Customer Reviews

Johnny Guitar (Import , All Regions), Joan Crawford

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

JOHNNY GUITAR is a very enjoyable western melodrama with Joan Crawford, strikingly filmed in colour, as Vienna the misunderstood saloon owner who spearheads the drive for a railroad to be built through her small town. She comes under the hatred and scorn of her fellow townsfolk, not the least of which a scary pariah called Emma Small (played wonderfully by Mercedes McCambridge in another of her trademark characters with bull-dyke tendencies). Vienna's only help lies in her former love, Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden). When Vienna is accused of taking part in a robbery it sets into motion a chain of events that could end in her lynching...

This film is a hair's breath from being high-camp. Joan Crawford plays Vienna in her usual style, exchanging insults and threats with McCambridge in the film's most memorable scenes. A choice line of McCambridge is "She's nuthin' but a railroad tramp". Watching their scenes made me think of Faye Dunaway and Diana Scarwid in MOMMIE DEAREST, they seem to create the same energy on screen, perhaps they watched JOHNNY GUITAR in preparing for their performances?...

JOHNNY GUITAR is more than a western, and a must-see for fans of Crawford.

Find out why a hive can only support 1 Queen-Bee when you watch JOAN's **Greatest Triumph**!

If you've never seen this movie you're in for a big surprise and even a guilty pleasure. And, if you have seen it then you've found a rare gem, that is cinematic gold, courtesy of the one and only, world-famed, Joan Crawford (may she rest in peace).

After more than a year I just saw this movie again and each time I watch it it's like the very first time. I can't begin to tell you how much I adore "Johnny Guitar." It's a broad mix of high-drama, action, country and western and buckles, boots & spurs! Some have even said that it's somewhat of a musical. No matter how you describe it though, you'll agree that the entire movie is like 1 huge Joan Crawford infomercial. Joan got the best scenes, the best costumes, the best lines and all the men were all in love with her and fighting for her. But she's Joan Crawford and what the woman wants the woman gets.

What I liked most about the movie is how it ended. So dramatic and over-the-top and in pure Joan Crawford cinema fashion! And usually at the end of an epic picture such as "Johnny Guitar" I am somewhat morose, but not this time. Because it's so beautiful and almost a celebration of the picture. I love how Johnny (Sterling Hayden) takes Vienna (Joan) and they kiss passionately under the waterfall as Peggy Lee's title anthem plays, then all of a sudden a huge eagle eclipses the screen with the words REPUBLIC imposed over it. So dramatic!

The film is important because it says so much. You can watch it strictly as a western and get a lot out of it. Or, you can sit and analyse the societal issues that plague both the Dancin' Kid's (played by character actor, Scott Brady) posse and Emma Small (Mercedes McCambridge) and her gang. And perhaps you'll see that this is a story of rich, verses poor, or a story of a lovelorn, bitter and scorned woman who will stop at nothing to spread her rueful hate because damn it if she's miserable she's going to make sure that everyone that gets in her way will be miserable, too.

Speaking of miserable, Mercedes McCambridge played the perfect adversary to Joan. No, the 2 didn't like each other because they were each desperately envious of the other (for very different reasons). And in many scenes this viewer could see such raw emotion that broke the 4th wall and spilled out in real life. (Watch the first scene with Joan on the steps and Mercedes standing in front of her saying "I'm going to kill you." That look in both of their eyes cannot be duplicated because like the galaxies in the universe, it is completely unique). I think if Mercedes McCambridge learned anything it's that you don't mess with Joan Crawford, when she's been the reigning drama(tic) queen for the past 30 years prior.

The coup de grāce has gotta be when Emma scampers back into Vienna's and shoots down that huge, grand chandelier (that I think every Joan Crawford movie has). It wasn't enough that she railroaded Turkey (Ben Cooper) into betraying Vienna and it wasn't enough that she was about to have the 2 hung. Nope, this old (rhymes with) witch wanted to see Vienna's good time saloon burn as wild and hot as the hell-fire torch that she's held for the Dancin' Kid. (Or was all that just a rouse to hide the lurid lust that Emma really felt for Vienna...?)

Although in essence this was purely Joan's picture, there was something very intriguing about Mercedes McCambridge's character, Emma. Emma was the type of person who was desperate for love and desperate for attention; she wanted to have all eyes on her. But as much as she wanted to have people near her, that's how much she pushed them (all) away. I felt pity for her because she put up such a fight against Vienna, and although she played very dirty she still couldn't catch a break. Even her own posse was practically routing for Vienna. To me, the character of Emma is essentially more decisive than Vienna. Because Emma was a representation of what can happen if you let hate consume you. Like a disease it eats you up inside and it's all you can think about until you literally implode.

Contrary to the Wikipedia "Johnny Guitar" page the film has never been released officially on "DVD formats." There is actually no official release of the film in any country on DVD, including the US. The item on this page is a DVD that although is made in South Korea is actually marketed to the US by a company that holds no proprietary rights over the picture. This DVD is non-region specific and includes Korean subtitles (however they're very simple to shut off). No special features are included and it has not been remastered in any way, shape, or form. The price for this on Amazon is fairly reasonable, however if you look on ebay or half you may find a slightly lower price. By the way, I have included some pictures of this DVD.

