Johnny Got His Gun

Johnny Got His Gun.
1971 World Entertainment & Cinemation Industries; released to DVD by Shout! Factory.
Starring: Don "Red" Barry, Timothy Bottoms, Jason Robards, Donald Sutherland, Diane Varsi, Kathy Fields, Anthony Geary
Written and Directed by Dalton Trumbo
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Most people today will instantly associate this film with Metallica, who used scenes and dialogue for their first music video for the song "One", which was released in 1988. The band reportedly purchased the movie outright after much effort was made to secure the rights to use footage from it, showing that even before they allegedly sold out, Metallica had more than a little money lying around to use however they wanted to. Shout! Factory's DVD release, which appeared in the brick and mortar stores today, includes the video for "One" as an extra. Other extras included are a new interview with star Timothy Bottoms, and the radio adaptation of Dalton Trumbo's 1939 novel that premiered in 1940 on NBC Radio, and starred James Cagney.

American soldier Joe Bonham (Bottoms, in his first film role) has suffered a fate worse than death. After getting hit by an artillery shell on the very last day of World War I, Bonham survived, but he was rendered a quadruple amputee who has also lost his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. He remains conscious and able to reason, but he's a prisoner of his own body, gradually becoming aware of the extent of his injuries. His doctors believe that the only part of Joe that wasn't injured was the area of the brain controlling involuntary functions, which is why he's still alive, and they also believe that he cannot think or feel.

Since Joe can't do anything but think, he frequently remembers or dreams about his pre-war life with his family, including his dad (Robards), and his girlfriend (Fields), which are all told in flashbacks. After a long period, described in the radio show as 22 years (!), Joe is cared for by a nurse (Varsi) who is the first one to try to interact with him. She traces a Christmas message on his chest, and he responds by breathing in Morse Code. From there, Joe tries vainly to communicate with his doctors that he either be allowed to die, or be exhibited in a freak show as a demonstration of the horrors of war. The Army does not grant either wish, thinking it's easier to leave him in the condition he's trapped in.

This is an interesting movie, and one that had Donald Sutherland portraying a hepcat Jesus Christ (not unlike Peter O'Toole in The Ruling Class), although the transfer to DVD leaves a lot to be desired. Recommended, although perhaps you should seek out the novel, and read that first.