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| Walker - Criterion Collection | 
| Director: Alex Cox
Actors: Marlee Matlin, Peter Boyle, Ed Harris
Studio: Criterion Collection
Category: DVD
List Price: $39.95
Buy New: $28.14
You Save: $11.81 (30%)
Buy New/Used from $26.37
Avg. Customer Rating:  (18 reviews)
Sales Rank: 24846
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc, Widescreen
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 94 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: CC1740DDVD
UPC: 715515028028
EAN: 0715515028028
ASIN: B000ZM1MJ6
Release Date: February 19, 2008
Theatrical Release Date: December 4, 1987
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
A hallucinatory biopic that breaks all cinematic conventions Walker from British director Alex Cox (Repo Man Sid & Nancy) tells the story of nineteenth-century American adventurer William Walker (Ed Harris) who abandoned a series of careers in law politics journalism and medicine to become a soldier of fortune and for several years dictator of Nicaragua. Made with mad abandon and political acuity - and the support of the Sandinista army and government during the Contra war - the film uses this true tale as a satirical attack on American ultrapatriotism and a freewheeling condemnation of "manifest destiny." Featuring a powerful score by Joe Strummer and a performance of intense repressed rage by Harris Walker remains one of Cox's most daring works.System Requirements:Running Time: 94 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre:DRAMA/BIOGRAPHY Rating:R UPC:715515028028 Manufacturer No:CC1740DDVD
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| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
 Walker August 28, 2008
This is a little known film directed by Alex Cox and well worth watching. I was Production Manager for the Tucson location. This film is filled with Anachronism's,i. e., all sorts of modern items creep into a film that supposedly took place in the 1800's. It is a sleeper and fun to watch.
A Creative, Imperfect But Effective Satire. August 26, 2008
Upon its release in the late 1980s, Alex Cox's "Walker" was reviled and slammed, burning down at the box office. Over the years the film has gained a small fan base, and now Criterion has even deemed it worthy of joining its notable library of remastered titles. Seeing "Walker" again in 2008, the film actually shows off some fun creativity, wild experimentation and a political bravery so lacking in today's cinema. Maybe now is the best time to revive "Walker" on DVD because even with its imperfections, it shames a lot of the timid, commercialized movies we have to deal with today in a world where "The Dark Knight" is as smart and daring as any big studio movie will ever get. And in times when once again America marches into foreign territory disguising imperialism with pretty language, "Walker" has a message of striking relevance.
The film tells the story of William Walker (Ed Harris), a 19th century soldier of fortune who's escapades in Mexico meet with failure. Walker then turns his sights on Central America. With major corporate backing from an American tycoon, Walker sails with 80 men to Nicaragua where he claims to "bring democracy" and instead installs himself as dictator, even introducing slavery into the tiny nation. Director Alex Cox shoots his story with a real sense of artistic freedom, he isn't afraid to push the envelope to make a point. Like Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers," "Walker" is a visually edgy satire that uses black humor and violence as backdrops to a story of significance. Sure we can roll our eyes a bit at some of Cox's gimmicks, such as characters reading Time Magazine with headlines of the 1980s, or Walker's own appearance on the magazine cover, but it still comes across as creative in a fun sort of way not seen any films today.
Ed Harris' performance is key to the film, he perfectly embodies the classic image of an American imperialist, believing himself to be chosen by God to spread truth through authority. He also brings some surprising moments of humanity to the role, sometimes making us wonder if Walker was more of just a confused soul than just a cold-blooded conqueror.
"Walker" is by no means a perfect film, it has flaws and a narrative that has holes. Consider the second half where Central America unites to evict Walker from Nicaragua, there seem to be larger parts of the story missing here as we get mentions of a front growing against the Americans but then the film quickly cuts to a major climax. But still, the film should be admired for its risk-taking. Just the shoot itself was an act of courage considering Cox shot in Nicaragua itself, at a time when a brutal war was raging between the Sandinista government and U.S.-funded Contras.
The most striking thing about seeing "Walker" today is how relevant it has become. The questions and issues this film explored are once again hot topics with current U.S. involvement in the Middle East. Sometimes the character of William Walker almost feels like a parody of George W. Bush, even much of his dialogue sounds chillingly similar to the current, official lines for the occupation of Iraq and even possible aggression towards Iran. "Walker" is as much about the America of 2008 as it was about the America of 1987.
The Criterion Edition of "Walker" is a treat for film buffs. The new print of the film is beautifully restored with colors and quality probably not seen since the film was originally released. The extra features are fascinating, especially the documentary "Dispatches From Nicaragua" where the film's turbulent shoot is explored, some great background is also presented with insights into the political situation in Nicaragua at the time. There are various commentaries by Cox and even extras, these are filled with fascinatng anecdotes and political commentary.
"Walker" was and is probably still dismissed by many as some sort of bad film, bad because of some production flaws and bad, no doubt, because it actually has things to say. In these watered-down times, when even "message movies" tame their messages, "Walker" even sort of brilliant. A bizarre, fascinating film, worth seeing, worth thinking about.
unusual critique of American foreign policy May 23, 2008
1 out of 6 found this review helpful
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.
Walker Starring Ed Harris in the titular role is based loosely on the real life William Walker, a 19th century American who seized control of Nicaraugua in a Coup d'etat.
