very good anti-war film
Something that most reviewers are leaving out is that this movie was orginally released at the climax of the Vietnam war (70 or 71 I dont remember exatcly when) because of its very anti-war message the film was a little controversal . The main reason I watched this was because of the old Metallica video for "one" and thought that whatever movie they were stealing scenes from had to be good . Also there is more truth in this movie than one would think .If you look into World War II a lot of military doctors were really proud of just who or rather what they could save and keep alive . Later though things on the battlefield were different with most doctors realizing that there are times when people are better off dead , and that they should think about what someones life would be like when they recover...

The story basically goes something like this: A young soldier in World War II gets hit with a bomb with his name on it , leaving him blind , mute , deaf , armless , legless , and more or less faceless . He then spends his time bed-riden in a dark storage room of a hospital thinking about what life was like before and fantisizing about life after the bomb (watch for Donald Sutherland as Jesus in one of his fantasys)some very disturbing stuff also happens like the scene in which he uses his head to tap a more code message on his pillow of "Kill me , Kill me..."

Beyond words
When I was young, the heavy metal group Metallica released a video entitled "One". A child at the time, I remember seeing black and white images of a man who appeared to be wearing a nurse's mask, and hearing narration. Later on, seeing the video a few times, I realized what it was about, who this man was, and the general plotline. I was so simultaneously horrified, depressed, and abysmally aware that this COULD happen and probably had happen that I thought about it for days. I even feared, for a time, turning on MTV for fear of seeing the video again. It stuck in my mind like morbid superglue.

Finding out more about "Johnny Got His Gun" as novel, I was almost terrified to touch the book, but soon couldn't resist anymore. The impact of the novel on my mind was indescribable. Although I had no intention whatsoever of seeing the film (the book, in it's depth, sincerity, hopelessness and painstaking attention to gruesome detail had overwhelmed me), I promised myself that one day I would.

I did. While it doesn't approach the power of the novel, it is a film like no other. I have never once seen a plot this bleak and "in your face" in terms of anti war, matters of human dignity and just bare suffering ever. It made my stomach turn, heart leap and etched in my memory. The scenes where Joe talks to an obviously illusory Christ are surreal and disturbing. This is bar none the most powerful anti-war film, and one (if not the) powerful films I have ever seen. I am not surprised at it's obscurity, as few would even want to see it. Brilliant, breathtaking, and absolutely devastating. If you're up for a challenge and a mind blower, watch this straight through with no breaks.

Instant Pacifist
I saw this movie years ago, and when I'm asked what was the scariest movie I've ever seen, I always point to this one. It turned me into an instant pacifist, and I recommend it be required viewing for anyone endorsing war as a U. S. policy.
No movie brings home the truth that human beings pay a horrible price during a war better than this one does.

where's the gun?
this movie doesn't make any sense. the main character (johnny) doesn't even have a gun in most of the movie. and he never gets it. he doesn't even have arms to shoot a gun with, so even if he had a gun it wouldn't do him much good. i think they should remake this movie and give him arms in it so that he can have a gun and then it would make sense. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Good movie, but might want to wait for the DVD?
A movie in two-parts, really, and Welles' entrance marks an end to the first and begins the second. I found the first half (surprisingly brutal for the 50's) better than the second. The names are changed but this is clearly Leopold and Loeb with Clarence Darrow (Welles) on defense.

One thing that annoyed me... the end when Welles invokes the name of God... Darrow would never speak those words!

My copy of this isn't the best quality. Tops of heads sometimes disappear off the top of the screen. They needed to do this letterbox. Surprising this isn't available on DVD. You can get Ernest Goes to Camp on DVD but you can't get Compulsion? What the hell is wrong with this world?

Falls apart at the end, but still pretty compelling
Dean Stockwell stars in this icky thriller, based on the infamous Leopold-Loeb murder case which shook Chicago in the 1920s. Most of the film features Stockwell and cohort Bradford Dillman, as two wealthy, sadistic criminal dilletantes bound together in a twisted dominant-submissive homoerotic pact, which leads them to kidnap and murder a young boy in their neighborhood -- all just for kicks. Dillman is compellingly grotesque as the ringleader who pushes Stockwell in violence and psychosis, and then delights in taunting the police behind their backs. This prelude is tense and gut-gripping, horrifying, in fact, but the film loses impact after they are caught and brought to trial. Orson Wells does a fine turn as the liberal lawyer who is brought in to defend them, and delivers a dazzling anti-death penalty speech, but the emotional drama of the ending is strangely muffled... Somehow, Wells's character is brought in a little too late, and there's no real interaction between him and his loathesome clients. The relevant points are made, but they don't resonate as effectively as the nauseating buildup -- Stockwell and Dillman remain unlikeable, yet their sickness and its philospohical rationalizations aren't dug into as deeply as they could have been. The confrontation of the character's gayness (and their need to disguise it before the jurors) is fascinating, though -- even though the movie was made thirty-five years after the killing took place, the filmmakers make no judgement about the homophobia involved. Anyway, as psychological thrillers go, this one's a doozy.

