Johnny Handsome (1989)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Walter Hill

Writers (WGA):

John Godey (novel)
Ken Friedman (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 September 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Revenge has a new face

Plot:

Johnny Handsome is a deformed gangster who plans a successful robbery with a friend of his, Mikey Chalmette...

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Revenge | Shipyard | Robbery | Detective

Cast

Mickey Rourke	...	John Sedley a.ka. Johnny Handsome / Johnny Mitchell
Ellen Barkin	...	Sunny Boyd
Elizabeth McGovern	...	Donna McCarty
Morgan Freeman	...	Lt. A.Z. Drones
Forest Whitaker	...	Dr. Steven Fisher
Lance Henriksen	...	Rafe Garrett
Scott Wilson	...	Mikey Chalmette
David Schramm	...	Vic Dumask
Yvonne Bryceland	...	Sister Luke
Peter Jason	...	Mr. Bonet
J.W. Smith	...	Larry
Jeffrey Meek	...	Earl (as Jeff Meek)
Allan Graf	...	Bob Lemoyne
Ed Zang	...	Prestige Manager
John P. Fertitta	...	Prestige Salesman (as John Fertitta)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Avondale Shipyard - 5100 River Road, Avondale, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Carolco Pictures

Trivia:

The birth date used for Mickey Rourke's character, as seen on the monitor in the hopsital operating room, is Mickey Rourke's actual birthday

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the graveyard scene, Larry "pumps" the action on a double barreled shotgun.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Il solitario (2008)

"Pretty Hard To Believe, Ain't It"

It is rare that a movie with a premise as far-fetched as Johnny Handsome could wind up being so memorable. It helps when a top notch action director is assisted by an outstanding ensemble cast firing on all cylinders to make this story believable.

Johnny Handsome hit theaters in the fall of '89. It bombed, largely due to a weak promotional campaign by Tri-Star pictures. 19 years later, it is still unavailable on DVD. The excellent cast includes Ellen Barkin, Scott Wilson, and future Oscar winners Morgan Freeman and Forrest Whittaker. However, it is Mickey Rourke in the title role and Lance Henriksen as his arch-nemesis who truly hit grand slams with their performances. The heartbreaking original score by Ry Cooder and the rich atmosphere of the New Orleans setting also elevate this material considerably. This is not your typical revenge action picture.

The movie can best be described as a gritty, noir-ish crime drama with a sci-fi twist that maintains plausibility instead of drifting off into comedic territory as with 1997's Face/Off. The film moves at a brisk pace, which is fine, but this fact ultimately winds up being the only flaw with Johnny Handsome. One almost gets the impression more was filmed but the studio demanded a 90 minute cut. A Special Edition director's cut DVD is warranted. A longer run time allowing for more scenes to flesh out the characters portrayed by the great supporting cast would have made this already outstanding film a true classic.

It would really be nice to see Walter Hill direct another action film one of these days. Him and Peckinpah were the real deals. Other filmmakers (such as John Woo) strive to match the perfection of these two, but have yet to achieve it.