Part of Marquee Mondays, in collaboration with UW Cinematheque!
USA | 90 min | R | 35mm | Dir. Alex Cox
The story of William Walker’s mid-19th century imperialist campaign in Nicaragua may sound like the material of a dry, tasteful, biopic, but in the hands of punk filmmaker Cox (Sid and Nancy, Repo Man) it’s anything but. Cox takes the ugliest aspects of American history – Slavery, Manifest Destiny, Industrialism– and twists them into an epic acid western which is as hilarious and silly as it is vile. Cox uses history to directly comment on American politics in 1987, morosely grounding the film’s craziness. Featuring a typically superb performance from Harris as Walker, and an original soundtrack by Joe Strummer, Walker is essential cult film viewing.
