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Johnny Got His Gun

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    Ian Jane
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  • Johnny Got His Gun

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    Released by: Shout! Factory
    Released on: April 28, 2009.
    Director: Dalton Trumbo

    Cast: Timothy Bottoms, Jason Robards, Kathy Fields, Donald Sutherland, Marsha Hunt, Diane Varsi
    Year: 1971
    Purchase From Amazon

    The Movie:


    Dalton Trumbo's anti-war classic, based on his novel of the same name, tells the tragic story of a young American soldier named Joe Bonham (Timothy Bottoms) who is hit by a mortar shell on the last day of World War I. This attack lands him in a hospital bed where both of his arms and both of his legs have been amputated. On top of that, Johnny can't speak, see, hear or smell - all he can do is lie there like a sack of meat and think to himself.


    As Johnny lies there, not quite dead but hardly truly alive, his mind wanders and flashes back to various times throughout his life leading up to his current state. Unsure if he's dreaming or not, Johnny eventually finds a way to communicate with a sympathetic nurse (Diane Varsi) while the doctors do their best to keep him alive simply to see how long he can survive for. When the nurse realizes Johnny can still feel, she does her best to convince the doctors to do something for him, but will they listen to him?


    Far more than just a movie that tells us what we already know - that war is Hell - Johnny Got His Gun is as much an attack on the political machines that instigate these wars as it is the generals and commanding officers who send the troops in. Trumbo points his finger not at the men who wind up out on the trenches but the higher up's who make the decisions. As Joe lines in bed doing nothing but thinking and feeling, we're pulled along for the ride with him as his faith in God and government is rocked to its very core. It doesn't take him long to realize how this all has to end, how he wants it to end even, but the army wants to hide him away, brush him under the carpet and leave him be. It's all quite frightening and harrowing to say the very least.


    Featuring some stoic narration from Bottoms, who is heartbreaking in this film, as well as some excellent supporting performances from Jason Robards as Joe's father and Donald Sutherland as Jesus Christ, this is an expertly acted film from all involved. The performances are completely believable and the scenes where the younger Joe interacts with his world weary father really hit home as do the more tender moments such as the one where Varsi's nurse shows Joe some tenderness through the simple act of writing 'Merry Christmas' on his chest with her finger.


    On a visual level the film is also very impressive. The bleak black and white scenes that represent the 'present' are shot with an eerie atmosphere and utilize shadows incredibly well while the flashbacks have a nice sort of 'All American' fifties color scheme going. The dream sequences fall somewhere in the middle, making good use of some surrealist colors and whirling visuals. The real strength of the film, however, lies in the script. Working off of his own novel, Trumbo managed to deliver an emotionally gripping and completely devastating film - one that everyone should see.


    Video/Audio/Extras:


    Aside from the fact that it's interlaced, the 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer looks really good on this DVD. The color sequences look almost perfect, save for some softness and a bit of mild print damage. The black and white scenes are a bit rougher around the edges but they're still in pretty nice shape even if there are bits that look just a tiny bit too dark. Otherwise, this is a pretty strong transfer. Color reproduction looks good as do skin tones, and contrast and sharpness levels look to all be in check.


    The English language Dolby Digital Mono sound mix is clean, clear and free of any hiss or distortion. The levels are properly balanced and while this may not be a particularly exciting mix, it sounds just fine.


    The biggest and best of the supplements on this disc is an hour long documentary entitled Dalton Trumbo: Rebel In Hollywood (59:10). Directed by Robert Fischer in 2006, this is an excellent look at the life and times of the man who directed this movie and wrote over sixty others before he passed away. The Colorado native rose to prominence as a screenwriter in the thirties and forties but was eventually blacklisted due to his involvement with the Communist Party in the 1940s, and was called before the House Un-American Activities Commission to speak about the Communist influence in American cinema at the time. Trumbo refused to testify and was sent to prison. When he got out of prison, he moved to Mexico and continued to write under an alias, and he even won an Academy Award for The Brave One which he wrote as 'Robert Rich.' As the blacklist controversy started to fade in the sixties, Trumbo was reinstated into the Writers Guild Of America and eventually went on to direct Johnny Got His Gun in 1971. He passed away from a heart attack in 1976. A wealth of interviews and behind the scenes material helps this biographical documentary play out and it makes for a fascinating watch.


    Up next is a new Interview With Timothy Bottoms (10:27) that was recorded specifically for this DVD. Bottoms talks about how his mother knew about the controversy surrounding Trumbo and how she considered the man a hero and urged her son to try out for the part in the film. From there he talks about his experiences on the set and what it was like playing this now iconic role and what it was like working with Trumbo, Robards, Sutherland and Diane Varsi (who he had an actual romance with) before elaborating on the politics of the film. There are some clips from the film used here to illustrate various points as well as some interesting behind the scenes clips.


    From there, check out the Behind The Scenes Footage (8:09) that appears here with commentary from Bottoms and from the film's director of photography, Jules Brenner. The commentary basically just explains what we see on the screen, putting it into context and explaining what is happening. It's interesting to hear their thoughts on Trumbo and to hear them reminisce about working with the late writer/director and it's cool to get a chance to see him at work. This footage was shot without sound so the commentary is a nice touch.


    Rounding out the extras are some smaller but no less interesting supplements such as the 1940 Radio Adaptation of Trumbo's novel starring none other than James Cagney. The original theatrical trailer (1:40, fullframe) featuring Robard's narration over top of a series of disturbing images of dead soldiers can be found on the disc, as can Metallica's video for One (7:49) which does a really good job of using footage from this film to create an entirely different but unsettlingly similar vibe. Last but not least, Shout! Factory has included an article on the film from a 1971 issue of American Cinematographer (which features some great behind the scenes photos) as well as a nice insert that folds out into a reproduction of the movie's one sheet.


    The Final Word:

    A picture as important today as it was when it was made over thirty years ago, Johnny Got His Gun finally receives a proper North American DVD release with solid A/V and a nice array of supplements. It's hardly a subtle film, but it is a very well made one.

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