The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982) (TV)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Robert M. Young

Writers:

Américo Paredes (book)
Victor Villaseñor (writer)

Release Date:

29 June 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

The true story of one man who made a difference.

Plot:

The retelling of an incident in Gonzales, Texas in 1901 revolving around a stolen horse, mistaken identity and a killing...

Plot Keywords:

Texas | Courtroom | Historical | Man Hunt | Murder

Cast

Edward James Olmos	...	Gregorio Cortez
James Gammon	...	Sheriff Frank Fly
Tom Bower	...	Boone Choate
Bruce McGill	...	Reporter Blakely
Brion James	...	Captain Rogers
Alan Vint	...	Mike Trimmell
Timothy Scott	...	Sheriff Morris
Pepe Serna	...	Romaldo Cortez
Michael McGuire	...	Sheriff Glover
William Sanderson	...	Cowboy
Barry Corbin	...	Abernathy
Jack Kehoe	...	Prosecutor Pferson
Rosanna DeSoto	...	Carlota Muñoz
Buddy Vigil	...	Skin
Zach Porter	...	Fly's Posse

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Chama, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Embassy Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The author of the book, Américo Paredes, hated this movie. According to Paredes, Gregorio Cortez did not shed one tear while he was in jail and yet, Cortez cries in the movie. Anytime someone would ask him his thoughts about the movie, he would be so angry about it that he would refuse to discuss the movie and instead, would have his wife tell them why he disliked it.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: In the movie Cortez appears to be riding to the border through the Texas Hill Country, traversing high hills covered in cedar with low mountains in the background, and arrives near the Rio Grande in a mountainous area - obviously in West Texas. In reality, Cortez rode south from Karnes County and was captured near El Sauz in Starr County, mostly flat area with very low hills, if any, then known as "the wild horse desert" filled with prickly pear cactus and mesquite - not at all like the countryside depicted in the movie.

Quotes:

Boone Choate: Well, you know how it is in this business. One slipup... adios!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Songs of the Homeland (1995) (TV)

ordinary good man becomes outlaw

This was by far my favorite Olmos movie; he made the entire movie without (except for his last line) saying a word in English and yet tapped into our emotions, making us feel deeply for his character and know his thoughts; this was pure acting genius. The scene where he's talking with his wife and watching their kids play captivated me: I didn't need to understand a word they were saying to see he was a loving family man. Later, as he's alone for so much of the story, he had me sharing his fear and anguish.

It is both an intensely dramatic and a monumentally important film. As with "Salt of the Earth," "Burn," "Fast Food Nation," and such, it is disappointing to see such great films fail to reach a wider audience. I only found this film because it was in a video rental place that I frequented.

Incidentally, when I had the honor of meeting this by-then academy-nominated actor, I told him how impressed I had been with him as Cortez; he gave all the credit to the director. I appreciated his modesty, but I had to insist, his acting was also great!