The classic Western can follow any number of story threads, but a common one is the triumph of the man with morals in the anything-goes expanse of the untamed west and the thieves’ world of double-crosses and murder that thrives therein. Robert Aldrich’s Vera Cruz plays on this concept, but eschews the outwardly honest man in exchange for characters who fall at different spots on the scale of sin, with none being in a position to cast the first stone. Burt Lancaster and Gary Cooper play two rogues, more similar than either would like to admit, tied into a cross-country mission of revolution, gold, and betrayal.
In a relationship that starts with the purchase of a stolen horse and an ensuing chase, Benjamin Trane (Gary Cooper) and Joe Erin (Burt Lancaster) form an ersatz partnership in the service of the Emperor of Mexico, Maximilian. For a cool sum, they agree to escort the Countess (Denise Darcel) to Vera Cruz. Very quickly, Trane and Erin discover that their cargo is far more than just the Countess and they discover they have unexpected allies in their new plan to steal a vast fortune and run for the hills. Unfortunately, their scheme isn’t without a hitch and they become entangled in the revolutionaries’ fight against the emperor.
With all the necessary ingredients for a rollicking western present, it’s a bit of a shame that Vera Cruz didn’t amount to more. The story never takes full advantage of the characters’ penchants for betrayal and consequently a few prime opportunities for twists and turns in the story fall flat and never really add to the excitement. Instead, the film plods along from an ambush to a few scuffles within Trane and Erin’s band of outlaws. Though the action never fulfills its potential, the cinematography takes advantage of a few great locations and the encircling of troops upon rooftops.
Where the film does succeed is in its pairing of Cooper and Lancaster who initiate a great chemistry from their first interaction. The two play off one another with unspoken ease and the camera captures the balance of Lancaster’s roguish grins against Cooper’s more stern but still playful looks. It’s a great buddy dynamic, and between the two of them and Denise Darcel, the double- and triple-crossing adds a comical tone to the story, however it’s never as satisfying as it should be.
The positioning of the camera was spot on, however the film has diminished noticeably with age and if MGM attempted to remaster the film it doesn’t show. Lines aren’t crisp and the grain at times blurs certain features to be indistinguishable. It’s enough to make you wonder why the film received a Blu-ray transfer at all if MGM wasn’t going to bother remastering it or if this is the final product once they did. It’s simply not up to par with other remastered classics of the same era.
To be fair, it never actually says anywhere on the case, as it does with many remastered older films, that the film received any sort of touch-up before being transferred. It’s possible the only surviving film negative is in such bad shape that it wouldn’t survive the process or that it’s already degraded to far that this transfer was just taken from an older copy. Whatever the case, as it’s presented here, it’s not an adequate HD display.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Again the consumer is set up for disappointment as there are no extras on the disc, though that’s not unexpected for a film as old as Vera Cruz. Some retrospectives might have been interesting, but the disc was already a hard sell based on its poor or lack of remastering, so this only adds to the list of reasons to wait for a better release of Vera Cruz.
For fans of the classic Western genre, you’ll be doing yourself a favor by not purchasing this version of Vera Cruz. If the film is genuinely incapable of being restored to a condition better than this, fine, but MGM shouldn’t pretend to pass it off as HD in this condition.
"Vera Cruz" is on sale June 7, 2011 and is not rated. Western. Directed by Robert Aldrich. Written by Roland Kibbee, James R. Webb. Starring Cesar Romero, Burt Lancaster, Gary Cooper, Denise Darcel.
