Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.0

Walker Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 18, 2022

Alex Cox's "Walker" arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include archival audio commentary recorded by Alex Cox and screenwriter Rudy Wurlitze; archival documentary by Terry Schwartz; collection of production stills; vintage trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Even some of the biggest propagandists at Mosfilm and DEFA would have been unwilling to greenlight a film like Walker because it just goes too far. Its other colossal and unforgivable flaw is its relentless desire to insult the intelligence of its audience in the most amateurish ways possible. So, if it is true that Walker did in fact destroy Alex Cox’s career in Hollywood, it is not at all difficult to understand why. Simply put, it is an astonishingly bad film.

The opening credits state that Walker is based on a true story. This is one of many lies the film produces. William Walker isn’t a fictional character, but he was not the loopy American mercenary Ed Harris plays. Indeed, even before he headed to Nicaragua, Walker already had a reputation as a rather remarkable tactician who knew how to win difficult battles. Walker was intelligent too, so not only did he successfully take advantage of various opportunities during his journey South, but he created plenty that helped him outmaneuver many of his opponents. It is precisely how he became president of Nicaragua in 1856 -- by using his head, not secret tips from Lady Luck.

But Cox’s intent was never to make a historically accurate film about Walker. Rather, it was to deliver a political film, which would actually function as a propaganda film while behaving like an outlandish parody. Jean-Luc Godard made a few such films during his best days, but they were quite entertaining because he knew how to make the outlandish in them appear attractive and funny. These films did not insult the intelligence of their audience either. In Walker, the funniest material is so dull and unengaging it is pretty difficult to believe that someone was paid to script it. In one of its ‘funniest’ scenes, for instance, Walker meets Cornelius Vanderbilt (Peter Boyle) who proceeds to make the offer that would change the former’s life under the tune of a big fat fart.

Predictably, Walker is soon portrayed as an old-fashioned spiritual man whose faith fuels his delusion. While his soldiers are slaughtered around him by the enemy, Walker marches on and insists that he is on a mission to liberate Nicaragua and everyone that values freedom. At the right time, Walker then declares that he is a social democrat with a proper understanding of democracy. The emphasis on proper is of course crucial as it is supposed to force the audience to double-check its outdated definition of democracy.

To be absolutely certain that the audience does not misinterpret or miss the wit of his film, Cox provides a classic Godardian clue. As Walker and his soldiers march through the jungle, a fairly well-maintained 1980s automobile passes by and leaves behind a cloud of dust.

The mayhem in Nicaragua is the very definition of a cinematic endurance test. Harris and a couple of other usually pretty good actors move through some very poorly staged battles and produce all kinds of meaningless lines to create the impression that they care about the drama. Occasionally, they sneak in political slogans, too.

Cox wraps up the film in an entirely predictable manner. He uses archival footage from a press event where President Reagan announces that he intends to confront the Sandinistas to stop the spread of the communist Revolution. It is supposed to be a horrifying statement. Just a couple of years earlier, the usual suspects warned President Reagan not to confront the Soviets, which supported the Sandinistas, and when he did, predicted that his foreign policy would be catastrophic. The rest is history.

Walker 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, Walker arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet that is provided with this Blu-ray release:

"Approved by director Alex Cox, this high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit DataCine from a 35mm inerpositive made from the original camera negative. The original monaural soundtrack was mastered from a 35mm magnetic track."

The entire film has a fine organic appearance and looks healthy. However, the master that was used to produce this release has some limitations, and if the film is viewed on a larger screen, they become quite easy to identify. For example, while most close-ups tend to look very nice, darker indoor and nighttime footage reveals softness and less than optimal depth. Also, while the grain isn't manipulated, in some of this darker footage it comes quite close to becoming noisy. Wider panoramic shots reveal less than optimal delineation as well, though there is still more than enough to see and appreciate. Color balance is very good. Some minor adjustments in terms of saturation are possible, but I don't think that they would make a significant difference. Image stability is very good. (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).

Walker Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is excellent. However, it is rather obvious that some of the non-action footage has pretty average sound design because there are very few notable dynamic nuances. The dialog is very clear, clean, stable, and easy to follow. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Walker Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for Walker. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Dispatches From Nicaragua - this archival documentary chronicles the production of Walker in Nicaragua and features some pretty amusing comments from its creator, Alex Cox. The documentary was produced by Terry Schwartz. In English, not subtitled. (51 min).

• On Moviemaking and The Revolution - presented here is an audio monologue recorded by an extra on Walker in 2007. In English, not subtitled. (12 min).

• Walker 2008: A Film by Alex Cox - in this short video piece, Alex Cox explains what Walker was supposed to be and reads some of the disastrous reviews it received in the American press. In English, not subtitled. (7 min).

• On the Origins of "Walker" - in this archival program, Alex Cox discusses the conception of Walker. Also included are comments from screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer. The program was produced in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (17 min).

• The Immortals - a collection of production stills. With music. (9 min).

• Commentary - this archival commentary was recorded by Alex Cox and screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer in 2007.

• Booklet - a 46-page illustrated booklet featuring Graham Fuller's essay "Apocalypse When?", Linda Sandoval's essay "Forced March", and Rudy Wurlitzer's essay "On William Walker", as well as technical credits.

Walker Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is hard to summarize with simple words just how incredibly delusional Walker is and how badly Alex Cox mismanaged the talents of the many people that agreed to make it with him. The great critic Roger Ebert compared Walker to Cox's previous effort, Straight to Hell, and had some very, very harsh words for it, and his assessment of everything that went wrong in the former was of course spot on. Oddly enough, the archival materials that are included on this release reveal that Cox still believes his film is a gem which should have had a completely different fate.