Search - La Bamba on DVD

Christine S. (Snowball7470) from CORP CHRISTI, TX
Reviewed on 5/6/2009...

I liked this movie very much! Especially the first part depicting Richie's background. Lou Diamond Phillips is stunning at Richie Valens!

3 of 4 member(s) found this review helpful.

The True Story of a Chicano Legend

Fabian Palomar-Z | NM | 01/05/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Movies about entertainment icons can be very promising, but at the same time misleading.

Such can be said about the talented 17 year old Ritchie Valens (Richard Steve Valenzuela) of Southern California. The Ritchie Valens story is one of which many know the end, but not necessarily beginning or the middle.

When you see La Bamba, it's important to keep in mind that, unless you are already familiar with the Ritchie Valens legacy, the film will forever distort the image and persona of a 1950's star.

For example; Ritchie did not have a gilrfriend named Donna. The band Valens performed with up until a few months before his demise (including the bandleader) were close friends of Ritchie's until the end. Ritchie did not have constant premonitions about his fate. On the contrary, he lived his life as happy as can be and struggled, as many other music performers of his day, with a sometimes dishonest manager who sought to make a buck out of a talented but innexperienced teenager.

But, why is this movie worth noting? Because it perpetuates Ritchie Valens' legacy and music. This is something important since Valens is a pioneer figure from the early days of rock n' roll. His untimely death after only eight months into his professional career placed his music and legacy in momentary oblivion. The dated news reports of February 1959 listed Valens as the biggest star of the three who were killed in a plane crash (Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper were the other two). At the time of his death Ritchie had the number one song in the popular music charts for the West Coast and the number two song in the nation.

In his brief but remarkable career Ritchie Valens caught the attention of rock n' roll fans around the world. He appeared in various television shows and before live audiences throughout Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia, Honolulu and Canada. Audiences perceived in Valens a style innovative to the music world. Unlike the other rock n' roll artists of his time, Ritchie Valens was neither Anglo nor African-American. He was of Hispanic descent (particularly Mexican Mestizo-Indian). This didn't go unnoticed by the young public. They loved him. In a time when Mexican-Americans faced a lack of visibility in the U.S. pop culture, Valens did not seek to hide his ethnicity. On the contrary, he flaunted his "Mexicanism" wearing a Mariachi-stlye outfit before an audience whom he serenaded with an unheard of, new version, of rock n' roll in Spanish!

Valens left quite a music legacy. Even though he could neither read or write music, he was a very talented musician. He only knew three or four guitar chords and used these as the basis for all his songs. While it was rare for early rock n' roll performers to pen their own material, Ritchie was known to do exactly that. His talent even landed him a spot on the silver screen. He appeared alongside Chuck Berry, Jackie Wilson and Eddie Cochran in a motion picture by Alan Freed set for release in August 1959. With his "Donna/La Bamba" single Valens was able to accomplish something that few rock n' roll musicians, like the Beatles, have accomplished: a simultaneous double-sided hit. Interesting enough, one of his albums stands as the only live concert rock n' roll album of the 1950's.

His achievements inspired others to follow. The fellow Californian Band, the Beach Boys, had their big break playing for a Ritchie Valens Memorial Concert in Long Beach, California and went on to have a successful career. Los Lobos, Chan Romero, Carlos Santana, and Los Loenly Boys, amongst others, have expressed themselves about the influence Valens has had in their music. Ritchie is considered by some today as the father of Chicano Rock. Something distinguished since by the time he was only seventeen. In only eight months he went from playing in a neighborhood band to key-billing in a major rock n' roll tour across the Midwest. One can only wonder what would have been had he not suffered that tragic accident in 1959. He might have gone on to be one of the a major recording stars of the 1960's.