The film is an obvious critique of American action in Nicaraugua of supporting the Contras and foreign policy in general The film did poorly at the box office but became a cult hit, possibly due to its deliberate anochronisms by adding props that had not yet been invented at the time the movie took place. I found this to be interesting and thought the film was well made despite the excessive violence. The violence seemed necessary to depict the reality of what a tyrant Walker was.
The special features are audio commentary by director Alex Cox and screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer, "Dispatches from Nicaragua", a documentary on the film's production which includes some nice scenes of Nicaraugua, "On Moviemaking and the Revolution" a 20 year retrospective, and a slideshow of behind the scenes photos.
This controversial film is one that has just as much relavance today as it did 20 years ago.
 Applying the punk aesthetic to the biopic February 11, 2008
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Walker is an unconventional biopic that effectively burned any remaining bridges Alex Cox had with Hollywood. He took a modest amount of studio money and made a film about William Walker, an opportunistic American who invaded Nicaragua and became its president from 1855 to 1857, instituting slavery which didn't go over too well with the locals, and he was eventually executed in 1860. Cox wasn't interested in making a traditional biopic and, with screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer, decided to include the occasional modern anachronism (Walker appears on the covers of Newsweek and Time; a Mercedes drives past a horse-drawn carriage) to give the film a satirical howl of protest against the Reagan administration's support of the contra war against the democratically elected Sandinista government. This did not endear Cox to his studio backers.
Cox sets an absurdist tone and never looks back. This is evident in Walker's first battle in Nicaragua. As his men are gunned down in the street, he brazenly walks through seemingly oblivious to the carnage going on around him. He takes refuge in a building and plays the piano as bullets whiz around him. It's a crazy scene but works because of Ed Harris' conviction. He portrays Walker as a self-important, power-hungry madman with characteristic charismatic intensity.
Cox actually had the chutzpah to make Walker in Nicaragua with the approval of the Sandinista government which demonstrates just how far he was willing to put his money (or rather the studio's) where his mouth was. The filmmaker adopts a very playful attitude as he gleefully deconstructs the biopic (much as he shredded the spaghetti western and gangster film genres in Straight to Hell) in such an off-kilter way that had never been done before and rarely attempted since (perhaps Kevin Spacey's take on Bobby Darin in Beyond the Sea or Tony Scott's gonzo take on Domino Harvey in Domino (Widescreen New Line Platinum Series)). However, Walker remains a cinematic oddity as he applies the punk aesthetic to the biopic, making a political statement about the abuse of power that is eerily relevant today as it was in 1987.
There is an audio commentary by director Alex Cox and screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer. The two men talk about how they took a traditional historical narrative and proceeded to break all of its rules. They praise Joe Strummer's emotional score and touch upon the mood it creates. Cox is funny and full of energy with Wurlitzer providing his own laconic take on the film.
"On Moviemaking and the Revolution" is an audio excerpt from an extra on the film who recounts their experiences and providing a snapshot of the crazy atmosphere of filming on location.
"Dispatches from Nicaragua" is a 50-minute retrospective look at the making of Walker. It provides the historical context in which Cox made his film. There are all kinds of great behind-the-scenes footage of the filmmaker and his cast and crew hard at work. We see what a logistical nightmare this film was and the challenges of shooting in Nicaragua.
There is another extra where Cox quotes from and responds to the scathing reviews of his film from back when it first came out.
"The Immortals" features two still galleries, one of behind-the-scenes photographs taken on the set and Polaroids of various cast members in costume.
Finally, there is a theatrical trailer.
Not your everyday history lesson... January 4, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Best remembered (if at all) as the film that comprehensively destroyed Alex Cox's mainstream career, it's hard to see what caused such vitriolic offense at the time. Cox and screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer's take on the unbalanced self-deceiving `idealist' mercenary William Walker's intervention in Nicaragua to protect Cornelius Vanderbilt's financial interests there, setting off a century of disastrous American interference, is not particularly subtle, but then William Walker wasn't exactly a subtle man ("Clearly this is no ordinary ***hole," judges one of the more astute locals). With a visual style clearly inspired by spaghetti westerns and Sam Peckinpah, a contradictory narration - what you hear isn't what you see, with Walker's own third person narration frequently completely at odds with the farcical reality - and a slew of critic infuriating anachronisms, it was received with a mixture of outrage and contempt that makes the critical reception of Domino look like a triumph of Schindler's List proportions.
It's not a great movie, but it's certainly not the disaster its been painted, and even the at first jarring anachronisms are fun - Walker gets the cover of both Time and Newsweek, interviewers use tape recorders while Vanderbilt has a computer displaying stock market prices in his office - but perhaps should have been introduced earlier: however, there's no doubting the pertinence of the final arrival of trigger-happy helicopter gunships to evacuate the US citizens. Harris is on fine self-righteous form as the `short idealist,' short on ideals but big on a sense of divine purpose even though he has no idea what that purpose actually is from one moment to the next. With a concise running time and a great Joe Strummer score, it's an ambitious and often entertaining oddity. Just don't go in expecting a history lesson or a straight biography.
Whle this has been available for some time on Region 2 in a version with no extras, Criterion have certainly put together an impressive package of new extras for a film that was for so long held in such unwarranted disdain - though be warned that the theatrical trailer and the featurette of Cox ruefully going through the film's savage reviews are both well hidden (if you want to know where to find them, click the comments link on this review). It's not perfect by any means, but there's too much that's interesting about the film to dismiss it entirely out of hand.
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