Johnny Guitar
Nicholas Ray / US, 1954 / 110 min.
This superior, subversive Western with its progressive ideas on gender was way ahead of its time. At that time, its visual excess also made Johnny Guitar the most Baroque Western ever made. In this mercilessly feminist masterpiece, Joan Crawford shows that a woman’s independence comes at a brutal price.
Women seldom play the lead in traditional Westerns. One of the most striking exceptions to this rule is Johnny Guitar, in which Joan Crawford battles conservative, male forces. Crawford’s character, Vienna, is unique in Western culture: one minute she’s a charming, gentle woman – she falls in love with Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden) – the next, she’s just as tough and ruthless as her male counterparts.
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Details
Director
Nicholas Ray
Production year
1954
Country
US
Original title
Johnny Guitar
Length
110 min.
Language
English
Subtitles
NONE
Format
35mm
Part of
Eye Classics
Eye’s collection includes a wealth of classics. With the Eye Classics series, Eye brings film history even closer. Every week, we screen at least three classics from the collection under one recognisable name: Eye Classics.
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