LeonLouisRicci Stylist Walter Hill has Directed some Very Underrated and Under-Appreciated Movies and this is One of them. With a Killer Cast including Lance Henriksen, Ellen Barkin, Morgan Freeman, and Forest Whitaker it is Mickey Rourke as the Title Character that Slinks Back in the Frame and Plays Off the Others with Pathos and Empathy that draws the Viewer into this Violent and Edgy Neo-Noir.It is a Colorful Downer of a Movie that has Roots in the Pulp Fiction and Film Noir of the Thirties and Forties. Set in Modern Day New Orleans the Mood is Bleak and Sombre. The Movie Burns with Style and the Charismatic Characters all Contribute to this Low Brow Version of a Greek Tragedy. The Film was Ignored and Panned but it is a Gem Waiting for Discovery by Modern Film Buffs and has a Packed in Quality that Unleashes a Baggage of Bang Up Scenes that Click with a Cutting Edge of Nastiness and Cynicism. Henriksen and Barkin are Foul Mouthed Low Lifes of the Highest Order and Morgan Freeman is on hand to Deliver some of the most Defeatist Dialog.Mickey Rourke shows once again a Knack for Picking the most Off Beat Roles and Delivers yet another take of Someone Outside the Orbit of Hollywood. The Ry Cooder Score is just One More Addition to this Already Rich Rumble of the Mean Streets.

Spikeopath Johnny Handsome is directed by Walter Hill and adapted to screenplay by Ken Friedman from the novel "The Three Worlds of Johnny Handsome" written by John Godey. It stars Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, Elizabeth McGovern, Lance Henriksen, Forest Whitaker, Morgan Freeman and Scott Wilson. Music is by Ry Cooder and cinematography by Matthew F. Leonetti.John Sedley (Rourke), AKA: Johnny Handsome, has a severely disfigured face, when he and his only real friend are double-crossed by two accomplices during a robbery, Johnny is sent to prison and his life reaches a new low. However, hope springs in the form of Dr. Steven Fisher (Whitaker), a pioneering plastic surgeon who offers to give Johnny surgery that would give him a normal face as he attempts to integrate back into society. With a new face making him unrecognisable, there is scope to enact revenge on the two people who killed his best friend and had him put in prison...Walter Hill knows his film noir, anyone who has seen The Driver knows this. Here for Johnny Handsome, Hill takes a lot of the fantastical elements of noir and dresses it up admirably as a violent revenge thriller. A box office flop and something of a kicking post for big hitting critics of the late 1980s, it's a film that now can be seen as being very much in tune with its influences.The charges of it being too bonkers, too violent and too much of a "B" movie homage just don't add up, because what is on offer is good solid meaty neo-noir cinema. A protagonist with an affliction, medical shenanigans, hyper femme fatale, over the top villain and a stoic and sarcastic gumshoe type copper. All of which operate in a sweaty and luridly coloured New Orleans. Add in Hill's eye for aggressive action sequences and it's neo a go-go.Hill gets strong performances from his cast, ensuring emotional bonds are not over egged and a clamour for sympathy and understanding kept to a bearable level by the actors playing the "good" guys "n" dolls. While giving Henriksen and Barkin licence to sizzle with sinister glee is astute and perfectly in tune with the material on the page. Leonetti's photography has the requisite pulpy noirishness to it, and the familiar twangs of Ry Cooder are never a bad thing in a Walter Hill movie.It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but those complaining about missed opportunities regarding rehabilitation - or that the liberal doctor turns out to be clinically wrong in his reform beliefs - really are missing the point or unaware of the world where something like Johnny Handsome lives. From the kinetic misery at film's start, to the "ever so in tune with film noir" finale, Johnny Handsome is well worth a look by anyone interested in noir's updated version. 7/10

