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#577 - Walker's Immortals (Patreon)

Published:
2024-11-26 02:55:29
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

While Nicaragua was being ravaged by Reagan, Alex Cox used Hollywood money to make a sharp satire of American imperialism. The result, WALKER (1987), may have killed his career... but what a way to go! PLUS: Roger Ebert as the ür-liberal critic.

"Walker" reviewed by Jonathan Rosenbaum - https://jonathanrosenbaum.net/2023/06/walker/

Files

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Comments

David Britain

The serendipity of having my students vote in class this evening on whether to watch this or Duke of Burgundy (they did not choose this)

Marshall Steinbaum

Not to be pedantic (haven’t seen the movie) but the depiction of Walker as a tool of Vanderbilt is ahistorical. Vanderbilt already had what he wanted in Nicaragua (a compliant government that granted his company a monopoly on trans-oceanic transport). The faction that invited Walker in were the ones who *werent* cut in on that deal, and Vanderbilt backed the invasion that overthrew Walker. They also counted on federal government support which wasn’t forthcoming.

Jeremy Hawkins

I really appreciate the talk about liberals, was extremely on my mind this weekend. I think to a certain extent that old adage about how "if you scratch a liberal a fascist bleeds" is correct, but more often than not is often just used to call liberalism fascism. When you ask a liberal what they believe they inevitably say something like "love" and "equality" but if you do any probling at all they will quickly show you that the things that they believe in are individualism and the global neoliberal order.

Thomas

Walker is an amazing film. The moment where he's devouring a human heart for literally one second then snaps back to being Walker... Well it's not subtle but it's memorable.

Shane

An Acid Western (according to Jonathan Rosenbaum)

Mark Harper

I can't recommend the behind the scenes documentary enough. It's really fascinating to hear from people working on the film including extras, usually not included in this sort of thing. They discuss typical making of topics, but the really unique commentary is on the Sandinistas and wage decisions for film crew.

Chris Sherman

Hell yeah, this movie rocks. Superdelegate democracy vindicated.

Chris M.

“The director wants us to know how smart they are” is a classic Ebert line whenever someone has a left of liberal point of view

Ian Kies
>>156428505

I had to take my headphones off the first time I heard that I got so angry, only to hear it a thousand more times

Colin Richardson

Wtf, every time I read or hear about Walker, I wish that someone would do a solid movie about him and his crimes. Never knew this existed.

Chris Sherman
>>156463076

Everything Ebert says seems to testify to the success of the film on its own terms. Reading a bit, but honestly not too much, between the lines, he seems to think that there was something of value in the Reagan-era US policy toward Nicaragua, and as a “newspaper man” (as I remember he always considered himself) was particularly stung by the sharp criticism of the news media’s complicity with the US state’s barbarism. Long live Alex Cox!

Tyler M.

It’s just mentioned in passing but I’d love to see Matewan (or any other Sayles movies) covered by the boys.

Jeremy Hawkins
>>156428505

Though tbf to Luke, it's probably about as close to the actual pronunciation of Nicaragua as what normal English speaking people say, and if we said it correctly we'd sound pretentious. We should use this as a moment of reflection about what's really important. Like, how Luke pronounces the name Hayden as Hi-den and Will probably hasn't finished the Sopranos.

Tasselled_Wobbegong

Ebert was most wrong about this movie and Freddy Got Fingered.

Dan

Loved this film. I was introduced to 'Walker' on an old VHS tape that one of my profs happened to have, and it wasn't available anywhere until the Criterion Collection released it. My favourite mistake is when the American Marines arrive in a helicopter at the end, but the film was made in cooperation with the Sandinista government of Nicaragua, so the helicopter is a Soviet MI-18 rather than any US model.

Dan
>>156457191

The part that was missing from the making-of feature the, if I remember correctly, is that the government of neighboring Guatemala prevented the film crew from entering Nicaragua for over a week, for ideological reasons. This delay killed the film's budget, which was already modest

piranhaplant
>>156428505

I like Luke's eccentric pronunciations. I say em out loud as I listen. It's nice.

Mark K
>>156466657

Yes, I had no idea there was a movie about William Walker. You hear a lot about him in Central America, and the National Monument of Costa Rica depicts him/the US getting run out by the forces of the combined armies. CR‘s national hero is the young kid who sacrificed himself to set fire to the filibusters‘ Alamo-style hideout. Note that the imposition of slavery was part of Walker‘s plan to extend the Southern cause in the face of Northern abolitionism. Southern leaders knew they were going to need foreign allies in the event of war, and not having it was a big reason they lost.

Oliver Elliott

I think Ebert’s review is him grappling with the view of almost all American liberals: Americans can be bad, American actions can be bad, but -America- can never be bad. Because the thesis of this movie is basically that the American project is inherently evil and hypocritical, Ebert had to hate it and he has to find a reason to hate it. I’m reminded of a recent comment section somewhere where the blogger outlined all the things terrible about America, and the comments were basically “Sure, all of those things are true, but America is still super morally righteous and always has been.” It occurred to me that American liberals are happy to accept “Truth” but have no interest in “Reconciliation.” That is, acting as if those historical truths meant something about how we should act in the present.

sinesynced
>>156577699

What's interesting to me is that Ebert isn't arguing that the film's politics are wrong, but that it isn't even saying anything. Like he's not even able to recognize critique as a critique, let alone disagree with it

Graeme Pente

I think the first time I ran into Walker and the episodes around him was in Walter Johnson's wonderful history River of Dark Dreams: Slavery and Empire in the Cotton Kingdom (2013).

Carl Thomas

Please if anyone knows where to watch this let us know. It sounds incredible but I can’t find it anywhere in the US. Big movie trying to stop me from accessing my programs 😤

Graeme Pente
>>156643327

I had that same reaction--my county library doesn't have a copy but neighboring ones do. Might be your best bet.

Daniel
>>156428505

adding this one to my running list alongside ‘simiLARly’ and countless others

Guys_Frenchy’s_Official
>>156428505

I feel stupid for even saying this, but I took it as a regional pronunciation the same as any anywhere in the English speaking world. My wife thinks I’m wrong for saying‘generic’ wrong (I feel her criticism is class-coded) I think she’s wrong for saying’roof’ as ‘reuff.’