Johnny Mnemonic (1995)

A data courier, literally carrying a data package inside his head, must deliver it before he dies from the burden or is killed by the Yakuza.

Director:

Robert Longo

Writers:

William Gibson (screenplay), William Gibson (short story)

Stars:

Keanu Reeves, Dolph Lundgren, Dina Meyer

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keanu Reeves	...	Johnny Mnemonic
Dina Meyer	...	Jane
Ice-T	...	J-Bone
Takeshi Kitano	...	Takahashi (as Takeshi)
Denis Akiyama	...	Shinji
Dolph Lundgren	...	Street Preacher
Henry Rollins	...	Spider
Barbara Sukowa	...	Anna Kalmann
Udo Kier	...	Ralfi
Tracy Tweed	...	Pretty
Falconer Abraham	...	Yomamma
Don Francks	...	Hooky
Diego Chambers	...	Henson
Sherry Miller	...	Takahashi's Secretary
Arthur Eng	...	Viet

Storyline

In 2021, the whole world is connected by the gigantic Internet, and almost a half of the population is suffering from the Nerve Attenuation Syndrome (NAS).Johnny with an inplanted memory chip in his brain was ordered to transport the over loaded information from Beijing to Newark. While Pharmakom Industries supported by yakuza tries to capture him to get the informaiton back, the Low-tech group led by J-Bone tries to break the missing code to download the cure of NAS which Johnny carries.

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Plot Keywords:

implanted memory | virtual reality | cyberspace | erased memory | based on story | 

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Taglines:

The danger is all in his head

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sci-fi violence, and for language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Johnny apparently takes a Concorde to Newark, New Jersey. In real life, the Concordes were retired in 2003.

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Goofs

The "street preacher" being run over by Spider's van is clearly a dummy figure dressed as the character.

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Quotes

[Johnny and Jane have just broken into the computer warehouse]
Johnny Mnemonic: [swipes a pile of circuit boards and components off the desk and says to no one in particular] I need a Sino-logic 16...
Jane: [runs around the computer warehouse finding everything he calls for]
Johnny Mnemonic: ...Sogo 7 Data Gloves, a GPL stealth module, one Burdine intelligent translator... Thompson eye-phones.

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Alternate Versions

The Japanese version (director's cut) is rather different from the international re-edited cut. It runs ca. 10 minutes longer (the additional scenes focus mostly on Takeshi Kitano's character Takahashi), some additional scenes are intact whereas they were committed in the other version), in other scenes different camera angles were used. It also has a different score composed by Mychael Danna (Brad Fiedel was brought on later re-score the picture) and more violence.

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Connections

Referenced in The Matrix (1999)

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Soundtracks

VIRUS
Performed by KMFDM
Written by Sascha Konietzko, En Esch and Svet Am p1994 KMFDM
Enterprises US (BMI) / Freibank (ROW)
Produced and Mixed by KMFDM Inc.
KMFDM appears courtesy of Wax Trax! Records Inc. / TVT Records

User Reviews

One of those films that could (and should) have been better.

All things considered, this film probably does exactly what it sets out to do. Unfortunately the people behind it set their sights too low. There is so much movie-making potential in Gibsons writing, that this film could very easily have been both entertaining AND carried the depth of his literature. I was left with the feeling that Gibson thought: -"Well, this is going to be my one chance at getting my work on the big screen. So I'd better stick a little bit of everything I've made in it." Too many of the characters taken from his fiction get mistreated by the script: Ralfi, Molly Millions, the-guy-with-the-monowire-thumb, Johnny. Whereas the new ones, like Spider and the Street Preacher are much more entertaining. For example: One of the central ideas in the short story was that Johnny is "a very technical boy" - totally reliant on technology - and therefore actually needs Molly's muscle-power to protect him. Aside from one initial rescue, Johnny actually saves his own bodyguard more times than she helps him (with anything!) Maybe Keanu has a "Heroism Clause" of his own, like Kevin Kostner... :) A pleasant surprise though, was the appearance of Takeshi Kitano (even if it was a small part.)

My favourite scene is Johnnys rant on the rubbish heap. I know it is contrary to the intent of the scene, but I sympathise completely with his feelings. He had sacrificed something that most people hold sacred, in order to live a certain lifestyle, and it gets taken away from him completely undeservedly - no wonder he feels cheated.

If you really want Gibsonesque cyberpunk, go for _New Rose Hotel (1998) _ instead.

Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

26 May 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fugitivo del futuro

Filming Locations:

95 Villiers St., Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$26,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,033,850, 28 May 1995

Gross USA:

$19,075,720

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$19,075,720

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures, Alliance Communications Corporation, Cinévision

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS (8 channels) Dolby SR Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1