Johnny Got His Gun | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

67% Tomatometer 21 Reviews 87% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings

War has plunged Army soldier Joe Bonham (Timothy Bottoms) into an unending nightmare. Hit by an artillery shell in World War I, Joe has suffered injuries that have all but erased his humanity: he's lost his sight, speech, hearing and sense of smell. But he still has the ability to think and remember, which, in the end, may be more a curse than a blessing. Trapped in his body, Joe realizes there's only one way out of his misery: death. Can he get a sympathetic nurse to help him?

Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Johnny Got His Gun

Critics Reviews

View All (21) Critics Reviews
Johnny Got His Gun | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Time Out The film is often sentimental, sometimes brilliant as well as horrifying, and it is intriguing to speculate on what Buuel, whom Trumbo originally wanted to direct, would have made of it. Feb 9, 2006 Full Review Johnny Got His Gun | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Roger Greenspun New York Times Although Mr. Trumbo is primarily a screenwriter, screenwriting is only the worst of the film's several failures. Rated: 2/5 May 9, 2005 Full Review Johnny Got His Gun | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Instead of belaboring ironic points about the "war to end war," Trumbo remains stubbornly on the human level. Rated: 4/4 Oct 23, 2004 Full Review Johnny Got His Gun | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Ken Hanke Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) Problems aside, there's a cumulative power to the material and an idea that's impossible to ignore. Rated: 4.5/5 Jul 21, 2010 Full Review Johnny Got His Gun | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Fernando F. Croce CinePassion [Trumbo's] filmmaking is frugal -- jump-cuts state the passage of time, a languid fade to yellow signifies solar warmth. Jan 12, 2010 Full Review Johnny Got His Gun | Rotten Tomatoes (6) TV Guide Trumbo, directing his first film, drives home his points in a somewhat obvious, often awkward fashion that is overly talky, but so disquieting is his story and the reality underlying it that it is difficult not to be moved by the film. Rated: 2/4 Jan 12, 2010 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (376) audience reviews

Victor T Oscar nominee Diane Varsi ("Peyton Place") steals the show as a sympathethic nurse. Rated 2.5/5 Stars • Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/24 Full Review Tic Toc M This movie would have aged much better if a.) the dialog wasn't mostly dubbed over for some inexplicable reason and b.) the color sequences were as well done as the black & white ones. The color sequences look like a TV movie from the period. There were many great up and coming actors from this late 60s-70s time period, but I don't think many would cite Timothy Bottoms as one of them. I know I was never impressed with him, not in "Last Picture Show", not in this one. The concept of having the voice of the patient is a great one; the execution of it is sometimes unintentionally laughable. Again: Bottoms is not particularly gifted in line delivery so his voice overs are not nearly as compelling as they should be. This would have hit much closer to home in 1971, of course: not only was Vietnam raging, but World War II and Korea had more than its fair share of living vets (as did World War I). And later in the decade we would have films that tread this ground much better: Coming Home, The Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now. Still.....having said all that.....this movie has a novel approach to the subject and is worth noting. I hate remakes, but this one could definitely be improved upon. Rated 2.5/5 Stars • Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 09/05/23 Full Review Adalson L Until when is a life worth saving? This movie really made me reflect. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/25/23 Full Review Sawyer N Along with Netflix's "All Quiet on the Western Front," Johnny Got his Gun is one of the best anti war movies I've seen. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Audience Member The greatest 01 hour: and 51 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member Disturbing as it's meant to be. An important film, a masterpiece. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Johnny Got His Gun

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Dalton Trumbo Director Timothy Bottoms Joe Bonham Kathy Fields Kareen Marsha Hunt Joe's Mother Jason Robards Joe's Father Donald Sutherland Christ
Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

More Like This

View All Best Movies to Stream at Home

The Learning Tree 76% 87% The Learning Tree Bang the Drum Slowly 90% 62% Bang the Drum Slowly Fat City 100% 84% Fat City The Swimmer 100% 82% The Swimmer I Never Sang for My Father 100% 83% I Never Sang for My Father Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Photos

View All Johnny Got His Gun photos

Johnny Got His Gun

Johnny Got His Gun (1971) Johnny Got His Gun (1971) View more photos

Synopsis War has plunged Army soldier Joe Bonham (Timothy Bottoms) into an unending nightmare. Hit by an artillery shell in World War I, Joe has suffered injuries that have all but erased his humanity: he's lost his sight, speech, hearing and sense of smell. But he still has the ability to think and remember, which, in the end, may be more a curse than a blessing. Trapped in his body, Joe realizes there's only one way out of his misery: death. Can he get a sympathetic nurse to help him?

Director
Dalton Trumbo

Screenwriter
Dalton Trumbo

Production Co
World Entertainment

Rating
PG

Genre
Drama

Original Language
English

Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 25, 2011

Runtime
1h 51m
Most Popular at Home Now
Johnny Got His Gun | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Jeremiah Abshire

Last Updated:

Views: 6090

Rating: 4.3 / 5 (54 voted)

Reviews: 85% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Jeremiah Abshire

Birthday: 1993-09-14

Address: Apt. 425 92748 Jannie Centers, Port Nikitaville, VT 82110

Phone: +8096210939894

Job: Lead Healthcare Manager

Hobby: Watching movies, Watching movies, Knapping, LARPing, Coffee roasting, Lacemaking, Gaming

Introduction: My name is Jeremiah Abshire, I am a outstanding, kind, clever, hilarious, curious, hilarious, outstanding person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.