"Johnny Guitar" is also important because it included such a first-rate cast of very talented and established supporting stars. To name just a couple, Mr. Ernest Borgnine (a year before his defining picture, "Marty") played Bart Lonergan, a member of the Dancin' Kid's posse. In this role, Mr. Borgnine played against type, but even so, he was so believable and convincing as the group's resident Judas in disguise. And veteran western character actor Royal Dano played Corey, another member of the posse, who, like all of the men that came into contact with her had a special place in his heart for Vienna.

Someday (soon???!!) I hope whomever owns the rights to the film (Republic, CBS Pictures/Video & Audio Communications, Inc.?) gets their act together and releases this modern-day masterpiece onto DVD. Joan Crawford fans have been waiting diligently for years to watch what was once described as "Joan's greatest triumph" in all its raging, colorful glory. Personally, I would be just happy with a straight transfer onto DVD, it doesn't need any extras or special features whatsoever.

"No excuse for a picture being this bad, or for me making it," Joan once said about "Johnny Guitar." Needless to say, as the perfectionist that she always was, Joan did not like anything that did not meet her high standards and "Johnny Guitar" was one of her movies that she never really accepted and in fact collectively went out of her way not to promote. But what's most unusual about Joan and what really says a lot about her character is that no matter how excellent a movie was that she made, she always was so humble and so gracious and so kind to her colleagues. But with a film that was less than perfect (in her mind) such as this one she tended to take all of the burden and blame herself completely. I just wish Joan were still alive today to see an entirely new generation of fans, fans who were not even born when she passed away, enjoy this movie for the very first time.

Whenever I lecture before general audiences or film students and explain what elements comprise the essential grammar of cinema (the lighting, performances, editing, costumes, art direction, script, music, photography, etc), I ALWAYS use the opening 15 minutes of Johnny Guitar. Nothing, aside from Rebel Without a Cause, made the following year by the same director (Nicholas Ray), better communicates these features more palpably -- and interestingly -- than this film. Yet despite these virtues, the film is hardly known in its native country. Although it was initially a popular hit in the US, the critics didn't take to it (its feminist theme and gender bending were decades ahead of their time) and so it eventually fell away from consciousness and distribution. In contrast, however, the French instantly recognized its achievement, followed by the British. In Europe then, and later in parts of Asia, the film attained a very devoted following, but to this day the average American is likely to shake his head and say "Johnny what?" Time to rectify this injustice.

Nicholas Ray's celebrated western is one of the essential films in the genre--both rigidly classical and wildly unconventional, both mainstream and perversely offbeat. This import features a transfer that is only adequate, but sure a lot better than no release of JOHNNY GUITAR at all--which is what you'd have if you relied on US DVDs.

I grew up in a small town with a "show" within walking distance. Admission was .14 cents. I was hooked on Westerns since my first at 7 years old (Roy Rogers' "Grand Canyon Trail"). There were at least 2 or 3 "A" Westerns a month and a "B" every Saturday. I've never understood what "camp" means in film references but "darn good Western" just about says it all about "JG". I have watched this movie at least 30 times and can recite dialogue word-for-word almost all the way from "What's your pleasure?" to Ward Bond's "This was her fight, has been all along". It is way out ahead of my other favorites, "Shane", "Rio Bravo", "Devils Doorway", "The Magnificent Seven". (No, I don't do "High Noon"). There is no other Western like it. It is like Shakespeare goes to Arizona. I agree with other commentors who can't fathom why there are so many terrible Westerns on DVD (eg. "Billy The Kid Vs. Dracula"), that you can find in discount stores and flea markets for a dollar or two, and there is no legitimate remastered US production of "JG", or "The Silver Whip", or "Rose Of Cimarron", or "From Hell To Texas", etc, etc.
The first third takes place in a saloon that is some ways away from the town, for several reasons. Verbal wars take place between Vienna (saloon owner), Johnny (her bodyguard and former lover), "Dancing Kid" (seemingly innocent robbery/murder suspect), Emma (mentally disturbed, attention deprived matriarch, with an ego the size of texas), and Mr. McIvers (big time rancher subordinated by Emma). The conversations range from taut and heavy to light and comical. The second third somewhat enlightens the first third and lays the basis for the last. The last third is an action packed, well directed, superbly acted chase with a surprise ending (i.e.,the first time you see it).
It's hard to understand why Joan Crawford denied this movie. I never like any of her others, but loved this one even though both she and Mercedes McCambridge overacted slightly (which only added spice).
I'd give "JG" 6 stars out of a possible 5.

