Johnny Got His Gun (1971) on Netflix
A World War I artillery shell leaves American soldier Joe Bonham blind, deaf, limbless and mute. He is conscious and able to reason, drifting between reality and memory in a hospital bed.
- Netflix3.6/5
- IMDb7.8/1020,092 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes67%
Trailer
Plot summary
Joe Bonham is a young American soldier in World War I. An artillery shell wounds him, and he wakes in a hospital bed without his arms, legs, eyes, ears, mouth or nose. He stays conscious and able to reason, though the doctors judge him to be in a vegetative state. His mind moves between the ward and his memories of home: his Christian Science family, a fishing trip, his girlfriend Kareen. In his dreams he speaks with his dead father and with Jesus Christ. A young nurse senses his plight and forms a bond with him. Unable to tell anyone he is awake, he is a prisoner inside his own body.
Cast
- Kathy Fieldsas Kareen
- Sandy Brown Wyethas Lucky
- Kendell Clarkeas Hospital Offical
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Johnny Got His Gun (1971)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The film received renewed attention in the late 1980s after clips from it were incorporated into the music video for Metallica's single One, and it became a cult film. Metallica eventually bought the rights to the film so it could show the music video without having to keep paying royalties.
- Trumbo wrote the first version of the script in 1964, in collaboration with Luis Buñuel, who was to direct, but financing for the project failed to materialize and it was abandoned.
