Hey, Johnny Guitar!
buy audio, video, ultimate electronics
|
 |
List Price: $10.99
|
| [ + Zoom ] [ Buy Now ] |
Music : This item is currently not available. |
|
Hey, Johnny Guitar! Customer Reviews
|
|
|
|
♥♥♥♥♥
|
"You're nothing but a railroad tramp."
|
On the outskirts of town sits an empty saloon. The roulette wheel is ready for the hundreds of customers saloon owner, Vienna (Joan Crawford) knows will arrive with the new railroad. Local cattle ranchers--spearheaded by McIvers (Ward Bond) and the fanatical, repressed Emma (Mercedes McCambridge) oppose the railroad as they see it as a threat to their way of life. Emma's hatred of Vienna is deeper than just a difference of opinion. Vienna is involved with the Dancing Kid (Scott Brady) one of four hard luck ne'er do wells mining for silver at a secret location just outside of town. Emma loves the Dancing Kid, but since she's so repressed, she can't admit it. She's a bundle of hate and hysterical neuroses with the end result directed at Vienna.
A mysterious stranger known as Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden) arrives at the saloon. He doesn't pack a gun--just a guitar--and he's employed by Vienna to play music. It's immediately obvious to the Dancing Kid that Johnny Guitar is a rival for Vienna's affections. While Johnny Guitar uses mellow phrases to seem unthreatening, his words also reveal an unbending tenacity. It's clear that Johnny Guitar and Vienna have a passionate history together. The murder of Emma's brother during a stagecoach hold-up causes the locals to invade the saloon and order Vienna, the Dancing Kid and his band out of town--or else. Vienna refuses to leave, and Johnny Guitar decides to stay with her.
Women are the power centres in this fascinating western, and Vienna and Emma are complete opposites. Both women control a large number of men--Vienna controls through loyalty from her employees and discarded lovers, and Emma controls her posse through a misguided sense of duty and righteousness. Vienna has her pick of men, and the film's sparkling dialogue hints at the long line of men in her past. In some scenes, Vienna dresses in men's clothing--including packing a gun, and in other scenes, she wears flowing gowns. Emma, on the other hand, dressed in drab black, looks like a demented witch in some scenes, and she practically gasps with desire when the Dancing Kid playfully grabs her for a dance.
One of my favourite scenes in the film takes place between Johnny and Vienna as he drinks and begins to feel sorry for himself. Although the scene begins with a bittersweet tenderness, it soon explodes into angry regret. Johnny asks Vienna "how many men did you forget?" and she responds "as many women as you've remembered." Vienna isn't shy about the hints she throws out regarding other men--for example, she got her tip about the new railroad through "exchanging 'confidences' " with a railroad engineer.
"Johnny Guitar", from director Nicholas Ray, is a thematically rich film, and the film's spectacular cinematography is perfect for this genre. The outside scenes emphasize the wide open spaces--the action is set against red mountains dynamited for the imminent railroad, wide sunsets, and magnificent vistas. Joan Crawford fans won't want to miss this one--displacedhuman |
|
Hey, Johnny Guitar! ultimate electronics.