Walker Blu-ray - Ed Harris

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Alex Cox
USA / Mexico 1987

A hallucinatory biopic that breaks all cinematic conventions, Walker, from British director Alex Cox, 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 many months, the 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.

***

William Walker and his mercenary corps enter Nicaragua in the middle of the 19th century in order to install a new government by a coup d'etat.

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Theatrical Release: December 4th, 1987

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Comparison:

Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Criterion Collection - Spine # 423 - Region 1 - NTSC	Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:34:57	1:34:47.723
Video	1.85:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.33 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,196,330,032 bytes Feature: 28,616,540,160 bytes Video Bitrate: 35.86 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate DVD:
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital mono) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps	LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English, None and English (burned-in for sign language)	English (SDH), None and English (burned-in for sign language)
Features	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Collection Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Audio commentary by Cox and screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer • Dispatches from Nicaragua, an original documentary about the filming of Walker - On Moviemaking and the Revolution, reminiscences twenty years later from an extra on the film • The Immortals: behind-the-scenes and Polaroid photos • 46-page liner notes booklet featuring writings by film critic Graham Fuller, Wurlitzer, and Linda Sandoval DVD Release Date: February 19th, 2008 Transparent Keep Case Chapters: 16	Release Information: Studio: Criterion 1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,196,330,032 bytes Feature: 28,616,540,160 bytes Video Bitrate: 35.86 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio commentary by Cox and screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer • Dispatches from Nicaragua, a documentary about the filming of Walker (50:39) • On Moviemaking and the Revolution, reminiscences from an extra on the film (11:13) • Walker 2008 (6:26) and On the Origins of “Walker” (2016) (16:07), two short films by Cox (Blu-ray only) • The Immortals - Behind-the-scenes photos (8:41) • Trailer (Blu-ray only) (1:46) PLUS: Essays by film critic Graham Fuller, actor and author Linda Sandoval, and Wurlitzer Blu-ray Release Date: April 12th, 2022 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 14

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (March 2022): Criterion have transferred Alex Cox's Walker to Blu-ray. It is cited as being a "Restored high-definition digital transfer, approved by director Alex Cox". It's easy to see the improvement from their own 2008 DVD transfer. It looks superior in all the expected areas, notably contrast and grain support. The 1080P image has more depth and shows stronger detail. It's far more film-like now.

NOTE: We have added 60 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Walker has plenty of aggressive moments that come through authentically flat with modest depth. The score is credited to Joe Strummer (Permanent Record), and there is other music including Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata plus Oh My Darling Clementine, Polly Wolly Doodle and Onward Christian Soldiers. Like the video this is a solid step up in quality. Criterion offer optional English (SDH) subtitles (and English - burned-in for sign language) on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Criterion Blu-ray offers some new extras, but also all of the previous - from our DVD review: "Alex Cox is quite a good commentarist and seems right at home with screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer as they enthusiastically relate production and historical details. It is fairly fast paced and Cox's accent can be difficult to interpret at times. I found it very interesting as was the film itself from a biographical standpoint. On Moviemaking and the Revolution is an audio only reflection back by an extra. It has a lot of the 'F' word and seems quite frank discussing his, Hollywood-based expectations, perceptions, how history, after the fact, tends to repeat itself and the adventure of being, even a small, part of the production. It runs about 12 minutes and is unique. Dispatches from Nicaragua, is a 50 minute documentary about the filming of Walker that was culled from 30 hours of film that was residing in a garage for the past 20 years. The Immortals is a group of behind-the-scenes and Polaroid photos set up in a gallery click thru slideshow . Finally there is a 46-page liner notes booklet featuring writings by film critic Graham Fuller, Wurlitzer, and Linda Sandoval."

New supplements, only on the Blu-ray, are two short films by Alex Cox; On the Origins of “Walker” from 2016 runs 16-minutes and Walker 2008 runs 6.5-minutes - both from his solitary log cabin. Also included are a trailer that was not on the 2008 DVD.

Alex Cox's Walker is a fascinating piece of unearthed history and many will be unaware of the remarkable events (Walker was self-proclaimed president of Nicaragua from 1855-57.) By the way, William Walker graduated summa cum laude from the University of Nashville at the age of 14 and in 1843, at the age of 19, he received a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Harris is the anchor with a solid performance as the plot courageously shifts in multiple directions. Approaching 'great' film status - it falls slightly short but gets full marks for its educational and docudrama intentions. The Criterion Blu-ray is a full notch ahead of their older DVD with remarkably improved a/v and new, highly relevant extras plus the older commentary etc. This is a film that is definitely worthy of a revisitation in the 1080P transfer and bonus of Cox's shorts. Certainly recommended!

Gary Tooze