VERA CRUZ – The Blu Review

With a tag line claiming, “The Giants Battle in the Biggest Spectacle of Them All!,” director Robert Aldrich’s VERA CRUZ first appeared in theaters in 1954 and now 56 years later, holds up well, especially in the new Blu-ray edition from MGM. The giants referred to were Burt Lancaster and Gary Cooper, two stars riding the top of the box-office at the time and actors with firmly established western credentials; Lancaster had just come off the hit APACHE and Cooper the beloved HIGH NOON. VERA CRUZ, about a pair of post-Civil War mercenaries who travel to Mexico to fight in their revolution for money and hatch a scheme to steal three million dollars in gold, is sometimes called the “first spaghetti western,” because of its setting, excessive style, (for the time) graphic violence, and an antihero at the center of its action. VERA CRUZ is an influential, action-packed adventure filled with plot twists and double crosses and a contains a magnificent musical score by Hugo Friedhofer. The incredible supporting cast includes Caesar Romero, George Macready, Jack Elam, Ernest Borgnine, and Charles Bronson (also in APACHE, here credited as Charles Buchinsky for the last time. He was credited as Bronson for the first time the year before in DRUM BEAT but that was filmed before VERA CRUZ). Based on a story by famed Western author Borden Chase, VERA CRUZ was not a typical Western for its day, starting by the premise that neither Cooper nor Lancaster’s characters are completely “heroes” in the traditional way, as both have hidden agendas, shady motives and are willing to do whatever is necessary to get what they want. Another interesting note is that VERA CRUZ is an early example of the ‘buddy’ film, as the two leads are forced by circumstance to become allies and have to overcome their differences.

VERA CRUZ looks great on Blu-Ray. It was the first film released in the “Superscope” wide screen process. Shot at a conventional 1.37:1 aspect ratio, the film was cropped to 2:1 in post-production and then given a Cinemascope compatible (2x) squeeze and blown up to normal frame height. Superscope was designed to achieve anamorphic prints from standard flat 35mm negatives. The MGM Blu-Ray disc approximates the 2:1 release print aspect ratio. Superscope was the fore-runner to “Super 35″. MGM’s new release has no extras.