Johnny Handsome (1989)

94 min · Crime, Drama, Justice Drama, crime film, drama film, heist film

Popularity4.5/5

12-month trendExpand

12-month trend

Monthly article views

Sep3.7kOct3.8kNov4.0kDec3.6kJan6.7kFeb3.7kMar3.9kApr3.8kMay3.7kJun3.6kJul3.9kAug4.5k

2025-09 to 2026-08

Directors

Walter Hill

Cast

Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, Morgan Freeman, Forest Whitaker, Elizabeth McGovern, Lance Henriksen, Scott Wilson, David Schramm, Peter Jason, Yvonne Bryceland

The story

John Sedley is a man with a disfigured face, mocked by others as "Johnny Handsome." He and a friend are double-crossed by two accomplices in a crime, Sunny Boyd and her partner Rafe, and a Judge sends Johnny to jail, where he vows to get even once he gets out. In prison, Johnny meets a surgeon named Resher (Whitaker), who is looking for a guinea pig so he can attempt an extensive modern procedure in reconstructive cosmetic surgery. Johnny, figuring he has nothing to lose is given a new, normal-looking face (making him unrecognizable to the people who knew him) before he is released back into society.

Catalogue themes and tags

1980s, Accomplice, Criminal Past, Cunning, Death of a friend, Distrust, Dockyard, Erniedrigung, Ex-Con, Face Operation, Gefangennahme, Gefängnis, Gewalt, Hold-Up Robbery, Hospital, Individual, Intrigue, Maske, Medic, Mortal Danger, New Identity, New Orleans, Operation, Plastic Surgery, Polizeibeamter, Rach, Rehabilitation, Restart, Retaliation, Shadowing, Shot Dead, Threat, Ugliness, Underdog, Werftarbeiter, verlieben, verrat, Überfall, Crime Fiction, Thriller, Drama

Genres

Crime, Drama, Justice Drama, crime film, drama film, heist film

Find trailer on YouTube ↗ Plot source & revision Wikipedia Wikidata Open Media Database Permalink

Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.

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