jcbutthead86 Johnny Handsome is a great,underrated Crime Drama,Film Noir and Thriller that's filled with great direction,wonderful performances,film score and is one of Walter Hill and Mickey Rourke's best films and is very overlooked.Based on the novel The Three Worlds Of Johnny Handsome by John Godey and set in New Orleans Johnny Handsome tells the story of John Sedley(Mickey Rourke)a man nicknamed Johnny Handsome because of the physical deformities on his face who sets up a robbery with two lowlifes named Sunny(Ellen Barkin)and Rafe(Lance Henriksen)to help his friend,Mikey(Scott Wilson)an older brother-type. When the robbery goes wrong,Mikey is killed by Rafe and Johnny is set-up by Sunny and Rafe to take the fall and gets put in prison and is stabbed while he's inside prison. While Johnny is in the hospital and in a coma,a sympathetic surgeon named Dr. Steven Fisher(Forrest Whitaker)offers Johnny a reconstructive surgery on his face and a new life. Although Johnny has a new face and name,Johnny still wants to get revenge on Sunny and Rafe at all costs new face or not.Johnny Handsome is an excellent film that is true to the genre and spirit of Film Noir,it's dark,gritty and ugly and the film works so well not just as Crime Drama,Film Noir or Thriller,but also as a great character study. Walter Hill definitely knows the Film Noir genre having done another Film Noir in 1978 with his classic The Driver. What I love about the film is that Hill creates a world of a dark world not at all related to the 80s but to the 40s,where in this film and in the works of Dashell Hammett and Raymond Chandler some of the characters are good,bad or something else in between. Where in the 80s most films were bright and colorful,Johnny Handsome is grim and gritty and doesn't fit in with the colorful world of the 80s where all characters are good and everything is going to turnout all right and I think that is one of the reasons that Johnny Handsome is underrated because right from the opening credits it's established that Johnny Handsome is not a lighthearted film but a film that is going to be bleak and dark until the very end. Johnny Handsome is a film that could have easily been made in the 40s. What I also love about Johnny Handsome is that it's a great character study. The main character John Sedley is a tragic character in many respects,because even though John has had surgery on his face and has a new name,John still feels like he has his old face and has the same emotions he had before. John also has to go out into the world with his new face try to deal with his past and present. The past where Dr.Fisher gives John a new face and a new life and feels that he will turnout o.k or having to deal with local cop L.T A.Z.Drones(Morgan Freeman)who despite seeing Johnny's new face doesn't believe that John will never,ever change and will always be a criminal. Another thing from his past is Sunny and Rafe and how John still carries the emotional scars from dealing with those two and trying to get revenge. In the present,Johnny doesn't want his new girlfriend and lover Donna(Elizabeth McGovern)to know about his past or who he used to be,but unfortunately for Johnny his past and present meet up. I think that one of the themes of the film is that you can change how a person looks on the outside but,you can't change how they feel on the inside Some probably would see Hill's films as just Action films,but the characters in his films have depth and history and it's one of the many reasons Walter Hill is one of my favorite film directors. Johnny Handsome is not only a great Film Noir but also a great character study of John Sedley. Although not as Action-packed as many of Hill's films,Johnny Handsome has a few well-executed Action scenes that will get the viewer riled up which are violent and fast and at times brutal which greatly matches the film's dark and gritty tone. With the exception of a couple films Hill has never been known for making long films and if their is a flaw with this film is that it's not long enough in my opinion and should have been 15-20 minutes longer and had more scenes with the characters because I wanted to see much more,but that doesn't stop the film from being great and memorable. The ending of this film is brilliant,powerful,bleak and sad but is true to the dark and grim spirit of Film Noir. An excellent and unforgettable conclusion.The whole cast does a great job. Mickey Rourke is excellent and at his best as John Sedley,bringing depth,toughness and sadness to the role. One of Rourke's most underrated performances. Ellen Barkin is fantastic,over the top and sexy as Sunny a sexy,but slimy woman. Elizabeth McGovern does a great job as Donna,Johnny's new girlfriend. Lance Henriksen is menacing and believable as Rafe,Sunny's partner in crime. Morgan Freeman is great as always as cop L.T. A.Z.Drones a cop who's always on Johnny's case. Forest Whitaker is wonderful as Dr.Fisher a sympathetic doctor who tries to help and understand Johnny. Scott Glenn does a fine job in his small role as Mikey,John's friend and older brother-type.Walter Hill's direction is excellent,bringing a dark,gritty,somber look to the film and also does well with the Action scenes. Great direction,Hill.Ry Cooder's score is amazing and it gives the film a hard edge with it's somber,blues-like sound and truly adds to the film.In final word,if you love Walter Hill,Mickey Rourke,Crime Dramas,Film Noir or Thrillers,I Highly suggest you see out Johnny Handsome an underrated and overlooked film that will stay with you after you watch it and is Walter Hill and Mickey Rourke at their best. Highly Recommended. 10/10.

ShootingShark Johnny Handsome is a bank robber with facial deformities. When his friend is killed and he is double-crossed by some accomplices on a job he ends up in prison, but his case is taken up by a pioneering surgeon researching the link between physical disabilities and criminal recidivism. If he can give Johnny a new face, can Johnny turn his life around ?I have a very soft spot for this movie, although I must admit its story line is unremittingly bleak and its world view is harshly cynical. If you're looking for a cheery date movie, its cocktail of violence, suffering and nihilism is perhaps not for you. But, if you're prepared to go with it, it's a great story full of rich characters, terrific performances and a highly original theme - to what extent are criminal tendencies part of our personalities, and is it futile to try to overcome them ? I'm especially drawn to the Drones character (brilliantly played by Freeman), for whom life contains no surprises and people behave in an entirely predictable way. In one sense he's loathsome, constantly hounding and belittling anyone's attempt to better themselves, but in another he's a world-weary but compassionate realist whose eloquent final epitaph for Johnny is as touching and heartfelt as any ever written. All of the characters are imbued with passion, be it Donna's dignity, Sunny's scheming, Dr Fisher's philanthropy or Rafe's constantly simmering fury, and the entire ensemble are all fearless and terrific, right down to the minor players. The sultry New Orleans setting and drunken blues guitar score by Ry Cooder combine to create a potboiler atmosphere of decadence and tension, of lives lived at a flashpoint and corruption lurking around every darkened street corner. It also utilises a very interesting camera style, whereby the actors are often talking and looking direct to camera for long beats; monologues rather than over-the-shoulder dialogue. This stuff is literally in-your-face and intensifies all the big speeches - director of photography Matthew F. Leonetti also counterpoints it with silent reaction shots, so that the movie is deliciously slow and dreamy as it winds towards its sad but satisfying conclusion. All of these elements are beautifully woven together by Hill into a brilliant - if minor - crime picture which is both thought-provoking and deeply affecting. Extremely well written by Ken Friedman, based on the book The Three Worlds Of Johnny Handsome by John Godey (who also wrote The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three). If you are ever prone to thinking Morgan Freeman is overrated, or in too many movies, give yourself a stern talking to and then watch this film. All of the cast are very good, but he is mesmerisingly brilliant - every nuance, every look, every pause, every gesture counts towards the drama and contradiction of his complicated character and to the rich enjoyment of the movie. He's a truly great actor. 7/10