Dreadfully Boring

Brilliant and touching

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Apparently - (As the story goes) - 1954's "Vera Cruz" was a major influence on Italian director, Sergio Leone when it came to his visual-style and direction (a decade later) of the brutally violent, Spaghetti Western "A Fistful Of Dollars" (1964).If you have seen both "Vera Cruz" and "A Fistful Of Dollars" - You will, of course, recognize the striking similarities between these 2 films that, literally, glares at you as plain as a day in the hot, searing Mexican sunshine. (I'm not talking here about these film's stories. No. It's all about their overall presentation that's so alike, such as - camera angles, staging of actors, story setting, and so on)Yep - Mean. Ornery. Cutthroat. Antagonistic. Trigger-Happy. Rough. Tough. (Etc., Etc.) - IMO - It's almost like these 2 films-in-question were, undoubtedly, Siamese twins, joined right at the hip.... (And, in passing - I certainly won't forget to mention Burt Lancaster here, repeatedly showing us all every tooth in his big, grinning mouth).

The trivia page for this film on IMDb captures three essential elements of this movie that makes it a true precursor to virtually countless modern thrillers and spaghetti westerns: 1) The SuperScope process predates the Techniscope process of the Leone Westerns by nearly a decade. 2) The quick cuts and full frame closeups adds incredible momentum to the action and suspense and predates Dr. No and the Connery Bond films by more than half-decade. I mean I cannot think of later Hollywood pics until the Europeans made the Bond films and the Leone westerns that actually used fast cutting and terrific banter between the hero and anti-hero to such great success (For a great example of an older movie, I would offer Carol Reed's The Third Man). 3) And as mentioned the pacing and the character build up and the final showdown predated the showdowns in the Eastwood/Leone westerns. For comparison watch Hang 'em High for the Hollywood western of that era that starred Eastwood following his three outings in Italy. Stylistically Hang 'em High is a snoozefest even though it had a compelling revenge motif and a brutal hanging to enliven the pace.So what we have here is a wonderful western with Lancaster playing the charming but utterly sociopathic antagonist--quoting one Ace Hanna-- for life's hard lessons and Cooper playing an equally resolute good guy with a sense of humour and world weariness and smarts to see through Ace Hanna aphorisms into Lancaster's heart of darkness. The dialogue is razor sharp witty and the supporting cast of thespians playing their part perfectly. And at 94 minutes it is one heck of breathless ride. I love this movie!

"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" Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster head the cast as two polar opposite American adventurers who get involved with Maximilian's royal house and Juarez's revolutionaries in 1860s Mexico. Cooper plays Benjamin Trane, basically a good man, tho one tainted by much cynicism, and Lancaster plays Joe Erin, gunman and an untrustworthy crook. Vera Cruz was the first release in SuperScope (beautifully shot by Ernest Laszlo on location in Mexico) and with director Robert Aldrich at the helm, the film brilliantly captures the violence and danger that was brought about during Mexico's revolutionary period. Adapted by Roland Kibbee and James R. Webb from a Borden Chase story, Vera Cruz very much feels like (is) a precursor to Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch and Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns of the 60s. With its blend of comedy and outright action, the film is essentially a buddy buddy Western with a cynical amoral kicker. It's a blend that may not be to everyone's tastes, but with Lancaster (grinning for all he is worth) and Cooper (laconic supreme) in the leads the film rises above its oddity status. The professionalism on show, both from the obvious big stature of its stars and Aldrich's astute choreography of the action sequences, ensures this is a polished piece. There's much machismo of course, one only has to see that Charles Bronson, Ernest Borgnine and Jack Elam are in the support gallery of thugs to know this fact, but it should be noted that the picture is interested in showing a fair reflection of the Mexican conflict. The Mexican government of the time were outraged at the film, but on reflection now it's evident the film doesn't take sides. That to my mind has to be applauded. Some problems exist, notably some of the dialogue is a touch too corn based now. While as the main female character, Denise Darcel is out of her depth. One could think that she is maybe swamped by all the testosterone around her, but when you notice that Sara Montiel is coping fine in a secondary role, it shows Darcel to be limited. Vera Cruz held its own on release, neither busting the box office nor sinking without a trace. It would take over ten years before the true value of the film would start to be noticed. With that, it now shows to be very influential within the genre. Explosive, important and darn good fun, that's a mixture you just can't ignore. 8/10

I saw this film years ago(mid late 1950's) in a B theater that was unable to handle "Superscope" and CinemaScope. The result was everyone was super tall and skinny making it at the time more laughable then it was enjoyable.Flash forward to the present and I found myself on a kick to see some Robert Aldrich films. Since I love old westerns I thought this one might be pretty good given the director and the two stars. Basically I wasn't disappointed. It had good action and the story moved along quite crisply. Good start to the film in introducing the two protagonists Lancaster and Cooper and a tense standoff in a plaza. Great ending.But the film also had its hammy moments although I suspect it was unintentional. Lancaster's white teeth constantly flashing became more of an annoyance then anything else. Boy great teeth for the 1860's. Some of his gang were comical more than anything else and one poor sap was given to dancing (sorry can't remember his name) and of course became a caricature. Grant you it wasn't unusual given the time. The love scenes were more hilarious then anything else as both love interests were mismatched to the men involved although at least Lancaster and Denise Darcel gave it a whirl. But Cooper who is stilted at the best of times was just plain laughable with his love interest in Sara Montiel. Best part was Lancaster slapping Darcel around.Other parts that were unintentionally funny was that they were supposed to be headed to Vera Cruz which is on the Gulf of Mexico coast in the south of Mexico. At one point they had them headed north through the pyramids of Teotihuacan. Okay I guess it was for effect but anyone with even some knowledge of Mexico would find it just silly.So what was there to like? Well it was noted that this film had an impact on Sergio Leone who did the spaghetti westerns. The setting in Mexico and the gunfight at the end between Cooper and Lancaster was great. Reminded me of course of the final gunfight between Charles Bronson and Henry Fonda in Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West. Even gave Lancaster and Cooper good face.But they should have mentioned some clear influence on Sam Peckinpah particularly his classic The Wild Bunch. The village scenes and especially the assault on Maxmillian's forces by the Juaristas especially brought back fond memories of the final clash in the Wild Bunch. We even had Cooper and Lancaster grab a hold of the repeating machine gun ala Holden and Borgnine in the Wild Bunch. Great influence and a great scene.Would have loved to have rated it higher than the 6 I gave it but the hammy parts and the stilted love scenes (kind of why bother) dropped the score.