Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 6, 2018

Robert M. Young's "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez" (1982) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on he disc include an exclusive new interview with Edward James Olmos; filmed recent panel discussion with cast and crew members; and new video interview with Chon Noriega. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by professor Charles Ramirez Berg and technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The fugitive

The film is set in Texas during the early 1900s where a very young Edward James Olmos plays a farmer named Gregorio Cortez who barely makes ends meet. He is of Mexican heritage and does not speak or understand English, so even though he occasionally sees other farmers that live in the area he has isolated himself because he is unable to interact with them. This proves to be a fatal decision that one day irreversibly alters the course of his existence. The local sheriff and a bad interpreter visit his cabin to inquire about a stolen horse and while trying to understand each other the two sides become involved in an awkward shootout in which the sheriff and Gregorio’s brother are killed. The wounded interpreter escapes and later on offers a flawed version of the tragedy that instantly transforms Gregorio into a target and a big posse of headhunters begin tracking him down. While the hunt is underway a curious reporter (Bruce McGill) with a cool head on his shoulders joins the posse and begins documenting the event, and in the process gradually realizes that Gregorio may not be the dangerous and ruthless villain that the men around him are looking for.

The contrasting views on display that make this low-budget western directed by Robert M. Young worth seeing are so simple and so clear that it is rather bizarre that in the past there have been people who have attempted to brush them aside and offer a drastically different interpretation of its story and message. So let’s state the obvious: the story isn’t about racism. Its center piece is about the importance of communication and all of the good that is never given a chance to flourish when it is impossible. The entire segment in which Gregorio meets the jaded Cowboy (William Sanderson) and the two then open up to each other despite the fact that they do not understand the words they utter, for instance, highlights how equally handicapped the men are because they are denied the chance to connect. In other words, without the ability to communicate all that men have left to trust is their instincts, therefore in the ‘right’ environment many of them are not that different than the animals that move in packs where strength rules over intellect.

The film has a very fluid visual style that supports a calm and borderline noirish ambience that may inspire some comparisons with Monte Hellman’s experimental westerns from the ‘60s, and they will be legit because the period setting is not expected to function as it does in conventional westerns. Indeed, it is almost completely stripped of glamour while the action is basically treated as an extension of a bigger process that requires the viewer to stay focused elsewhere. So like Hellman’s westerns this film also has a distinctive auteurish identity.

The production qualities are good, but it is probably fair to point out that some of the editing choices are not particularly convincing. There are multiple segments with what feel like fast or abrupt cuts that definitely affect the rhythm that has been promoted earlier.

*This new release of the recent restoration and reconstruction of The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez features an important clarification from its producers which folks should consider when viewing the film. It is quoted here in its entirety: “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez was originally released without subtitles for the Spanish spoken by its Mexican American characters, so that English-speaking viewers would experience the Spanish dialogue with the same limited or nonexistent understanding that the film’s English-speaking characters do. In keeping with that intention on the part of the filmmakers, the Spanish has not been subtitled in English for this release.”

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Robert M. Young's The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new 2K restoration was funded by the Academy Film Archive and partly supported by a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. The thirty-six reels of the unconformed 16mm original camera negative were transferred in high-definition; since these reels totaled nearly sixteen hours of material that was not in the order of the final edit, actor Edward James Olmos's personal 35mm print, a 16mm television negative, and the original 35mm magnetic audio tracks were used to build a map of the film. Sections of the original negative were then scanned in 2K resolution and conformed to the final version. Color correction and digital restoration were performed, and the opening and end credits were fully recreated. The color grading was approved by the director of photography Reynaldo Villalobos. The sound was transferred from the original 35mm magnetic tracks.

Restoration supervision: Josef Lindner, Tessa Idlewine/Academy Film Archive, Los Angeles.
Scanning and restoration: Modern VideoFilm, Burbank, CA.
Color grading: Gregg Garvin/Modern VideoFilm.
Editing and conform: Craig Price/Modern VideoFilm.
Audio restoration: John Polito, Ellis Burman/Audio Mechanics, Burbank, CA."

I have never ever owned a copy of this film in my library and therefore do not have another source to do a direct comparison or at least reference in our review, but the quality on display is such that it is very easy to declare that there is zero chance that the film has looked this good before. Indeed, the entire film looks remarkably healthy and vibrant, and there isn't even a whiff of any troubling age-related imperfections. Density and depth are very good, though I should point out that some fluctuations exist. As far as I can tell they are part of the original cinematography, though some of the unevenness in terms of density can also be traced back to the elements that were used to reconstruct the film. Regardless, the end result is a very convincing organic presentation. Colors are stable, natural, and nicely balanced. Image stability is outstanding. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. (with large portions of Spanish). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. Please see the main review for additional information about the audio and the manner in which the film is presented on Blu-ray.

There are no technical issues to report in our review. The audio is clean and stable. Because the film has some quite unique organic qualities occasionally some light dynamic unevenness is present, but it is a fluctuation that is part of the original audio mix. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report.

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Edward James Olmos - in this new video interview, actor Edward James Olmos explains why he believes that The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez is an important film and discusses in depth its production history, the novel that inspired it, and director Robert M. Young's working methods. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in April 2018. In English, not subtitled. (28 min, 1080p).

• Chon A. Noriega - in this new video interview, Chon A. Noriega, author of Shot in America: Television, the State, and the Rise of Chicano Cinema and director of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, discusses the establishment of Chicano Cinema, the conception of The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez, the story it tells, and its visual style. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in April 2018. In English, not subtitled. (19 min, 1080p).

• Cast and Crew Panel - presented here is a filmed panel discussion on The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez which was held ta the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles in 2016. It features director Robert M. Young, producer Moctesuma Esparza, cinematographer Reynaldo Villalobos, and actors Edward James Olmos, Bruce McGill, Tom Bower, Rosanna DeSoto, and Pepe Serna. In English, not subtitled. (23 min, 1080p).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring professor Charles Ramirez Berg's essay "A Cinematic Corrido" and technical credits.

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I am a fan of Edward James Olmos' work but I had never owned a copy of The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez in my library. However, I have to admit that I don't remember actively looking for one, so I don't know if a proper version of it was easy or difficult to track down over the years. It is an interesting film that in certain ways emulates the stylistic qualities that Monte Hellman promoted with his experimental westerns during the '60s, but it certainly has a unique identity of its own. It apparently meant a lot to Olmos and he credits it as the most important work that he did throughout his career. Criterion's release is sourced from a new 2K restoration and reconstruction of the film, and comes with a good selection of bonus features. RECOMMENDED.