Projectionist's Choice

We kick off our summer series with Nicholas Ray's unconventional Western, which Francois Truffaut once called "dreamlike, magical, unreal to a degree, delirious."

Print courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

Friday, July 11, 7:00 p.m.

Johnny Guitar

USA, 1954, 35mm, color, 110 min.

Directed by Nicholas Ray

With Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge

Selected by new Cinematheque projectionist Mike King, Johnny Guitar pits a saloon keeper (Crawford) against a ruthless cattle baroness (McCambridge) in a fight over land and men. Seething with sexual tension and decadently shot in TruColor, the film was largely dismissed by critics upon its release but has been revived thanks in a large part to the praise of Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard.