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Released by: Kino Studio Classics
Released on: April 28th, 2015.
Director: Gordon Douglas
Cast: Lee Van Cleef, Warren Oates, Maria Gomez
Year: 1970
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The Movie:
BARQUERO is a brutally minimalist western affair that traffics in a whole lot of testosterone. It's almost a wet dream for fans of classic tough guy cinema too - how can you go wrong when you pit Lee Van Cleef (THE BIG GUNDOWN) against Warren Oates (BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA)? Answer... you sorta can't.
Travis (Van Cleef) is one solitary and mean son of a bitch. He makes his living in a small but prosperous town by running the local barge that ferries visitors and settlers back and forth from the U.S. side of the riverbank to the Mexican. We have no back story on him - and we first see him, muscles bulging, pulling the barge (it uses a rope and pulley system anchored on both ends of the river) and getting snappy with a yappy child. Hell, Travis barely speaks. He growls. It's an arresting introduction to be sure. Van Cleef represents a type of masculinity in this film rarely spotted in today's gallery of primped and pampered manchildren: fully adult, slightly grizzled, all man and badass to the bone. Aside from his pal Mountain Phil (a lively Forrest Tucker of F Troop fame) and native cigarillo puffing female companion Nola (Marie Gomez), Travis is a lone wolf.
Enter Jake Remy (Warren Oates). He's a vicious bandit leading an outlaw gang. Our introduction to him is in the company of a whore right before his gang commits a spectacularly bloody robbery where an entire town is laid waste. This is one of BARQUERO's set pieces and the influence here of Sam Peckinpah's WILD BUNCH is pretty evident. This is bloody, bloody stuff with kids getting shot and no mercy being shown to anyone. Oates plays his killer as crazy but shrewd with some heavy mental baggage. He's got a cool sidekick too - French aristocrat Marquette who politely refers to him as Jacob. Now that the gang has their loot they're ready to hightail it out of this country. Problem? They are going to need to that Travis barge to cross the river into Mexico. Once Travis - who is aware of Remy's impending arrival figures out the outlaw is headed his way he plays hero. He gets everyone he can on the barge, gets them across the river, and sits tight. That leaves Remy high and dry and stranded. The rest of the movie cuts back and forth from the two sides of the river. Threats and attempts at bargaining are yelled over the water but neither man is gonna budge. Hostages will be taken on both sides, and botched attempts at engagement. And while you have a pretty good idea how this is going to end, there's some interesting tangents at play.
Travis isn't much of a hero aside from his dedication to protecting the townsfolk. He seems more interested in protecting his boat (which he hand built and seems to love more than any human) than the citizens. He's also not above capitalizing on some sexual barter. A pretty local woman (Mariette Hartley) has her husband captured by Remy's men. Desperate, she offers herself to Travis and he's happy to take advantage. Mountain Phil isn't above dishing out some fire ant torture on a captured bandido either. Then there is the despicable and cowardly town preacher who Travis slaps around when the man's treachery is discovered. The barge man certainly enjoys a bit of violence. As for Oates, he's quite OTT in his role. Ranting, yelling, shooting everyone who annoys him or gets in his way, Remy is terrifying. Instead of splitting up the loot and letting the gang go their separate ways, he's determined to get that barge and get across the river. He dreams of leading his "army" into Mexico and taking up residence in a personal fiefdom. As things go further and further in the tank for him, he starts smoking dope heavily and inching close to a psychotic break.
The middle section of BARQUERO tries to fill out Jake's backstory with some long flashbacks and other bits and this has the effect of bloating the film a bit. This sticks the film with some pacing issues but things are back on track for the climax. Still, there is a full 15 minutes here that could have hit the chopping block to the film's benefit. Cinematography is good with the river itself making a strong visual impression and the action sequences are well staged.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Don't be alarmed. The first couple of minutes of BARQUERO look like they were shot under mosquito netting. This mottling effect was a directorial choice and stops as soon as the director's name appears after the opening credits. Past that, the 1.78.1 framed AVC encoded 1080p presentation is good. Flesh tones look natural and organic. Grain is fine. Black levels are A-ok. The print itself is in B condition but not noticeably faded. This is your typical competent Kino A/V offering. The sound is a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that is two things: unremarkable and efficient. Not much range but enough power and zero audible distortion. Subtitles are also available in English. The sole extra is a theatrical trailer.
Parting Shot:
Despite being a lesser effort, BARQUERO is quite entertaining thanks the two legendary leads and some good action sequences. It may look like a faux spaghetti western, but don't let that stop you. This is upper mid tier and worth a look for Western fans. Kino's Blu looks fine so I'm happy to recommend this one.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
