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FightingWesterner Mexican-American lawman Burt Lancaster is forced to kill a wrongfully accused black man, during a circus-like standoff. Attempting to collect a hundred dollars compensation for the man's pregnant Apache wife, he's beaten and nearly killed, before suiting up to take the money from the bigwig responsible, one way or another.Based on a novel by Elmore Leonard, this explores familiar Leonard themes of stubbornness and racial/ethnic strife in the west (see also Hombre, Joe Kidd, and Mr. Majestyk, among others.), while also keeping up with Lancaster's pursuit of roles that reflected his views on social justice.As far as the actual movie goes, the first half is fairly unpleasant, though it really hammers home the unrelenting nastiness of the villains. The second half is more action-filled and satisfying, as we cheer on Lancaster's cat-and-mouse games with a virtual army of goons, though I think it's hurt by fact that the credits begin to roll before the ending is completely resolved!If you enjoy this, don't miss Lancaster in Lawman, a very similar film made in Spain at the same time.

TankGuy After killing an innocent man in self defence, Mexican-American lawman Bob Valdez(BURT LANCASTER)asks gunrunning rancher Frank Tanner(JON CYPHER),who instigated the chaos, to pay the dead man's wife compensation. Tanner rebuffs and humiliates Valdez twice, and the second time results in the latter being tortured. An angry Valdez has had enough, and is prompted to dust off his old army uniform, take up his musty Buffalo Rifle,his battered Shotgun and his haggard Winchester and raise Cain on Tanner and his men. The one man apocalypse that is Bob Valdez kidnaps Tanner's fiancée Gay Erin(SUSAN CLARK)and escapes deep into the mountains. Tanner and his men relentlessly pursue Valdez through the hazardous terrain.However,if Valdez has his way, it will not be long before the hunter becomes the hunted...VALDEZ IS COMING was a bit of a let-down for me.The region 2 DVD print spoiled the film, but I'll talk about that later. The film is bad, it's good and at times it's unintentionally funny so I got a good laugh out of it.Burt Lancaster was fantastic as always and although I did think his Mexican accent was very good, I couldn't help but chuckle each time he spoke. The dark makeup and eye shadow didn't help either and I couldn't take him seriously in some scenes, watching him charge about among the rocks with his rifle drawn was rather amusing, although these shots were excellent. Jon Cypher was good as Frank Tanner,but I couldn't take him seriously either and he wasn't as threatening as he should have been. Richard Jordan's character was annoying and behaved like an immature child, but Barton Heyman stood out as El Segundo. The script and storyline were great. It's a "straw that broke the camel's back" premise in which the wronged hero raises hell and kicks ass in truly epic fashion, which I find inspiring. The ending was terrible. It was so pathetic that it made me laugh out loud. It was extremely anti-climax as the film was good the whole way through, the suspense had been built up energetically for it to fizzle into nothing. This ruined the film, the characters are simply left in limbo and the film doesn't get the climatic final shootout it deserves. The characters just stand there and what follows is a stupid freeze-frame of them looking at each other. Although the final lines are morally relevant as they question the acts of both Valdez and Tanner and sum the film up. Valdez didn't want to kill, but through Tanner's ignorance and greed was forced to.The action scenes were taut, brisk and magnificently shot. They were abrupt, although still exciting and intense. Burt did his thing fantastically and the stunts were awesome. The shots of Valdez with his Buffalo Rifle shooting Tanner's men from nearly a thousand feet away were exhilarating and incredible. The shots of Valdez riding between the two horses whilst being shot at by El Segundo were amazing, but the adrenaline rush was unfortunately short lived as this scene was hacked to pieces. The BBFC are extremely strict when it comes to animal cruelty which called for the shots of the two horses being shot and tripping to be cut. This really disappointed me and because of this, I didn't enjoy the film as much as I should have. The brutal shot two horses crashing into each other and some shots of men being shot and falling with their horses were also cut, making the killcount seem smaller. I am just as disgusted by animal cruelty as everyone else and love animals,especially horses, as much as the next person, but I seethe with anger when westerns are cut to pieces because they have a few shots of falling horses. As the film was made in a time and a country where animals had no rights, the BBFC should have left the film alone.It completely destroyed my viewing experience and it's unfair on me as the viewer. When I buy the DVD I expect to get my money's worth. When I buy some cut version I feel as if I'm being cheated. Rant aside, the short horse chase in the canyon was brilliant. The scenes in which two of Tanner's men are shot by Valdez on two separate occasions and he sends them back to Tanner all shot up and in agony with a message that he will get Tanner sent a chill down by spine.The cinematography was terrific with superb shots of the rugged,rocky,barren Spanish landscape which only Spaghetti Western fans can truly appreciate. The script had quite a few plot holes and at times the dialogue was very dry, corny and boring which made the film drag. Some lines were so cheesy that I cringed. At times some scenes were packed with pointless screaming and swearing, but there were some clever and memorable lines too. The soundtrack wasn't bad. The quality of the region 2 DVD is below average with poor sound quality. It could do with a re-release from Pegasus. VALDEZ IS COMING is a slightly above average western drama, it's shot in a taut, fast paced way with some outstanding action scenes, all of which build up to nothing. The region 2 DVD didn't do the film justice and if you want to see it, buy the uncut region 1 print. It's the type of film you should enjoy with a couple of Beers on a dull Saturday afternoon.Although,even if the film isn't so good, the poster sure has one hell of a tagline.6/10.(After shooting a Mexican rider with his shotgun) Mexican Rider(dying):What you got in that thing. Valdez: I told you, it's for Rabbits.

