Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Vera Cruz Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 22, 2021

Robert Aldrich's "Vera Cruz" (1954) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include archival episode of Trailers From Hell with John Landis; new audio commentary by filmmaker Alex Cox; and vintage trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

"Anybody else string with Charlie?"

As the American Civil War ended, another war was just beginning. The Mexican people were struggling to rid themselves of their foreign Emperor – Maximilian. Into this fight rode a handful of Americans -- ex-soldiers, adventurers, criminals -- all bent on gain. They drifted South in small groups, and some came alone.

After the above description disappears from the screen, former soldier Benjamin Trane (Gary Cooper) and hardened outlaw Joe Erin (Burt Lancaster) cross paths somewhere in rural Mexico. Trane then kills his injured horse and buys a new one from Erin, which turns out to be stolen from the calvary. While they are being chased by patrolmen, the two try to outsmart each other and, in the process, become friends. Soon after, Trane is introduced to Erin’s men, a motley crew of veteran gunslingers and adventurers, who have been following him hoping that together they can get rich quick.

In a small town, the Americans meet General Ramirez (Morris Ankrum), the leader of the local rebels and Marquis Henri de Labordere (Cesar Romero), who attempt to hire them to join their side. Since only Labordere can pay money for their services, the Americans agree to follow him and meet his master, Emperor Maximilian (George Macready). After a lavish reception at his mansion, Emperor Maximilian offers to pay them $50,000 to Countess Marie Duvarre (Denise Darcel) to Vera Cruz.

However, somewhere along the way Trane and Erin discover that Countess Duvarre’s stagecoach is secretly transporting $3,000,000 that will be used to hire more solders to defend Emperor Maximilian and help him defeat the rebels. The two men also come to realize that Countess Duvarre isn’t as loyal to Emperor Maximilian as she appears.

Robert Aldrich directs Vera Cruz with predictable confidence and flair, which is the key reason why the film is quite enjoyable. Additionally, Vera Cruz features plenty of beautiful visuals from rural Mexico that can often appear flat-out gorgeous because of the rich Technicolor colors.

However, given the hugely impressive cast -- Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jack Lambert, Jack Elam, and Henry Brandon all have minor roles -- it feels like the end product should have been a grander film with much more complex characterizations and conflicts. As it is, virtually all of the excitement in it is generated by the progression of Cooper and Lancaster’s relationship, which sadly is entirely predictable. Even when Darcel’s true intentions are revealed and for a short period of time it looks like there could be some interesting new developments, the film chooses to keep the spotlight on Cooper and Lancaster until their inevitable clash.

But the action footage makes up for the lack of originality. As mentioned above, Aldrich infuses the film with a great deal of familiar energy that produces intense shoutouts and battles that are pitch-perfect for a legit western. The final thirty or so minutes in particular have all sorts of different fireworks that remind of Sergio Leone’s big-budget westerns.

Aldrich worked with close friend and collaborator Ernest Laszlo, who lensed a couple of his biggest hit, most notably the film noir classic Kiss Me Deadly and the tense thriller Ten Seconds to Hell.

*Kino Lorber’s release is sourced from a new 2K master that was prepared exclusively for the label’s release of Vera Cruz.

Vera Cruz Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.00:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Vera Cruz arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an exclusive new 2K master that offers a wide range of improvements. (Initially, Vera Cruz was released on Blu-ray by MGM. You can see our listing and review of this release here). For example, from start to finish the film looks a lot more vibrant because now plenty of primaries and supporting nuances have completely different saturation levels. Needless to say, the dynamic range of various visuals, both in daylight and nighttime sequences, is a lot more convincing. Delineation, clarity, and depth are improved as well. However, even though there are some inherited density fluctuations, there are plenty of areas where minor and some bigger registration issues remain. Some of the most obvious such issues can be observed during larger panoramic shots, but even indoor footage can reveal similar drops in quality. See examples in screencaptures #10 and 12). So, in order to look great Vera Cruz needs an in-depth restoration work that would address these registration issues and introduce other meaningful enhancements and stabilization. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Lastly, a few tiny white specks and blemishes can be spotted, but there are no distracting large debris, cuts, warped or torn frames to report. All in all, this is release offers a very pleasing organic presentation of Vera Cruz, which is the best presentation that you can currently get, but ideally the film should look even better in high-definition. (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).

Vera Cruz Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless audio track is good. The dialog is clear and easy to follow and the overall dynamic balance is convincing. However, an in-depth restoration that reexamines the audio will produce some meaningful improvements. For example, there are a few areas with obvious unevenness. Elsewhere there is some extremely light hiss sneaking in the upper register as well.

Vera Cruz Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for Vera Cruz. Newly remastered. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Trailers From Hell - presented here is an archival episode of Trailers From Hell with director John Landis. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Commentary - an exclusive new audio commentary recorded by filmmaker Alex Cox.

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage poster art for Vera Cruz.

Vera Cruz Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Vera Cruz is a good looking and quite entertaining film. However, considering that Robert Aldrich was directing so many great actors -- Gary Cooper, Burt Lancaster, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jack Lambert, Jack Elam, and Henry Brandon -- I think that the end product is a bit underwhelming. This was my take on the film even in the old days. I always felt that it should have been bigger and more complex, even substantially longer as well. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an exclusive new 2K master that offers a much more convincing technical presentation than MGM's original release from 2011. If you like the film, you should consider upgrading. RECOMMENDED.