News

“Don’t be such a dreamer,” says Bob (Esai Morales) to his younger brother, to which soon-to-be teen star Ritchie Valens (Lou Diamond Phillips), né Richard Valenzuela, quickly retorts, “My dreams are pure rock ‘n’ roll.” It’s the kind of blunt, overearnest exchange found in countless music-based biopics, but it also exemplifies La Bamba’s penchant for the cartoonishly archetypal. Indeed, everyone surrounding Ritchie is stripped of both nuance and agency as their roles in the film rarely extend beyond fueling or antagonizing the future icon.

Ritchie’s girlfriend, Donna (Danielle von Zerneck), the namesake of one of his biggest hits, is little more than a poodle skirt and a cheery smile, while his doting mother, Connie (Rosanna DeSoto), is the quintessential ultra-supportive parent. Bob is certainly the most fully fleshed out of this trio, but even most of his personal ups and downs are presented as being directly...

All but inventing the ‘new liberal exposé’ suspense format, James Bridges’ smart and effective thriller began as a star showcase with a political message. Its fictional nuclear accident hit screens just before a similar real nuclear accident happened in real life, at Three Mile Island. Historical synchronicity? Box office serendipity? One thing is certain — the show strongly affected the way we view the ‘miracle’ of nuclear-generated power.

The China Syndrome

Blu-ray

Powerhouse Indicator (UK)

1979 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 122 min. / Street Date June 18, 2017 / Available from Amazon UK £14.99

Starring: Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas, James Hampton, Peter Donat, Wilford Brimley, Richard Herd, Daniel Valdez, Stan Bohrman, James Karen, Michael Alaimo, Donald Hotton.

Cinematography: James Crabe

Film Editor: David Rawlins

Production Design: George Jenkins

Written by James Bridges, Mike Gray and T.S. Cook

Produced by Michael Douglas

Directed by James Bridges

In 1979 Saturday Night Live was the hottest ticket on television; we were...

Blu-ray Release Date: Sept. 9, 2014

Price: Blu-ray $29.95

Studio: Twilight Time

Lou Diamond Phillips is Ritchie Valens in La Bamba

The 1987 music-filled biographical drama La Bamba tells the brief, ultimately tragic, but uplifting story of pioneering rock star Ritchie Valens, born Ricardo Valenzuela in Southern California’s San Fernando Valley.

Portrayed in the movie by Lou Diamond Phillips, Valens would have three hit songs before dying at the shockingly young age of 17 in the infamous plane crash that also killed Buddy Holly and J.P. (The Big Bopper) Richardson. Valens’ short life—particularly with family and friends in a vibrant Mexican-American community—and obsessive love of music are the focus in La Bamba, directed with warmth by Luis Valdez (Zoot Suit). Valens’ music is performed with crackling energy by the sensational Los Lobos.

Twilight Time’s edition of the film, its Blu-ray debut, contains the following features:

Special Features:

-Isolated Score...