E Johnny prese il fucile - Dalton Trumbo

avevo letto il libro tanti anni fa, mi era piaciuto e mi aveva impressionato molto, ora ho visto il film, a tratti insostenibile da quanto ti coinvolge.

Dalton Trumbo è uno che ha scritto molte sceneggiature, "Spartacus" fra le altre (e mica Kubrick lavorava con incapaci) e pare che Buñuel  abbia collaborato a "E Johnny prese il fucile" 

Dalton Trumbo ha girato solo questo film ed è un film immenso, per i miei gusti.

peggio per chi non lo guarda - Ismaele

…E Johnny prese il fucile, così anticinematografico nel suo modo di raccontare la guerra, va ad essere, insieme a pellicole "una tantum" come Freaks (1932), uno di quegli esempi di cinema che si può fare una volta sola, che non può più essere ripetuto, almeno così per com'è stato espresso la prima volta. Ne consegue che, al di là dei meriti squisitamente tecnici, fra i pro e i contro, questo primo e unico film di Trumbo, Gran Premio della Giuria a Cannes del 1971, è una pellicola unica nel suo genere, difficilmente paragonabile e assolutamente imperdibile da tutti coloro che amano cimentarsi con i messaggi artistici più complessi e destabilizzanti.

da qui

I became an instant pacifist when I saw this movie at the age of 16. Prior to this, I had been a supporter of the war in Vietnam, and had fully intended to enlist when I was old enough. My father, a veteran of WW2 and Korea, took me to see this movie when it was first released, to help cure me of my delusion about the glory of war. He was very successful in that undertaking. While I haven't seen the movie in 34 years, I cannot deny it had a major influence on my life. I'll never forget the horror I felt in seeing that poor soldier trapped in his mind. I would strongly recommend telling anyone who is pro-war to see this movie. You may help turn on others to the horrors of war.

da qui

One of cinema's greatest achievements. The film is an incredible experience. The fact that you spend almost two hours watching the figure of someone buried under sheets and that we are intrigued by every second of it, testifies to the genius of the film. It's sad that most people remember this movie as the one Metallica made a video for. No offense to the band, but this JGHG is far more important than that. Dalton Trumbo's only directorial effort and it is flawless. The majority of the film is told in a voiceover and like "Twelve Angry Men" everything takes place in one room. Prepare to be amazed.

da qui

I've never much liked anti-war films. They've never much stopped war, for one thing. For another, they attract hushed and reverential praise which speaks of their universality and the urgency of their messages. Most anti-war films come so burdened with universality and urgency that the ads for them read like calls to sunrise services.

Dalton Trumbo's "Johnny Got His Gun" smelled like that kind of anti-war film. It came out of the Cannes Film Festival with three awards and a slightly pious aroma, as if it had been made for joyless Student Peace Union types of thirty-five years ago. But it isn't like that at all. Trumbo has taken the most difficult sort of material -- the story of a soldier who lost his arms, his legs, and most of his face in a World War I shell burst -- and handled it, strange to say, in a way that's not so much anti-war as pro-life. Perhaps that's why I admire it...

continua qui

La structure narrative de Johnny got his gun est audacieuse : les souvenirs et les rêves sont en couleur et la dure réalité du présent est en noir et blanc, ce qui amplifie la tristesse de l’état de Johnny. Il se souvient de sa fiancée, de sa timidité dans la découverte d’un premier amour, de ses relations avec son père (sublime séquence de la canne à pêche).Toutes ces scènes sont poignantes car traitées avec beaucoup de tendresse et de pudeur. L’identification du spectateur à Johnny devient bouleversante. Le contraste saisissant avec l’horreur de sa situation actuelle ne cède jamais au chantage à l’émotion. Mais les repères peuvent parfois se brouiller, ce qui donne lieu à des scènes surréalistes. Dans une scène de cauchemar, Johnny imagine qu’un rat est venu le dévorer et n’arrive plus à distinguer le rêve de la réalité. Il s’imagine également en train de dialoguer avec un Christ totalement impuissant malgré sa bonne volonté.

Dalton Trumbo ne s’attaque pas seulement à la folie militaire et au cynisme de la science, mais également à l’hypocrisie de la religion, ce qui le rapproche de son grand ami Luis Bunuel dont on reconnaît d’ailleurs la griffe grâce à son sens de la caricature féroce….

…Le caractère universel et intemporel de l’œuvre conserve encore toute sa force.L’absurdité de la guerre sera toujours à démontrer. La vision de Johnny got his gun est une expérience douloureuse mais nécessaire, tout comme Nuit et Brouillard d’Alain Resnais. Mais malgré sa noirceur radicale, Johnny got his gun ne cherche pas pour autant à donner une impression désespérée. Il est carrément impossible d’oublier cette scène bouleversante où l’infirmière trouve enfin le moyen de communiquer avec Johnny afin de pouvoir lui souhaiter un Joyeux Noël,

da qui