Reviews & Ratings for
Johnny Got His Gun More at IMDbPro »

3 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN (Dalton Trumbo, 1971) ***1/2, 2 June 2006

Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta

I had always been intrigued by this film because of its (admittedly morbid) subject matter – and became even more so when I learned that Trumbo had originally approached my favorite film-maker, Luis Bunuel, to co-write it with him and direct! It's an undeniably effective anti-war parable which, though based on Trumbo's own 1939 novel (set during WWI), proved especially timely in view of the ongoing controversy over the U.S. military's involvement in Vietnam.

Having a writer making his first (and only) stab at directing a film, the overall result is a brilliant one, but which tends to be literate to a fault. Perhaps unconsciously, Trumbo inverts the technique used by The Archers in A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (1946) by utilizing black-and-white for the present day occurrences and color for the flashback/fantasy sequences (the film was beautifully shot by then-novice cinematographer Jules Brenner, since Trumbo did not wish to be overly influenced by the input of an established professional within the industry). It must be said that the monochrome hospital scenes, though essentially repetitive, are suitably harrowing and poignant: ironically, the chief doctor attending to Bottoms is himself a cripple; kept alive for years thereafter to be used as guinea-pig in medical experiments, the film takes a definite stand against the inhumanity of such a decision – ending on a religious/scientific debate in the operating theater which leaves the hero (who had, by this time, learned to express himself via Morse Code messages) sending out a desperate and unheeded S.O.S. call! Indirectly, this section also feels like a plea for euthanasia – a new young nurse (played by Diane Varsi) who unaccountably takes a personal interest in, and eventually manages to communicate with, our ill-fated hero has her attempts to give him peace thwarted by her pompous superiors!

Unfortunately, Timothy Bottoms' recollections are somewhat hit-and-miss: while some of them are quite lovely (particularly two episodes which feature the protagonist interacting with his girlfriend and a friendly whore who lived through the 1906 San Francisco 'quake), agreeably whimsical (the scenes featuring Donald Sutherland as Jesus Christ, finding himself at a loss when it comes to aid Bottoms in his unique plight, are highly amusing, doubtless offensive to some and, most probably, the remnants of Bunuel's tenure in the project's development) or absurdist (his stint at the front-line, which is capped by the tragic and life-changing accident), others decidedly fall flat – such as the dream-like sequences featuring Jason Robards as his shoe-maker/fisherman father (one of which has him a carnival barker parading his maimed son around in a freak show!) and the lengthy, irrelevant send-off party at the bakery where the hero works (which was also Trumbo's first job!); conversely, Robards' death scene (filmed in the same house and bed where the writer-director's own dad passed away!) emerges to be quietly affecting. The rest of the cast is capably assembled (it was a particular pleasure for me to watch Charles McGraw as Bottoms' prospective father-in-law, while Marsha Hunt – a fellow blacklistee of Trumbo's – appears briefly as Bottoms' mum), and Jerry Fielding contributes a typically impressive score.

The film concludes by listing the estimates of fallen and wounded soldiers during WWI, clearly intended as an eye-opener to potential Vietnam draftees/volunteers moved by a sudden patriotic urge (or, more precisely, duped into such a state) to uphold democracy come what may. Obviously, Trumbo is still best-known today for his troubles with HUAC (as already intimated) but, while this film – in which he even puts in a brief appearance! – could have benefited from firmer and more experienced control (incidentally, his son Christopher served as Assistant Director), it remains arguably his most personal statement and, deservedly I think, won him the Special Jury and F.I.P.R.E.S.C.I. prizes at the Cannes Film Festival…in a year which had Sergio Leone serving as Jury member and where more renowned films like Nicolas Roeg's WALKABOUT (1971) and Louis Malle's MURMUR OF THE HEART (1971) went away empty-handed!

While I had first watched this (by the way, I have upgraded my rating by half a star) as a stand-alone feature, my re-acquaintance came via the R1 SE DVD from the new company 'Shout! Factory': included are an interview with the star, a few minutes' worth of behind-the-scenes 'rushes' (accompanied by comments from Bottoms and Jules Brenner), the theatrical trailer (narrated by Robards himself), an "American Cinematographer" article about the film, and the Heavy Metal band Metallica's music video for their 1988 song "One" (which used extensive footage from the film). Best of all, however, are a fascinating 1-hour "Making Of" documentary (which actually deals in reasonable detail with the whole of Trumbo's life) and a half-hour long radio dramatization/reduction of the novel from 1940 starring a typically dynamic James Cagney (interestingly, only two years after participating in such a direct pacifist statement, he would go to the other extreme – ironically, following accusations of Communist leanings – and make one of Hollywood's most powerful rallying posters for WWII with YANKEE DOODLE DANDY: the song "Over There", composed by that film's subject George M. Cohan, is even adopted here as sardonic undercurrent!).

Add another review

Related Links