Johnny Got His Gun

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Johnny Got His Gun

PG

1971

1h 51m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

67%

Tomatometer

21 Reviews

86%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

War has plunged Army soldier Joe Bonham (Timothy Bottoms) into an unending nightmare. Hit by an artillery shell in World War I, Joe has suffered injuries that have all but erased his humanity: he's lost his sight, speech, hearing and sense of smell. But he still has the ability to think and remember, which, in the end, may be more a curse than a blessing. Trapped in his body, Joe realizes there's only one way out of his misery: death. Can he get a sympathetic nurse to help him?

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Time Out

The film is often sentimental, sometimes brilliant as well as horrifying, and it is intriguing to speculate on what Buuel, whom Trumbo originally wanted to direct, would have made of it.

Feb 9, 2006

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Roger Greenspun

New York Times

Although Mr. Trumbo is primarily a screenwriter, screenwriting is only the worst of the film's several failures.

Rated: 2/5

May 9, 2005

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Instead of belaboring ironic points about the "war to end war," Trumbo remains stubbornly on the human level.

Rated: 4/4

Oct 23, 2004

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Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Problems aside, there's a cumulative power to the material and an idea that's impossible to ignore.

Rated: 4.5/5

Jul 21, 2010

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Fernando F. Croce

CinePassion

[Trumbo's] filmmaking is frugal -- jump-cuts state the passage of time, a languid fade to yellow signifies solar warmth.

Jan 12, 2010

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TV Guide

Trumbo, directing his first film, drives home his points in a somewhat obvious, often awkward fashion that is overly talky, but so disquieting is his story and the reality underlying it that it is difficult not to be moved by the film.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 12, 2010

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Tamara K

If you don't mind being clinically depressed for a week then watch it.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/07/25

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Victor T

Oscar nominee Diane Varsi ("Peyton Place") steals the show as a sympathethic nurse.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/16/24

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Tic Toc M

This movie would have aged much better if a.) the dialog wasn't mostly dubbed over for some inexplicable reason and b.) the color sequences were as well done as the black & white ones. The color sequences look like a TV movie from the period. There were many great up and coming actors from this late 60s-70s time period, but I don't think many would cite Timothy Bottoms as one of them. I know I was never impressed with him, not in "Last Picture Show", not in this one. The concept of having the voice of the patient is a great one; the execution of it is sometimes unintentionally laughable. Again: Bottoms is not particularly gifted in line delivery so his voice overs are not nearly as compelling as they should be. This would have hit much closer to home in 1971, of course: not only was Vietnam raging, but World War II and Korea had more than its fair share of living vets (as did World War I). And later in the decade we would have films that tread this ground much better: Coming Home, The Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now. Still.....having said all that.....this movie has a novel approach to the subject and is worth noting. I hate remakes, but this one could definitely be improved upon.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

09/05/23

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Audience Member

The greatest 01 hour: and 51 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

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Audience Member

Disturbing as it's meant to be. An important film, a masterpiece.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Audience Member

This tale of bodily tragedy is supposedly an ode to anti-war sentiments but this film largely does not come off as "anti-war" material. This Vietnam era film is quite surreal and tilts between being bleak and straightforward and religious in a more cerebral fashion. An interesting watch but it won't convert war romanticists.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

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Dalton Trumbo

Director

Timothy Bottoms

Joe Bonham

Kathy Fields

Kareen

Marsha Hunt

Joe's Mother

Jason Robards

Joe's Father

Donald Sutherland

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Synopsis

War has plunged Army soldier Joe Bonham (Timothy Bottoms) into an unending nightmare. Hit by an artillery shell in World War I, Joe has suffered injuries that have all but erased his humanity: he's lost his sight, speech, hearing and sense of smell. But he still has the ability to think and remember, which, in the end, may be more a curse than a blessing. Trapped in his body, Joe realizes there's only one way out of his misery: death. Can he get a sympathetic nurse to help him?

Director: Dalton Trumbo
Screenwriter: Dalton Trumbo
Production Co: World Entertainment
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 25, 2011
Runtime: 1h 51m

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