Joanna (1968)

The Worst Film Ever

Good movie but grossly overrated

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Wow. I wouldn't have believed 25 people actually watched this movie. From reading the reviews it seems like the finale was good. I didn't stay for it though. In fact I didn't stay much past the railway number. I saw what I could take of it on 8th St in the Village. I remember it being billed as Joanna - She's a Banana! No wonder that the "star" was run out of Britain after making this. Joanna stands out as the worst movie I ever saw in a theater, and that's by a long shot! I often think of it when I see a lousy movie. It serves as a baseline for comparison, so for that reason I'm glad I saw it. In 42 years, that's since 1968,I have not seen a worse movie. That's something to be thankful for.

I saw this movie in 1968 and thought it was a hoot. I remember thinking how outrageous it was, but mostly was fascinated by the work Donald Sutherland and Calvin Lockhart. Of course, this is not a film that "wears well" as to look at it now, it seems rather campy and silly. Joanna, as a free-wheeling girl of the '60's seems more like a doormat in our "enlightened" 21st century eyes. However in 1968, relationships between white women and black men were much more taboo and this part of the film brought considerable controversy which would be laughable today. There are several homages to Fellini that don't really work in such a breezy little film. Unfortunately, they might not be see as recognizable homages at this point in time. My review is based on what I thought about at the time, but it is certainly worth a glance if one has never seen it.

Michael Sarne wrote and directed this odd, sometimes-charming, sometimes-not chronicle of a wide-eyed art student in '60s London who falls in with a decadent crowd. Helium-voiced Genevieve Waite is like a cross between Anne Heche and Shirley Temple. She has fantasies of bathing nude in a pond full of lilies and being dried off by her girlfriend dressed as a maid, and later one featuring the same friend being strangled by her lover. "Joanna" is incongruous: Sarne is in love with old-fashioned trappings and modern techniques. Some of his shots are delectable (Waite crossing a bridge at sunset, or running down a pathway lined with trees), but the film's eye-candy needs something substantial to go with it. As to Waite's Joanna, I never understood the leading character or felt anyone on-screen did either (at one point, the girlfriend says to Joanna, "I don't sleep around as much as you do", but we never get the impression that Joanna is promiscuous--she seems only to want true love). Donald Sutherland gives the film's only solid performance as a fey Lord and the sharp, canny editing keeps the picture popping. Otherwise, the movie is just a mod bauble, and only a hint of true cleverness is left behind. ** from ****

This film for me is rather a distant memory. I think at the time, I rather enjoyed the movie but really what sticks out in my mind is the beautiful rendition of the song Joanna recorded by Tony Bennett. I would like to view the film now, just to weigh in on it from a decidedly expanded life experience.