Friday, December 08, 2023
The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez
- Commentary: Under construction.
As you'll notice in the table below, this cast is loaded with well-known character actors playing small but important parts. Despite this, and a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a few people found fault with this film. To quote Janet Maslin of The New York Times: "[The film] tells what sounds like a stirring story, and its plainness would seem to be an asset. But something more was needed here, if not in the way of fireworks then maybe just in verisimilitude. The events may be real, and even the settings are authentic; the courthouse in which Mr. Young filmed the trial scene is the one in which Mr. Cortez's trial actually took place. That's not the sort of authenticity that the film lacks. What it's missing is the spark, surprise and immediacy that might have made its principals feel like people, rather than key figures in a well-meaning historical pageant." A little bit out of left field, I'd say, which makes me anticipate watching this movie even more than before reading that quote.
As always, more later.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Edward James Olmos Gregorio Cortez Victoria Plata Carmen Cortez James Gammon Frank Fly Tom Bower Boone Choate Bruce McGill Reporter Blakely Brion James Captain Rogers Alan Vint Mike Trimmell Timothy Scott Sheriff Morris Pepe Serna Romaldo Cortez Michael McGuire Sheriff Glover Barry Corbin B.R. Abernathy Ned Beatty Lynch Mob Leader William Sanderson Cowboy Jack Kehoe Prosecutor Pierson Rosanna DeSoto Carlota Muñoz Lili Young Mrs. Glover
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1982
Directed by Robert M. Young.
Labels: Criterion7, edward-james-olmos, legal, western