BOYS WIL[d] BE BOYS ..........
Based on the sensational Leopold & Loeb case, this very sinister version of the twisted tale is fortunately not graphic and leaves 'those things' to the imagination ....... Oh, the doings of those rich, spoiled kids!

The Cast? Who can possibly fault Orson Wells [in the Clarence Darrow role] with Bradford Dillman and Dean Stockwell as the 'spoiled charges' and the rare DIANE VARSI ["Peyton Place"] as the misplaced 'love interest'? [This was Mr. Stockwell's youthful 'glory period' - followed with "Sons and Lovers", "Rapture", etc. Utter joy to see how this artist is still providing stellar [and sometimes very underrated] performances.]

Killing just for the 'thrill of it'? Who knows, there are numerous theories about this 'liason'. Interesting though to theorize if the boys were 'working-class' instead of 'wealth'.

1991's "Swoon" is another look at this crime [little more graphic and frank about the relationship between the two] - an interesting counterpoint. AND another jagged view? Hitchcock's "Rope" [a fitting twist on this tale].

{NOW, there's also the 'mother's point of view' - "What's the Matter with Helen?" the campy litle gem with Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters .....}

BLUEPRINT
A well done film about the true crime that shocked the US at the time it was committed, the murder committed by Leopold and Loeb. Two brilliant young men thought they were invincible and could get away with murder, but despite their brilliance, they became arrogant and careless. They declared their atheism and this was a factor in the film. Although they hired the famous Clarence Darrow in their defence, even he could not convince a jury to find reasonable doubt. Dean Stockwell is excellent in this early role, and SO young. And Orson Welles stars as the attorney who tries to defend the boys. The film tells the story of the crime and of the societal place of Leopold and Loeb and their families and does not really explore the nature of the relationship between Leopold and Loeb, which in more recent films (indie film Swoon) was explored in depth. The film is semi-fictionalised with different character's names, but the story of Leopold and Loeb is the blueprint.

Somewhat dated; some of the best acting in movie history
The defense attorney Clarence Darrow (played with astonishing skill by the brilliant Orson Welles, who is today considered one of this country's finest actors ever) delivers in the last half of this movie one of the finest soliloquies Hollywood has ever offered us, equal to and probably surpassing England's Laurence Olivier in his critically praised "Hamlet" interpretation. The soliloquy by Welles is in itself worth the price of this video.

The hapless prosecuting attorney is played by E.G. Marshall, who recently died but who left us with a legacy of excellence in every picture in which he appeared (especially perhaps in "Twelve Angry Men"). A wonderfully underplayed but very sensitive performance by a master of his craft in films, stage, and television.

Brad Dillman and Dean Stockwell are right on in their portrayals of the villains who are apparently responsible for the compulsive and senseless murder of a young man. The entire cast creates some of the most realistic portrayals of good and evil that Hollywood has ever given us. Everyone in the cast seems to give it their all.

The movie is clearly, however, a product of the neo-Victorian times in which it was produced, sparing the audience the grim realism movies are currently permitted to film today. It could be more powerful if it were re-filmed today, perhaps, but could the cast of a re-make come close to matching the performances in this film?

It is worth owning this movie for its cast and direction and overall excellence...and it could be argued that the lack of the extreme violence which actually characterized the murder doesn't need to be as graphic on-screen as it probably would be if re-made today. By and large we are intelligent people and can jolly well fill in the details for ourselves.