Robert J. Maxwell Fundamentally a revenge Western, not too badly done, but with considerable built-in illogic. The humble, wheezing old local sheriff, Lancaster, is tricked into shooting a man by the evil boss man Jon Cypher. The deferential Lancaster begs one hundred dollars from Cypher for the innocent dead man's window. Cypher and the gang laugh at him and shoot holes in the wall against which he's standing. Lancaster pursues the matter and Cypher's gang beat him and tie him to a crucifix and send him off stumbling through the forest to die. Well -- he doesn't die. How COULD he die? If he did -- or even if he were merely disabled for life -- the title of the movie wouldn't be "Valdez is Coming." It wouldn't even be "Valdez is Going." As it is, Lancaster recovers from his near-death experience with the help of humble Mexican farmer Frank Silvera and his taciturn family. Then, Cypher and his group had better look out because Valdez is definitely coming. He digs out his old uniform and weapons from the time he was a cavalry trooper, hits and runs, kidnaps Tanner's girl friend, Susan Clark, and finally get the one hundred dollars for the widow.Frank Silvera's part isn't a big one but he's great at playing Mexicans. He was the gunslinger who finally offed Paul Newman in "Apache." He's played African-Americans and Tahitians. He LOOKS ethnic. His father was a Spanish Jew and his mother was Jamaican. A marvelously reassuring performance.Susan Clark is fine. She has deep-set blue eyes and thin but sensuous lips, the upper one the same shape and size as the lower one. I wouldn't mind kidnapping her myself.Lancaster is Lancaster. He was fifty when this was shot and still running and hopping around doing some of his own action scenes. My God, he was fit. His Spanish accent isn't bad but he really ought to stay away from dialects.I don't know who is responsible for casting and make ups but the director should really have brought some of them up short. The head of Cypher's gang is played by Barton Heyman. His appearance is ludicrous and he's on screen often. First, his face is too dark for a Mexican or Mestizo, emphasizing his startling blue eyes. Next, he's balding and yet make up has given him the kind of long bushy hair combed back that was fashionable among rock stars in 1970, when this was shot. And they've topped it off with a set of mutton chop whiskers that turn him into a simulacrum of Frank Zappa or somebody. I don't like to carry on about what ought to be a minor problem like this but every time the guy appears, it's as if a gong had been rung and a big red sign flashed on the screen -- "1970".At the end -- lookout, a spoiler -- Cypher and his gang have trapped the unarmed Lancaster and his captive Clark. Clark has decided to abandon Cypher and leave with Lancaster. Cypher orders the gang to shoot Lancaster. One of the gang has developed respect for Lancaster and refuses. Bart Heyman grins through his ridiculous mustache and hollers, "She is not MY woman!" Cypher himself hasn't the guts to do it. Lancaster gets his one hundred dollars.It's not a bad movie. It's merely rather routine. But it is fun to see Lancaster unlimber his Sharps carbine and shoot half a dozen bad guys at a distance over a mile. Those bad guys were colleagues and friends of Heyman's gang -- you know, the gang that refused to kill Lancaster because they had no motive for doing so? Cue the deus ex machina.

mlbroberts This film is for people who like character and who like to think. Burt Lancaster's Valdez (beautifully underplayed) tries hard to do the right thing, but racism from a cold, cowardly Jon Cypher and practically every other white person forces him to get justice the hard way. I would not want to be the one in Bob Valdez's way or in his gun sites. I would be pretty happy, though, if Valdez had blown off R L Davis's (Richard Jordan) head, because he is one slimy little creep of a coward who richly deserved it. The ending is disappointing if you want to watch the film and forget about it, terrific if you want to keep thinking about it like I did. Got to watch this one again.