Johnny Guitar

AroView: A cult Western beloved by film directors such as Scorsese and Almodovar that more than stands up to viewing through a modern lens.

It’s old Hollywood melodrama that glistens in technicolor glory and spunky dialogue while depicting a witch-hunt/mob mentality that was then an indictment of McCarthyism, yet has since lost none of its relevance. And then there’s the firecracker that is Joan Crawford as the saloonkeeper named Vienna, who’s bold costume changes are matched only by her self-preserving attitude and passion for old flame Johnny (Sterling Hayden).

The film was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.