A real treat! ... Read more

Amazon.com

When Kate "Ma" Barker (Shelley Winters) robs a bank with her four beloved sons, she's got a great opening line: "We're gonna play Simon Says, and this," she says, pointing to her Tommy gun, "is Simon." You gotta love the ol' broad's moxie, and you gotta love this Roger Corman classic for serving it up so shamelessly. Capitalizing on the impact of Bonnie and Clyde while adding the more perversely exploitative elements of Corman's drive-in fare, this Depression-era shoot-'em-up is prime viewing for its early appearance by Robert De Niro (making his fifth film) and Corman stalwarts like Don Stroud, but it's Winters's over-the-top portrayal of Ma Barker (very loosely based on fact) that gives the movie its rather unseemly edge. Alternately sharing her bed with each of her sons (as if they were teddy bears made for her incestuous pleasure), and twisting morality to suit the needs of her homicidal brood, this gun-toting matriarch is a deviously amusing detour on Winters's weight-gaining road to The Poseidon Adventure.

The movie gains character from its rural Arkansas locations, but the redneck flavor is entirely theatrical, and while De Niro learns to shine for the camera, his performance as glue-sniffing, dope-shooting Lloyd Barker shows hints of future stardom. Corman gets good work from the entire cast, in fact, even if his formula calls for sex, violence, or vice every 10 minutes. And while it would be a mistake to elevate Bloody Mama above its trashy aspirations, it certainly earns its place among such '70s gangster fodder as Big Bad Mama and Boxcar Bertha. Made at a time when movies were enjoying their liberation from the confines of good taste, Bloody Mama is an enjoyable wallow in bad taste. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Young Robert DeNiro gives great performance
Not only is this movie highly entertaining and well acted, but it features a teenage Robert DeNiro as the glue sniffing son of Shelly Winters. Great performances from all the cast. The story is exciting and succeeds in portraying an engaging psychological profile of this very bizarre family. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

"Wild in the streets" is a must see!
I just rented the video after seeing a bio on Christopher Jones on the E channel today. I haven't seen it since it came out in the theaters back in 1969. I was wondering if I would still like it... I did! It has so many great actors in it. I think Greg Brady from the Brady Bunch plays the young boy who portrays Max Frost. I also thought I saw a very young Gary Busey in the audience in the movie also. Hal Holbrook is very good & of course so is Shelly Winters. Christopher Jones is very appealing in it as well! Also a very young Richard Pryor. A fun movie that makes you think!

Boomers want WILD IN THE STREETS [1968] on DVD!
Hello Troops1, At ease. I was 18 years old in 1968 and 4-F,[ask your dad], and my friend Bill Wiseman told me of this outlandish film called, 'WILD IN THE STREETS'. He and I were songwriting buddies and the music was really first rate. I especially liked the producers of the songs experimenting with guitar sounds to reach into the future and guess what sounds electric guitars would be making.
The time has come for WILD IN THE STREETS to released on DVD with at least a STEREO sound track. It's important as a film in it's own right for the following reasons:
1. I believe this was Richard Pryor's 1st film, playing Stanley X.
2. Modern audiences should see the over-the-top performance of the late, always great, Ed Begley,Senior,as the Senator.
3.Hal Holbrook,[Mark Twain, Designing Women],plays the Bobby Kennedy role as the "young Presidential wannabe".
4.Shelley Winters, of course, as the mother of lead character, Max Frost.Talk about dysfunctional, she "swoon" for her OWN SON when she 1st sees him in concert!
5.Christopher Jones.Outstanding role for such a young man.
Wolud love to have seen him interviewed in recent years about playing Max Frost.
Time has not been good for WILD IN THE STREETS, with events of human kind since John Lennon's murder in 1980. I saw it all, troops.So,since "they let the old folks in the old folks home vote", and every obscure film known to mankind has been released on the DVD format, while we're still alive, please, let's have WILD IN THE STREETS 1968 available on DVD.Thank you, as you were. Signed 25th of June,2004
Rick L. Tindall 54 or Fight!

FOURTEEN OR FIGHT
Long before "never trust anyone over thirty" a final solution was proposed in this classic movie.

"Max Frost" (Christopher Jones) has figured out the fundamental flaw in the U.S. Government. "AGE", yep those old fogies are too stuck in their ways to run a government of the people. So with a little correction this can be amended. Be sure to see the unique solution for adjusting the government and helping people to retire a tad early.

Now the real question that "Max" must face is what is old? Be sure to listen to ""The Shape of Things to Come." And look for Bill Mummy of "Lost in Space"

Christopher Jones/Wild in the Streets 60's Movie
Christopher Jones is one of the "Finest" Actors that
Hollywood has ever had. His talent can be seen in this
movie and others.
It has been suggested to have a remake of this movie.
I don't think that could be done, it was of that time,
and I don't think anyone could have played "Max Frost"
better than Christopher Jones did. It's just one of
those movies that can't be made again!!!
I think Colin Farrell could play Christopher Jones,
if they ever did a movie of his life. And, What a Movie
that would be!!!!!!!
Patty

Actor/Artist Christopher Jones
Wild In the Streets: I remember I wasn't allowed to watch this movie when it came out, it made Parents and Politicians, Very Nervous! But, it also showed the, Very Fine Acting Talent, of Christopher Jones. He has become a ,Very Fine Artist, also. I have bought some of his Prints and can now enjoy his talent on my wall as well as watch his movies! Patty ... Read more

Reviews (30)

The secrets and scandals of a small New England town
Based the bestselling novel by Grace Metalious, Peyton Place is a hallmark of mid-20th century American culture and remains powerful melodrama to this day. Modern audiences in particular might notice similarities with the currently popular Dawson's Creek.

The story centers around shopowner Constance MacKenzie (Lana Turner), hiding a secret from her past; her daughter Allison (Diane Varsi), who dreams of escaping from Peyton Place and becoming a writer; Allison's best friend Selena Cross (Hope Lange), who lives literally on the other side of the tracks and suffers abuse at the hands of her drunken stepfather (Arthur Kennedy); Norman Page (Russ Tamblyn), a shy, quiet student yearning to break away from his domineering mother; Rodney Harrington (Barry Coe), the playboy son of millowner Leslie Harrington (Leon Ames), who disapproves of his son's relationship with the flashy Betty Anderson (Terry Moore); and Mike Rossi (Lee Phillips), the new high school principal smitten with Constance.

Screenwriter John Michael Hayes did a magnificent job of distilling Metalious's occasionally crude story, making it acceptable to film audiences, though it can be argued that Metalious's feminist slant was lost in the process. The film was beautifully directed by Mark Robson, who's never gotten enough respect, perhaps due to his reputation as a craftsman; well, Peyton Place is a finely crafted work, solid entertainment, with majestic location work in Camden, ME, much of which will be lost in the transfer to the small screen. The cinematography is by William C. Mellor and the wonderful score is by Franz Waxman.

Peyton Place received 9 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay-Adapted, Best Cinematography, Best Actress (Lana Turner--her only nomination), Best Supporting Actress (Hope Lange, Diane Varsi), and Best Supporting Actor (Arthur Kennedy, Russ Tamblyn). 1957 was the year of The Bridge on the River Kwai, so Peyton Place lost in every category.

Get this DVD-Peyton Place the classic soap opera
Peyton Place is one of my favorite books and one of my favorite movies. The filming and score are beautiful. The scenery of coastal Maine is fantastic. This is one of the most popular soap operas...the term "Peyton Place" has come to mean a gossipy community.

Most of the acting is great... the only actor that does not seem right for the role is Lee Philips. He is does not see the type of guy Lana Turner would go for.

Lana Turner and Diane Varsi have some great mother daughter conflicts. Lloyd Nolan is great as the doctor caught in the moral dilemma of covering up a miscarriage (which was an abortion in the book)

The DVD adds an interesting commentary by Russ Tamblyn and Terry Moore. You feel as if you are sitting with them as the watch the film. They give share stories of what it was like to be a young actor in the 1950s.

This is a great film and even better DVD. My wife and I liked the book and movie so much we named our daughter Allison after Peyton Place's main character.