"Johnny Guitar" was one of many melodramtic films Joan Crawford made after her career was resurged again in 1952 with the release of the masterpiece "Sudden Fear". After her two-picture deal fell through due to the failure of "Torch Song" Joan, again, went independent to Republic Studios to make this western. As with most cowboy movies the leads always dealt with men, but in this outing the two main antagonists were played to ultimate perfection by Joan and Mercedes McCambridge, a former Oscar winner who is mostly known to current audiences as the voice of the demon in 1973's "The Exorcist". Joan and Mercedes play women who are at extreme odds with one another as the Crawford character wants to build a town when the railroad goes through much to the chagrin of the nearest town's people headed by McCambridge.

Filmed in glorious color "Johnny Guitar" became a financial and critical flop upon its release in 1954 that led Joan into a financial and professional decline. She stated, "The phone stopped ringing and when I would call people they were never home". However, in recent decades the film has gone on to cult camp status especially in France where audiences have always loved the movie.

Joan would state years later that "I should have had my head examined (for making "Johnny Guitar"). No excuse for a film this bad or for me making it". When one looks at the context of Joan's words you have to remember what she was actually going through in her personal life. She had four kids she was keeping in boarding schools, a household to run, very little money, a career that was on the skids, and various lovers who never appreciated her. Not to mention the fact she was getting older and having a hard time to find movie roles.

This particular release of "Johnny Guitar" was only released in Korea and it has never had a North American release on DVD or Blue Ray, only VHS.

If may be so bold, Johnny Guitar is probably the greatest western of all time. Johnny Guitar stars Joan Crawford as Vienna and Sterlying Hayden as the name sake character. Hayden has a screen presence here equal to Robert Mitchum, a laid back style mixed with an innate swarthiness and sexual charisma. Johnny "Guitar" was in fact Johnny Logan, a dangerous gunslinger who abandoned his old life for music. His former lover, Vienna, contacts Logan to play music for her saloon. Despite Vienna's hard-as-nails exterior, she was repulsed by darker side of Logan. Still, the two never really stopped loving each other. They both become potential victims of a vindictive woman named Emma Small. Small was dating an outlaw named "Dancin' Kid" but The Kid left her for Vienna. Now Emma rallied a deputy and a blood thirsty posse against them both and all hell breaks loose.

Nicholas Ray directed this Johnny Guitar and really, who better for the job. Ray's best work such as On Dangerous Ground, In a Lonely Place, and Rebel Without a Cause explored how flawed human beings are not monsters and/or the ugly side of ignorance. He does no less in Johnny Guitar. Emma Small manipulates a town that already feared the rapidly growing and increasingly "fenced-in" western United States in the form of Vienna's Saloon. Logan represents that living an entirely peaceful life is nearly futile when a town is entirely against you; Words only go so far. The film gives an excuse for the violence not for the sake simply saving oneslife but living in a world where people can get what they want by playing on fears.

Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, Johnny Guitar has yet to see a Region 1 DVD release. A shame since Guitar so sorely deserves it.

"Johnny Guitar" is measure by measure the most fabled Western ever made. The proprietress of a bar named Vienna (starred by the emblematic Joan Crawford) against a landowner (Mercedes Mac Ambridge) relegates the masculine to the role of simple spectators or witness, who just obey orders and instincts.

And the final result is weird but effective. There are many splendid highlights, like the Vienna's bar in flames, the process in which she is almost hanged, the original refugee of the thieves behind a beautiful cascade. But the final sequence is filled of high tension, leading us to a cathartic experience.

Don't miss it.

"Johnny Guitar" was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Add "Just Plain Weird" to that.

It's difficult to describe how... odd... this film is, especially on the first viewing. There is total gender-role inversion, with Vienna (Crawford) and Emma (McCambridge) running roughshod over the males, who seem obliged to do pretty much whatever the females want. (One can't very well call them "ladies".) And, of course, The Big Shootout is between two women. I can't think of any other western with a female/female gunfight.

The acting is acceptable, with only McCambridge standing out for her almost plausible nutso-psycho turn. (One can imagine Catherine O'Hara in a remake.) Throughout most of the movie, Joan's facial expression suggests she's been receiving Botox injections between takes. The male cast comprises mostly well-known character actors, who no doubt took a look at the finished film and wondered how they ever got involved. Director Nicholas Ray ("Rebel Without a Cause") has the good sense to play everything "over the top"; the material demands no less.

One longs to see Carol Burnett, in Crawford drag, sashaying into her burning saloon to grab the bust of Beethoven. It seems only natural that someone named "Vienna" would keep a bust of Beethoven in her private quarters, right? (And let's not overlook Vicki Lawrence as Emma and Lyle Waggoner as Johnny.)

"Johnny Guitar" would make a great double feature with "Calamity Jane" and its crypto-lesbian subtext. Two weird Westerns.

This region-free Korean edition is a beautiful transfer, which looks good enough to have been made form the three-strip TruColor negatives (even if it wasn't). Its only obvious problem is a slight "judder" in scenes of quick movement. Criterion is planning their own "Johnny Guitar"; it'll have to be awfully good to exceed the quality of this edition.

Hard to find oldie but goodie!Pure classic and will watch it again and still get the same enjoyment as I did the first time!!