7.3
Viewer Rating
Combines user and critic ratings from four sources
War, Drama • 1971 • 112 min • Older Kids (7+)
Johnny Got His Gun (1971)
Johnny Got His Gun (1971)
Overview
Johnny Got His Gun is a 1971 war drama following Joe Bonham, a WWI soldier physically devastated but mentally lucid, forced to confront the brutality of war from a pseudocomatose state. The film's graphic portrayal of war's senseless carnage aligns with its 'Leans Progressive' rating, due to its sharp anti-war messaging. While it retains traditional family and moral values, its explicit critique of militarism and focus on individual suffering tilt it toward progressive themes.
Starring Cast
Timothy Bottoms • Kathy Fields • Marsha Hunt
Where to watch
Rating & Dimensions
Bias Rating
Analyzing...
Leans Progressive
Political: Strong Left
Diversity: Low
Family Values: Strongly Traditional
Christianity: Negative
Viewer Rating
7.3
Overview
Johnny Got His Gun is a 1971 war drama following Joe Bonham, a WWI soldier physically devastated but mentally lucid, forced to confront the brutality of war from a pseudocomatose state. The film's graphic portrayal of war's senseless carnage aligns with its 'Leans Progressive' rating, due to its sharp anti-war messaging. While it retains traditional family and moral values, its explicit critique of militarism and focus on individual suffering tilt it toward progressive themes.
Starring Cast
Timothy Bottoms • Kathy Fields • Marsha Hunt
Where to watch
Detailed Bias Analysis
Analyzing...
Leans Progressive
Primary
Political: Strong Left
Confidence: High
The film's central thesis is an explicit and visceral condemnation of war, highlighting its dehumanizing cost and futility through the suffering of an individual soldier, aligning with progressive anti-militarism.
Diversity: Low
Confidence: High
The film features traditional casting with a predominantly white cast, consistent with its historical setting and production era. The narrative primarily functions as an anti-war statement, focusing on the universal suffering caused by conflict rather than offering a critique of traditional identities or incorporating explicit DEI themes.
Secondary
Family Values: Strongly Traditional
Confidence: High
The film consistently portrays a traditional nuclear family with distinct gender roles and respected parental authority in Joe's memories, framing the loss of this family life and the potential for a traditional marriage as a central tragedy.
Christianity: Negative
Confidence: High
The film critically portrays Christian institutions and leaders as hypocritical and complicit in the horrors of war. This is evident through a cynical depiction of Jesus in a dream sequence, who states, 'God is love, but the church is a business,' highlighting the perceived failure of organized religion to prevent suffering.
LGBTQ: N/A
Confidence: High
The film 'Johnny Got His Gun' does not feature any identifiable LGBTQ+ characters or themes. Its narrative focuses exclusively on the physical and psychological trauma of a soldier severely wounded in World War I, exploring themes of war's horror, communication, and the value of life from his perspective.
Trans: N/A
Confidence: High
The film "Johnny Got His Gun" does not feature any identifiable transsexual characters or themes. The narrative focuses exclusively on the physical and psychological trauma of a severely wounded World War I soldier, Joe Bonham, and his internal struggle for communication and dignity.
Female Combat: N/R
The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.
Gender Swap: No
Confidence: High
The film is a direct adaptation of Dalton Trumbo's novel. All significant characters, including the protagonist Joe Bonham and supporting roles, maintain the same gender as established in the original source material. No character's gender was altered for the screen adaptation.
Race Swap: No
Confidence: High
The film adapts Dalton Trumbo's 1939 novel. All major characters, including protagonist Joe Bonham, are portrayed by actors whose race aligns with their established or implicitly understood racial identity in the source material. There are no instances where a character's race was changed from the original canon.
Hinduism: N/A
Confidence: High
Not depicted in the film.
Viewer Rating Breakdown
User Ratings
7.8
7.5
Critic Ratings
6.7
7.1
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