The Darkside of Small Town Life
1957's Peyton Place was based on the tawdry best seller by Grace Metalious that depicts the sorted lives of the residents of the titular small New England town. The film was quite controversial at the time as it contains frank talk about sex, an incestuous rape, a hinted at abortion and murder. The film helped paved the way for the abandoning of the Hollywood moral codes. Everyone in Peyton Place, it seems, has something to Hide. Constance MacKenzie (Lana Turner) is an uptight single mother to Allison MacKenzie (Diane Varsi). She is fearful of scandal and rebuffs the advances of new high school principle Michael Rossi (Lee Phillips). Constance is hiding a secret from Allison and after Allison is wrongful accused of swimming naked with Norman Page (Russ Tamblyn) she reveals that Allison was born illegitimately as her father was living with Constance but was married. Allison leaves Peyton Place to go to New York City. Allison's best friend Selena Cross (Hope Lange) lives in a shack with her drunken stepfather Lucas Cross (Arthur Kennedy). Lucas is abusive and beats Selena and eventually rapes and impregnates her. Confronted by Dr. Swain (Lloyd Nolan), Lucas leaves town. He eventually returns and tries to take advantage of her again and Selena kills him. This leads to trial where Allison returns to town to speak on her Selena's behalf. She avoids her mother and in a bitter meeting tells her of her feelings towards her. At the trial, Selena refuses to let Dr. Swain speak about the rape. Dr. Swain's conscious gets the best of him and in an impassioned statement on the stand he reveals Selena's secret and chides the townspeople for their gossiping ways that led Selena to this position. Selena is acquitted and Allison reunites with Constance. The film was a huge hit and ironically Ms. Turner was embroiled in her our murder trial when her fourteen daughter stabbed her mobster boyfriend to death. It spawned a sequel and a popular television series. The film garnered nine Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Director (Mark Robson), Best Actress for Ms. Turner (her only nomination) and two Best Supporting Actor & Actress nomination for Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Tamblyn, Ms. Lange & Ms. Varsi. The film holds the ignominy of having the most nomination without a single win.

Colorful soap classic/less than perfect DVD
Lana Turner and a terrific cast make this toned down version of Grace Metalious's steamy, sensational novel a real potboiling delight! The music, the cinematography, everything...it all evokes a long ago time and place and here it is all beautifully preserved for posterity! Fans will also enjoy its sequel, RETURN TO PEYTON PLACE with luscious Carol Lynley and another good looking cast of youngsters and scenery-chewing veterans.

Unfortunately, this DVD has a few jumps and glitches which disrupt perfect viewing. The AMC Backstory documentary isn't all that informative, and you'd think they'd at least have edited out the commercial bumpers. The commentary track by Tamblyn and Moore is one of the most boring ever...nearly impossible to sit through. Neither actor offers much insight into the film they are watching, instead rattling off alot of their own movie credits and misinformation (ie. Dick Sargent was never in "that genie show," Ms. Moore). Who was producing this!?

The commentaries make this DVD a must-have
I already had a beautiful copy of this movie--the outrageously priced ($49.95) laserdisc set put out by Fox Home Video sometime in the 90s--but the selling point for me this time around was the promised audio commentaries by Russ Tamblyn and Terry Moore. I wasn't disappointed! I've always considered Tamblyn one of the unsung heroes of moviedom (his credits read like a list of the best films ever made--"Gun Crazy," "Father of the Bride," "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," "West Side Story," and this gem among others) and I'm certain that those viewers only familiar with his remarkable dancing and acrobatics in musicals would be surprised by his sure handling of a complex character in this film. The performance earned him a well-deserved Oscar nomination--a feat not shared by the majority of his musical colleagues. Tamblyn comes off as a very likable, unassuming guy in his audio commentary, and his memory of the long-ago events is pretty sharp--even to the point of remembering that a double for Lana Turner did a couple of the shots in the last scene rather than the actress herself. Along the way he has plenty of interesting stories about the other actors, the location shoot, and what was going on in his life at the time. Terry Moore is also very engaging in her commentary, although she's clearly less familiar with the movie itself--e.g., she registers surprise at the fate of Betty Field's character the same way a first-time viewer would. But Ms. Moore also has some intersting recollections, such as roasting in her winter coat while surrounded by fake snow in the blazing California sunshine. And her obvious respect for the story's themes and its characters (as significantly altered and arguably improved for the film adaptation) is very endearing, particularly if you're as enamored of the film as this viewer. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

BEAT, HIP and POIGNANT
This film is dark, beat, hip, avant garde, poignant, distrubing and highly entertaining. Music by Mal Waldron. - - A down and out hip white professor/jazz buff with a drinking problem one step from the skids and a legendary Jazz musician with a habit meet at a pawn shop and befriend one another... yet as their friendship developes, the explosive race problem in America is drawn to surface in the charactors themselves and the events that ensue. - - The opening scene shows the musician overdosed in the apartment, the film provides a window of what happened in the days leading up to it. The directorial style and cinemetography is deeply engaging - - and makes you listen and watch intently to find out whats really happening as the scenes unfold. MEMORABLE, DISTURBING AND ENGAGING. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

absolutely outstanding
This movie, with the acting of Kathleen Quinlan, has got to be, by far, Kathleen's finest performance. Although the scream of Kathleen in "Nightmare in Blood" surpasses none. Kathleen Quinlan has always been a personal favorite of mine. When I saw her in "The Promise" she did me in. She is absolutely beautiful and her roles are varied and showcases her tremendous abilities. I adore her.

