Best movie of this year hands down!

Very disappointing...

the audience applauded

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

If you like western scenery, this one is for you. The outdoor shots were filmed in Red Canyon Crossing, Sedona,AZ. The red rocks and the Arizona colors are spectacular. The movie itself, however, not so much ! Much has been said about the "plot" and the "cult wonderfulness" of the film. I did not "get it". I usually just watch a film and either like it or not. This one tho' PHEW! I was distracted by so many things, the awful makeup done by Crawford herself and by the gosh-darn-terrible scene chewing by the "leading ladies" BOTH of them. Not to mention the total lack of chemistry between the "love interests" . The supporting players did their best with what they were given. Carradine, Borgnine, Bond and Royal Dano among the best.Don't usually react to stuff like this but : Johnny Guitar tells Vienna that it's like hiding out with a lit lantern as she is flouncing around the woods and rocks in her White Chiffon swirly whirly dress. She just happens to have a clothesline in her cave's basement with garments handy for changing into. So what does she pick ? A SCARLET SHIRT ! For hiding in the woods !The whole "phantom of the opera" like scene with the piano in the cave ... ugh ! Another "pick-picky". McCambridge gleefully shoots down the chandelier and the building immediately erupts into total flame mode. The go to the bridge and do their little rope trick and come back much to the STILL BURNING BUILDING ! It's that kind of a picture. Called a "masterpiece" by some but not by all.

This is one of the more interesting old westerns featuring screen legend Joan Crawford. Two strong willed women fight a power battle against the backdrop of a murder. Most westerns featured women mainly as the love interest but this is different in that the women featured are both tough and both willing to use a gun. This to me is a more realistic version of the old west. Joan Crawford is excellent as the feisty hotel owner waiting for a railroad to come through town and make her rich. Her nemesis played brilliantly by Mercedes McCambridge wants her out of town and seeks to do this by blaming her for the murder of her brother. The acting is excellent and it features an early appearance by the excellent Ernest Borgnine. There are good performances too by John Carradine and Scott Brady. The only downside coming from a predictably wooden performance by Sterling Hayden as Johnny Guitar. The action and story rattle along at a good pace and the smart script mainly steers clear of many of the old western clichés. It all culminates in a great final few scenes. This is a very good entry in the western genre and all the better for making the women the lead protagonists. Highly recommended to western fans.

***User reviewer JohnRouseMerriottChard ("You're nothing but a railroad tramp who's not fit to live amongst decent people", JohnRouseMerriottChard from United Kingdom, 6 November 2010) and CitizenCaine ("Nicholas Ray Ahead Of His Time With Shakespearean Western", CitizenCaine from Las Vegas, Nevada, 23 December 2011) both compare Johnny Guitar to the McCarthy hearings. Telegonus ("Color, Color, Everywhere!", telegonus from brighton, ma, 9 September 2002) also has a nice summary.***Johnny Guitar (1954, Nicholas Ray), is a rare, barrier-breaking cult film which is interpreted very differently among viewers. Two traditional paradigms of the western genre are thrown away. The first is male patriarchy. Here the two strongest, most influential characters are the perpetually bickering females. Another excised paradigm is the power that the most skilled gunfighter has over a community. In this western landscape, mob rule is the most powerful force, and the decisions made by women are usually obeyed.The label "camp" is frequently used to describe it. "Guitar" has moments that clearly comment on transgenderism, gay men and lesbians. Vienna (Joan Crawford), a former prostitute who has (somehow) become a casino builder and proprietor, spends money (i.e., what were once called "Dollars" convertible to gold) freely. Her roulette wheel croupier (Paul Fix) describes her as "more of a man than a woman." Crawford's appearance is odd. In every scene she wears a lot of bright red lipstick and mascara--even after a swim. To many viewers she represents either a trans-gender or a butch lesbian. "Guitar" makes only a single obvious reference to lesbianism, when the steely, well-armed Vienna descends the staircase in her casino and pauses when her crotch is in the line of sight of her arch rival Emma Small (Mercedes McCambridge). Emma's face noticeably registers euphoria, quite unlike how she appears a few minutes later when she reluctantly dances with the Dancin' Kid (Scott Brady). Moving to the Kid, he seems to swing both ways. Late in the film, he and Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden) are hiding out in the same cabin. While goading the other man, the Dancin' Kid is suggestively leaning against a wall, his body-language making a pass. Overall, the appearance of (brief but persistent) gay subtexts is surprising considering "Guitar" was first seen during an era when such ideas were largely suppressed from popular culture. A matriarchy is in place. Emma and Vienna don't merely control the men who are nearby, they emasculate them. Emma, one of the most spiteful females in cinema, destroys any perception of conviction in (Ward Bond's) John McIvers; she manipulates the posse leader very easily. Despite Johnny Guitar's reveal as a formidable gunman, Vienna still (literally) calls the shots in their partnership. The central premise that the toughest male would rather carry a guitar instead of a gun (i.e., a more obvious phallus) solidifies the stature of women. The characters are in conflict because of the expected arrival of the railroad. However, this is not a western community that works out its differences at church socials or square dances. Instead, each character is adept at direct verbal confrontation with another individual or the group at hand. Peace is nowhere in sight. The posse is a threat to justice until the concluding duel has been fought. Only then is the posse finally satisfied. From the opening scenes when Vienna wears black, Nicholas Ray increasingly employs vivid colors in her clothing as the story unfolds. She wears an elegant white dress when the posse claims her, a sporty red blouse when she's on the run and a Sun-like yellow top (with red scarf) when she is forced to renounce her pacifism and fight. Ray seems to matches the luminosity of Vienna's colors with how vulnerable she is.(On an unrelated note, I wonder why the cabin hideout is only accessible by passing through a waterfall. Also, there are some interesting filming anecdotes describing how both Hayden and McCambridge both hated working with Crawford, with McCambridge battling her off the set as well as on.) "Johnny Guitar" is an entertaining study of mob rule that also upends many conventions of movie westerns, particularly by adding LBGT undercurrents. Cinephiles, regardless of how they prefer to receive horizontal refreshments, should ride fresh horses over to the revival theater showing it to experience Nicolas Ray's very unique western on the big screen.

This could be called an Anti-Western or an Upside Down Western. It is one of those that has as many Descriptions as it does Admirers and Dissenters. It is Divisive and can Delight and Disappoint. There is Something here that cannot be ignored. It is Audacious, Different, Quirky, and Quintessentially a Cult Movie, Camp Classic, or an unmitigated Catastrophe, depending on who is doing the Pontificating.What Attracts Viewers and Historians to this Glaring Misrepresentation of the Western is a number of things, one is the Fading Star Joan Crawford taking full Control of the Film Production and Demanding a Singular Voice to its Intent and Outcome. Her Characterization is something so Bizarre that only an Egomaniac could have seen it as Flattering. She does Dominate the Movie but not Completely.The other Female Lead in this Western, and the two Women lead the Proceedings, is Mercedes Cambridge and She practically steals the Film with a Performance that is Loathsome and Witch Like. There are Garish Color Schemes and Poetic Dialog along with a Script that is not Shy about Anti-McCarthy Sentiments. There is more than one Scene where Characters are Forced to Name Names to save themselves and so on.An Unsettling Movie that is so Off-Beat it is a Hard Swallow for Casual Western and Movie Fans because it so Unorthodox. But if you are looking for Metaphors in your Movies and can Enjoy stretching and turning things inside out, this may be just the Western you are looking for.