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Valdez Is Coming

Play trailer Poster for Valdez Is Coming PG-13 1971 1h 30m Western Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 4 Reviews 66% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
When rancher Frank Tanner (Jon Cypher) hoodwinks local lawman Bob Valdez (Burt Lancaster) into shooting an innocent man, Valdez is remorseful and tries to take up a collection for the widow. Tanner won't hear of it, however, and punishes Valdez by driving him into the desert with a cross strapped to his back. Valdez is freed by one of Tanner's henchmen (Richard Jordan) and, after convalescing, begins waging a one-man war against Tanner, picking off his men with his trusty Sharps rifle.
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Valdez Is Coming

Critics Reviews

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Margaret Hinxman Daily Telegraph (UK) The luck of Valdez, though, is in having Burt Lancaster to play him: an actor whose self-contained neatness of style belies the flamboyance of his appearance. He belongs to a dying breed: a real star. Jun 2, 2020 Full Review Stefan Kanfer TIME Magazine [Valdez] Is Coming offers little besides its star. Feb 8, 2018 Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com Of course, the film's questionable casting, which features Burt Lancaster as a Mexican-American lawman who takes it upon himself to right the wrongs of a callous, greedy rancher, is enough to disregard the film in its entirety. Rated: 2/5 Aug 27, 2020 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Exciting formulaic revenge Western. Rated: B- Nov 22, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Nik75 J A decent revenge western that's held together by Burt Lancaster and his obvious star power. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/05/24 Full Review Jeremy D Better than any Clint Eastwood western. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Good western hair will recommend it James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas, August 4, 2023 Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/04/23 Full Review Steve D Solid revenge flick with a strong script. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/23/23 Full Review Audience Member He is coming....for them. One of many 1970s action westerners. Starring the late Burt Lancaster and co-starring Susan Clark. Based on the book by Elmore Leonard and directed by Edwin Sherin. Lancaster is Valdez the local lawman. Frank Tanner pulls him into accidentally gunning down an innocent man. Feeling guilty he wants to take up a collection for the man's wife. But Tanner isn't having it and takes Valdez to the desert nearly crucifying him. Once he's set free by one of Tanner's helpers Valdez wages an all-out war on the man picking his goons off each bit by bit. But he has a trump card taking the widow and using her as bait. This is another revisionist westerner that's old school. Fun gun fights, a nice ol fashioned revenge plot, and Lancaster sells the picture. The ending is a bit unclear considering how it just leaves things but I guess they do avoid the standard cookie cutter resolution. Formulaic but still an exciting entry in this large genre. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Aging town constable Bob Valdez (Burt Lancaster) is tricked into killing an innocent man by powerful rancher Frank Tanner (Jon Cypher), whose hired gun R.L. Davis (Richard Jordan) shot up the hovel where the wrongly accused man and his Indian wife were trapped. Valdez believes it would be a fair gesture to raise $200 for the widow, $100 from Tanner and the rest from others in town. Tanner is livid at the old man's suggestion. He orders ranch hand El Segundo (Barton Heyman) and his men to tie Valdez to a heavy wooden cross and drive him into the desert. The central pole is so long that Valdez must walk bent over. He finds an oasis blocked by two trees that he repeatedly tries to ram with the ends of the cross. When it finally breaks, the jagged ends are driven into Valdez's back. Davis finds him and cuts the ropes, freeing the unconscious man. The badly injured Valdez is able to crawl to the ranch of his friend Diego (Frank Silvera), where he is nursed back to health. Unfortunately for Tanner, he has picked on the wrong man: Valdez is a wily, experienced Indian fighter and a marksman with a rifle. He dons his old cavalry uniform and sends Tanner a message via one of the rancher's wounded men (Héctor Elizondo): "Valdez is coming."... The film received primarily mediocre to negative reviews. Vincent Canby of The New York Times praised Lancaster's on-screen presence but wrote that, "A lot of fancy flourishes, which I associate with Mr. Sherin's stage work, are apparent in the film, as in its picturesque groupings of picturesque characters, and in a musical score that's much given to comment on the action." When the film was released to video, Ty Burr of Entertainment Weekly wrote that, "Slow and choppy, Valdez manages an astounding feat: It drains Lancaster of personality." "Valdez Is Coming" is a classic revenge western with a so so Burt Lancaster in the role of town constable and a former cavalry sergeant Bob Valdez and there´s a few plot holes here and there. I struggled with his Mexican accent throughout the film which became a bit of a obstacle for the film in my opinion. And it has a bit of a haphazard ending that didn´t really do it for me. Nah, this is not amongst Burt Lancaster´s greater films. Trivia: The film was filmed in southern Spain in locales used by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone in his European "spaghetti" Westerns. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Valdez Is Coming

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Movie Info

Synopsis When rancher Frank Tanner (Jon Cypher) hoodwinks local lawman Bob Valdez (Burt Lancaster) into shooting an innocent man, Valdez is remorseful and tries to take up a collection for the widow. Tanner won't hear of it, however, and punishes Valdez by driving him into the desert with a cross strapped to his back. Valdez is freed by one of Tanner's henchmen (Richard Jordan) and, after convalescing, begins waging a one-man war against Tanner, picking off his men with his trusty Sharps rifle.
Director
Edwin Sherin
Producer
Ira Steiner
Screenwriter
Roland Kibbee, David Rayfiel
Production Co
Ira Steiner Productions, Polyphony Digital, Norlan Productions
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Western, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 16, 2008
Runtime
1h 30m
Sound Mix
Stereo
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