Johnny Handsome (1989)

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:

A career criminal who has been deformed since birth is given a new face by a kindly doctor and paroled from prison...

Plot Keywords:

Birth Defect | French Quarter | New Orleans | Showdown | Slut

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 | 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.

A Great Dramatic and Violent Movie

Johnny Handsome (Mickey Rooker) is a deformed gangster who planned a successful robbery with a friend of him Mikey Chalmette (Scott Wilson) and the couple Sunny Boid (Ellen Barkin) and Rafe Garrett (Lance Henriksen). After the heist, Johnny and Mikey are double-crossed by Sunny and Rafe, being Mikey killed and Johnny sent to prison. A few years later, Johnny is invited to a rehabilitation program, where Dr. Steven Fischer (Forest Whitaker) rebuilds Johnny´s face and obtains his parole. Johnny starts working in a shipyard, where he meets Donna McCarty (Elizabeth McGovern) and starts a romance. Lt. A.Z. Drones (Morgan Freeman) is a detective who does not believe in the rehabilitation of Johnny. Johnny´s new life is consumed by the desire of pay-back. The photography of this Walter Hill's movie is very dark, like most of the characters. The excellent cast, supported by a great direction and a wonderful soundtrack of Ry Cooder makes this film a great dramatic and violent movie. My vote is eight.