Johnny Got His Gun (1971)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A conscious soldier becomes a prisoner in his own body after a devastating war injury.
The story
Joe Bonham, a young American soldier during World War I, awakens in a hospital bed after being hit by an artillery shell. He has lost his eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and limbs, but remains conscious and able to reason, rendering him a prisoner in his own body. As he drifts between reality and fantasy, he remembers his old life with his Christian Science family and his girlfriend Kareen. He also forms a bond of sorts with a young nurse who senses his plight, although the doctors think he is in a vegetative state.
- First release year
- 1971
- Runtime (minutes)
- 111
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Dalton Trumbo
- Writers
- Dalton Trumbo · writer; Luis Buñuel · uncredited writer
- Cast and characters
- Timothy Bottoms; Kathy Fields; Marsha Hunt; Jason Robards; Donald Sutherland; Diane Varsi
- Genres
- drama; anti-war
- Themes
- anti-war; humanity; suffering
- Tone and mood
- somber; expressionist
- Setting
- World War I, United States
- Premise and plot tags
- war drama; amputee; euthanasia; veteran
- Source material / true-story basis
- novel of the same name by Dalton Trumbo
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews, ranging from high praise for its human focus to criticism for its sentimentalizing and lack of sophistication. It became a cult film after being featured in a Metallica music video.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 6.7 · scale: 10 · review count: 21
- Awards and nominations
- Grand Prix · second prize · shared
- Production trivia
- The film distinguishes between reality and fantasy by using black-and-white for hospital scenes and color for dreams.; Metallica bought the rights to the film to show the music video for 'One' without paying royalties.; Akira Kurosawa cited the film as one of his favorite films.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…