I had a hard time trying to figure out how much of the camp was intentional. In the end, it doesn't matter; it was annoying. The character of Emma in this film is, I think, the second-most obnoxious one I've ever seen committed to celluloid, with the kid from 'Day of the Locust' beating her to the title. I would have loved to see her share the same fate! In general, this film is one long cocktease: lots of talking, not very much shooting. And with so many unlikable characters, you need shooting.

Its dialogue sparkles with such terrific wit, the colours are bold and beautiful and the emotion of the film somehow manages to hit its mark every time with Vienna and Johnny's attempt to reconcile their past with one another being surprisingly moving. It's hard for me to put my finger on why I didn't like it more, though certainly I'd have liked a bit more insight into Emma's character beyond her being pure evil.

Highly stylized - Nicholas Ray trademark - dark and deeply poetic and passionate western. Joan Crawford is a force of nature as a desperat saloon owner with rouge and six pistols.

Has anyone else noticed how scary Joan Crawford's facial expressions are? This is an entertaining, borderline bizarre faux Western loaded with memorable visuals and pithy one-liners.

A face-off between two titans, Joan Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge, featuring Sterling Hayden as the eponymous male bimbo. Gee, it's a shame Puccini had been dead thirty years when this movie was produced. It would've made a heck of an opera!

Rebel Without a Cause in the old west. It's much much better too.

Enjoyable, unusual melodramatic western. Memorable for the 2 strong female roles.

DNF

#209

A very interesting and well made film, I particularly liked the commentary on witch hunts and mob mentality.

A noir-informed western painted with bright, saturated colors. It's certainly not a conventional film for the genre, with Joan Crawford as the tough saloon owner locked in a battle to the death with Mercedes McCambridge's Emma. It presents the lady as a force to be reckoned with as opposed to the damsel in distress. Even the title character, Sterling Hayden's Johnny feels secondary when Crawford is setting the screen on fire with her sharp tongue and fast gun. Great stuff.

Not your typical western.

An enjoyable and unconventional Western that clearly had a lot of thought put into it. I particularly liked that the villains, rather than mustache-twiddling bandits, were people who make judgments prematurely, who twist facts to support their causes and think they can unilaterally make the law. A few characters seemed discarded and the romantic parts rang false in the way a lot of Golden Age films do. It's still an interesting movie that really strives for something different.

Fascinating high-camp melodrama masquerading as a western, with Crawford and McCambridge both phenomenal as rivals locked into a battle of iron wills. It is a shame that virtually all other characters run the gamut from bland to dull; this is likely a clever reversal of the "traditional" woman's role in westerns of the 30s and 40s, but it makes interest in the film wander whenever the two ladies are not on screen. Foreshadows elements of ...BABY JANE, not least in the appearance of Crawford.

"Johnny Guitar" is a mighty fine western that doesn't break any new ground in the genre but it definitely manages to engage and entertain for those 110 minutes. Crawford's explosive performance, a witty, sharply written script and some unexpected subtleness elevate it above most of its counterparts, although some scenes are overtly melodramatic and certain fights border on the campy. Still, an enjoyable ride.

# 281

Calling J.G. old fashion might seem ridiculous, but it is old fashioned for the time it was shot. The acting and the script is deliberately overdramatic somewhat leaving no sincerity. Adding that I don't have much taste for classic westerns Kid,his gang and beautiful (as well as exploitive) cinematography were left to watch. The melancholic theme song is maybe about another story that takes place five years before this one.

An unlikeable film with a bunch of unlikeable characters played by unlikeable actors. This was easily Sterling Hayden's worst performance. Ernest Borgnine was enjoyable but that's it, Ward Bond was fine until his character did a complete 180.

Lost of fun shit going on in this one. Everything's great here.

Crawford's occasional overacting aside, this was a really good noirish western. Ray is great at picking shots that convey the frustrations and desires of the different characters which drive the movie.

A grandiose poetic visual wonder that boasts a terrific performance by Crawford as well as a highly entertaining and exciting plot driven by the pulsed direction by Ray.