Sylvia Sydney should have received an oscar nomination. She protrayed Mrs. Corral the school teacher, coming back to the institution for a re-visit. She's been there before and the rest of the patients love her. When she was being checked in, four attendants had to carry her up the stairs, with Ms. Sidney yelling "cockroaches, Vermin!!!" When the attendants left after placing her in her cell, you see the bed flying out into the hallway (she threw it) yelling "YOU FORGOT TO TUCK ME IN"
That scene alone is worth the DVD.

A Good Movie!
I Never Promised you A Rose Garden is a very good movie, based on a book which I think was based on a true story. This movie stars Kathleen Quinlan as a schizophrenic teenager commited to a mental hospital and the psychiatrist played by Bibi Andersson who is trying to help her. Quinlan and Andersson are great and so is the rest of the cast!

The Film of The Book
Based on the cult book of the same name, this true story manages to capture and convey the atmosphere of the book, and the remarkable relationship bewteen Debbie, a young girl suffering from schizophrenia, living in a world peopled by gods of her own creation, and her psychotherapist, Dr. Fried - alias Frieda Fromm-Reichmann, the wife of Eric Fromm, the famous psychoanalyst.
This truly touching and remarkable tale emphasizes the kernel of human potential and light in Debbie, and the considerable insight and compassion in her therapist, whilst set in the most adverse conditions of a mental hospital.
The acting is highly convincing, the direction thoughtful, while the story and plot-structure complement each another, in masterfully portraying the essential elements of the classic book by Hannah Green.

GOOD MOVIE - LOUSY DVD
Again a good movie has been issued on a lousy dvd. Not only is the picture quality less than many vhs tapes, but they falsely advertise a full-length commentary by Kathleen Quinlan, the star, which is non-existant. There is an interview with her, separate from the film. This is a movie which deserves better, and this is just the rotten, greedy kind of job which is going to ruin the dvd industry eventually. How the morons who take part in this sort of product can live with themselves is above and beyond me.

When she tried killing herself, it was just the beginning
Director Anthony Page's treatment of the novel by Hannah Green, here adapted by Gavin Lambert and Lewis John Carlino, presents Kathleen Quinlan as a schizophrenic admitted to a female asylum, with only one heartless attendant (male) who is quickly removed. However the focus is more on Quinlan than the other inmates, and when Page presents the inevitable scenes of ward panedomium, the women's personalities have more range than the men in the Milos Forman film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The number of women and this focus on Quinlan, actually precluded me from identifying Diane Varsi and Barbara Steele.
Quinlan's "sickness" is presented by her private world of a tribe enacted by Danny Elfman's Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo Temenos Theatre Group, who seem to be wardrobe-influenced by the American Indian. These demons say Quinlan is "poisonous" and fear her "betrayal", and the sessions with her psychiatrist Bibi Andersson aim towards Quinlan banishing them. However the title of the film is Andersson's qualifier, since if Quinlan chooses to join the real world, it still won't be easy. In spite of the way Quinlan's fantasy world hides her and her fear of betraying her Gods (Andersson is right when she calls them cruel, for they seem to have the power even though Quinlan has created them), no one comments on the remarkeable imagination it has taken to invent them, though I guess this feeds into the genius/madness thin line.
Clearly Quinlan's character is remarkable in herself - she's intelligent, funny, and of course lyrically sensitive. But the thing that Andersson tells Quinlan's parents seems truthful and also ties into the title idea - that she needs something to replace the sickness with. The cause for her condition isn't made clear - there is talk of abandonment by her mother after the death of a second child and some sexual phobia by her father - but Andersson is more intent on enabling Quinlan to feel emotion as a breakthrough. When Quinlan cries, touches Andersson and allows herself to be touched, and especially when Quinlan feels pain from self-inflicted cigarette burns, the music cues us that we are making advances. Of course, any cinematic representation of psychiatric treatment is false, since the chances of cure within 90 minutes are slim, but Page pleasingly suggests in the conclusion that Quinlan's Gods will never totally leave her.
The screenplay has the odd funny line - I liked Sylvia Sidney's "For the last 30 years, I've been analysed, paralysed, shocked, jolted, and revolted", and I was also grateful to lose the idea of Quinlan as the witness of conscience. Although Page wrongly introduces Quinlan to us in a rear view mirror image of her as animal, he does manage to hold back on the general hysteria among patients and also with Danny Elfman's group. I was happy to see the usually impossibly mannered Susan Tyrrell as a former nurse and even Signe Hasso as the resident thug - Hasso gets a laugh when she talks about being a former actress playing Joan of Arc "in Pittsburgh!".
As expected both Quinlan and Andersson are extraordinary. Quinlan looks a little like the young Jodie Foster though much more feminine, and occasionally Andersson's English sounds stilted, which is inexplicable since she has spoken English on screen before this. Watch for Dennis Quaid in a bit part towards the end. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Terrorific as life
Terrorific as life, "Johnny got his gun" tells much more that can be described with words. I was searching this movie years ago, and now that I have found it (and watch it) I can say that this is one of the greatest films ever made, a masterpiece. What Dalton Trumbo shows here will dig deep inside you. There are more subliminal messages, themes and even philosophical reasonings aside from the anti-war message (wich is omnipresent, of course). I'll get the book soon. I won't say anymore, just watch it. You won't see life the same.

