Back to trending
Johnny Got His Gun

Johnny Got His Gun

War · Drama · 1971

A young American soldier, rendered in pseudocoma from an artillery shell from WWI, recalls his life leading up to that point.

Movie details

Johnny Got His Gun

“The most shattering experience you'll ever live.”

1971 War · Drama 1h 52m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.5 / 10

Community rating

A young American soldier, rendered in pseudocoma from an artillery shell from WWI, recalls his life leading up to that point.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Johnny Got His Gun?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front

Drama · 1930

When a group of idealistic young men join the German Army during the Great War, they are assigned to the Western Front, where their patriotism is destroyed by the harsh realities of combat.

Sergeant York

Sergeant York

War · 1941

Alvin York a hillbilly sharpshooter transforms himself from ruffian to religious pacifist. He is then called to serve his country and despite deep religious and moral objections to fighting becomes one of the most celebrated American heroes of WWI.

Devotion

Devotion

War · 2022

The harrowing true story of two elite US Navy fighter pilots during the Korean War. Their heroic sacrifices would ultimately make them the Navy's most celebrated wingmen.

Breaker Morant

Breaker Morant

Drama · 1980

During the Boer War, three Australian lieutenants are on trial for shooting Boer prisoners. Though they acted under orders, they are being used as scapegoats by the General Staff, who hopes to distance themselves from the irregular practices of the war. The trial does not progress as smoothly as expected by the General Staff, as the defence puts up a strong fight in the courtroom.

Gettysburg

Gettysburg

Drama · 1993

In the summer of 1863, General Robert E. Lee leads the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia into Gettysburg, Pennsylvania with the goal of marching through to Washington, D.C. The Union Army of the Potomac, under the command of General George G. Meade, forms a defensive position to confront the rebel forces in what will prove to be the decisive battle of the American Civil War.

War Horse

War Horse

War · 2011

On the brink of the First World War, Albert's beloved horse Joey is sold to the Cavalry by his father. Against the backdrop of the Great War, Joey begins an odyssey full of danger, joy, and sorrow, and he transforms everyone he meets along the way. Meanwhile, Albert, unable to forget his equine friend, searches the battlefields of France to find Joey and bring him home.

Battle of the Bulge

Battle of the Bulge

Drama · 1965

In the winter of 1944, the Allied Armies stand ready to invade Germany at the coming of a New Year. To prevent it, Hitler orders an all-out offensive to re-take French territory and capture the major port city of Antwerp.

Hell Is for Heroes

Hell Is for Heroes

Drama · 1962

World War II drama where the action centers around a single maneuver by a squad of GIs in retaliation against the force of the German Siegfried line. Reese joins a group of weary GIs unexpectedly ordered back into the line when on their way to a rest area. While most of the men withdraw from their positions facing a German pillbox at the far side of a mine-field, half a dozen men are left to protect a wide front. By various ruses, they manage to convince the Germans that a large force is still holding the position. Then Reese leads two of the men in an unauthorized and unsuccessful attack on the pillbox, in which the other two are killed; and when the main platoon returns, he is threatened with court-martial. Rather that face the disgrace, and in an attempt to show he was right, he makes a one-man attack on the pillbox.

The Lost Battalion

The Lost Battalion

History · 2001

Fact-based war drama about an American battalion of over 500 men which gets trapped behind enemy lines in the Argonne Forest in October 1918 France during the closing weeks of World War I.

The War Below

The War Below

War · 2021

During World War I, a group of British miners are recruited to tunnel underneath no man's land and set bombs from below the German front in hopes of breaking the deadly stalemate of the Battle of Messines.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Dalton Trumbo

Written by

Dalton Trumbo · Luis Buñuel

Timothy Bottoms

Timothy Bottoms

Joe Bonham

K

Kathy Fields

Kareen

Marsha Hunt

Marsha Hunt

Joe's Mother

Jason Robards

Jason Robards

Joe's Father

Donald Sutherland

Donald Sutherland

Christ

Charles McGraw

Charles McGraw

Mike Burkeman

S

Sandy Brown Wyeth

Lucky

Court is in session

Put Johnny Got His Gun on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.