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Severely-deformed petty criminal Johnny Handsome (Mickey Rourke) is double-crossed in a robbery and left to take the rap on his own. He is stabbed in jail and sent to hospital, where a prison doctor decides that plastic surgery and a fresh start will lead Johnny on the path to reform. However, when the handsome new Johnny emerges from prison, his potential fresh start in life is hampered by his desire to get even with the man who put him away.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Walter Hill's 1989 morality play sees Mickey Rourke gives one of his very best performances as a deformed crook given plastic surgery and a second chance for either redemption or revenge. Given short shrift from most critics and making little impact at the box-office, Johnny Handsome is a minor gem waiting to be discovered, a pulp noir thriller in the RKO mold lifted into another class by the conviction of the cast and direction.
Hill's direction is a refreshing return to the form he hadn't quite managed to hit since The Driver, with a title sequence reminiscent of The Warriors briskly setting both the scene and the pace and acting as a prelude to the fluid, fast-cut action scenes. Originally developed for Robert De Niro, Rourke lends considerable depth to the part, making interesting use of his voice in the early scenes, Ellen Barkin and Lance Henriksen make a convincingly sleazy pair of villains, Freeman walks away with everybody else's scenes and, as usual, Elizabeth McGovern does her best with an almost non-existant role. Only the normally reliable Forrest Whittaker stumbles with his role, serving the narrative demands of his part without ever really getting inside it, but that's a small price to pay for a thriller as good as this.
Whereas LionsGate's US NTSC DVD is a shoddy fullframe transfer, the UK PAL DVD boasts a decent 1.8:1 transfer and the original trailer.
Hill's direction is a refreshing return to the form he hadn't quite managed to hit since The Driver, with a title sequence reminiscent of The Warriors briskly setting both the scene and the pace and acting as a prelude to the fluid, fast-cut action scenes. Originally developed for Robert De Niro, Rourke lends considerable depth to the part, making interesting use of his voice in the early scenes, Ellen Barkin and Lance Henriksen make a convincingly sleazy pair of villains, Freeman walks away with everybody else's scenes and, as usual, Elizabeth McGovern does her best with an almost non-existant role. Only the normally reliable Forrest Whittaker stumbles with his role, serving the narrative demands of his part without ever really getting inside it, but that's a small price to pay for a thriller as good as this.
Whereas LionsGate's US NTSC DVD is a shoddy fullframe transfer, the UK PAL DVD boasts a decent 1.8:1 transfer and the original trailer.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By G-MAN
Format:DVD
First off, I have to say wot a great film this is, thats not well known ,how ?!! Well being a fan of mickey rourke movies such as angel heart,desperate hours i decided to purchase this little walter hill classic-not knowing it would be a classic old skool eighties flick.
I wont say to much about the plot,as its pretty basic. Mickeys face is deformed-hence title 'johnny handsome' and hes in a lot of trouble with the law. And gets a second chance-new face-new life. But can he really change,you will have to see!
If you now walter hill, you can expect the usuall violence and action!
Overall a great old classic 80's B! I was tempted to give 4 stars though, as i hoped there could have been a bit more depth in some of the characters,but most wouldnt care, what the hell- mickey is great as 'johnny',his old skool acting style deserves 5 stars!
1 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By I. Lamell
Format:VHS Tape
Film extremely dark with interrupted viewing, also horribly violent. Very poor vhs copy, with unsimpathetic direction, and very very poor tape indeed! Help!!
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