a disturbing ,but very good anti-war film
Something that most reviewers are leaving out is that this movie was orginally released at the climax of the Vietnam war (70 or 71 I dont remember exatcly when) because of its very anti-war message the film was a little controversal . The main reason I watched this was because of the old Metallica video for "one" and thought that whatever movie they were stealing scenes from had to be good . Also there is more truth in this movie than one would think .If you look into World War II a lot of military doctors were really proud of just who or rather what they could save and keep alive . Later though things on the battlefield were different with most doctors realizing that there are times when people are better off dead , and that they should think about what someones life would be like when they recover...

The story basically goes something like this: A young soldier in World War II gets hit with a bomb with his name on it , leaving him blind , mute , deaf , armless , legless , and more or less faceless . He then spends his time bed-riden in a dark storage room of a hospital thinking about what life was like before and fantisizing about life after the bomb (watch for Donald Sutherland as Jesus in one of his fantasys)some very disturbing stuff also happens like the scene in which he uses his head to tap a more code message on his pillow of "Kill me , Kill me..."

Beyond words
When I was young, the heavy metal group Metallica released a video entitled "One". A child at the time, I remember seeing black and white images of a man who appeared to be wearing a nurse's mask, and hearing narration. Later on, seeing the video a few times, I realized what it was about, who this man was, and the general plotline. I was so simultaneously horrified, depressed, and abysmally aware that this COULD happen and probably had happen that I thought about it for days. I even feared, for a time, turning on MTV for fear of seeing the video again. It stuck in my mind like morbid superglue.

Finding out more about "Johnny Got His Gun" as novel, I was almost terrified to touch the book, but soon couldn't resist anymore. The impact of the novel on my mind was indescribable. Although I had no intention whatsoever of seeing the film (the book, in it's depth, sincerity, hopelessness and painstaking attention to gruesome detail had overwhelmed me), I promised myself that one day I would.

I did. While it doesn't approach the power of the novel, it is a film like no other. I have never once seen a plot this bleak and "in your face" in terms of anti war, matters of human dignity and just bare suffering ever. It made my stomach turn, heart leap and etched in my memory. The scenes where Joe talks to an obviously illusory Christ are surreal and disturbing. This is bar none the most powerful anti-war film, and one (if not the) powerful films I have ever seen. I am not surprised at it's obscurity, as few would even want to see it. Brilliant, breathtaking, and absolutely devastating. If you're up for a challenge and a mind blower, watch this straight through with no breaks.

Instant Pacifist
I saw this movie years ago, and when I'm asked what was the scariest movie I've ever seen, I always point to this one. It turned me into an instant pacifist, and I recommend it be required viewing for anyone endorsing war as a U. S. policy.
No movie brings home the truth that human beings pay a horrible price during a war better than this one does.

where's the gun?
this movie doesn't make any sense. the main character (johnny) doesn't even have a gun in most of the movie. and he never gets it. he doesn't even have arms to shoot a gun with, so even if he had a gun it wouldn't do him much good. i think they should remake this movie and give him arms in it so that he can have a gun and then it would make sense. ... Read more