However, unlike Elvis Presley or John Lennon, at the time of his death Ritchie Valens lacked a well grounded fan base. The public loved Ritchie but they were barely getting to know him. Most of his material was released posthumously. The radio D.J.'s refused to play the music of a deceased artist. Whereas other artists have momentarily grown in popularity after their death Ritchie Valens' music experienced the opposite. As time passed, Buddy Holly, who at the time of the accident was working on a comeback to the music scene, came to be remembered as the most promising artist that perished that day. In time, Valens became the footnote to the Holly story. Yet, Chicanos throughout the Southwest never forgot Ritchie Valens. They often memorialized him in barrio murals depicting the Mexican-American experience and their Pre-Columbian roots. Yet, it was not until the late 1970's with the Columbia Pictures' The Buddy Holly Story and even more so in this New Visions motion picture production by Luis Valdez, La Bamba, in the late 1980's, that interest in Ritchie Valens was reignited in the general media. Today, a star with Ritchie's name lies in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was recently inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame and a documentary about his life has been released on DVD.

La Bamba deserves a special place amongst Rock n Roll movies. But hopefully it will inspire viewers to look into who Ritchie Valens was and why he has earned his right to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."

One of the best rock biopics ever.

Miles D. Moore | Alexandria, VA USA | 12/06/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I saw La Bamba the other night for the first time in many years, and was delighted to see how well it had held up. Of the many tragedies in the history of rock, there are few more bitterly poignant than that of Ritchie Valens, and director Luis Valdez makes us feel the full force of the tragedy. He makes us love not only Ritchie (Lou Diamond Phillips) but also his supportive mother Connie (Rosana De Soto) and his troubled brother Bob (Esai Morales), then ends the film as he should, on a note of raw, unmitigated grief. On the way to the tragic end, however, we also get marvelous recreations of vintage rock songs by Los Lobos, Brian Setzer, Marshall Crenshaw, Howard Huntsberry and others. Seeing La Bamba again brings up a smaller tragedy: why Phillips, Morales and De Soto didn't become bigger stars, as they clearly deserved to become from their performances in this movie. Only Phillips came at all close to stardom, and for every step forward he took--his change-of-pace villainous role in Courage Under Fire, his Broadway triumph in the revival of The King and I--he took two steps back with some straight-to-video flick. But in any case you can still see them in La Bamba, and laugh, cry, and applaud."

My favorite movie of all time

Dave. K | Staten Island, Ny | 05/01/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"La Bamba is my favorite movie of all time hands down. Of all the films I have seen not many reached me the way La Bamba did. I first saw this movie back in the summer of 96 when I was 17-years old and I fell in love with this movie and also became a big fan of Ritchie Valens. No joke I would watch this movie every single day it was on. La Bamba was a staple part of HBO's line up and even if it was on twice a day I would watch it. For me, each time I saw the movie it felt like the first time. I would drive my friends crazy with having to watch it even after I recorded the movie they figured I wouldn't watch it as much, but I still did.

At the time I was actually learning the guitar and I never really played at all and this movie inspired me to actually practice and not only that, but it also inspired me on wanting to be a filmmaker. I really can't think of any other movie that reached me on this deep of a level. Like I said in the opening of my review La Bamba is hands down my favorite movie of all time. For starters it has some truly great music; La Bamba is about having a dream and not letting anyone stop you from reaching that dream. It's about love and family.

The screenplay by Luis Valdez was excellent; the characters are great and each of the main players all add to the movie. None of the characters are just there. Each character plays a crucial part of the movie. While yes the story does revolve around Ritchie played amazingly by Lou Diamond Phillips, but in many ways movie is actually Bob's story played by Esai Morales who pretty much steals the show. There is a bond between the 2 brothers, but there is also tension. Bob is always in Ritchie's shadow despite being older and I was really able to relate more to Bob in many ways than Ritchie. Ritchie was sort of the Golden Boy, while Bob was sort of the outsider.

I think at some point in our lives we have felt like we were in someone's shadow, either it be a friend, family member or co-worker. The more Ritchie finds success the more Bob falls into this despair as all the attention goes to Ritchie and he's sort of forgotten about. The movie may revolve around Ritchie, but it's very much Bob's story. And Esai Morales gives a terrific performance. La Bamba is about going for your dreams and not letting anyone stop you from reaching them. We all have dreams in life and most of us are too afraid to try and make them come true. Ritchie had a dream in life and wouldn't let anything keep him from that and I hold that close. La Bamba gave me and still gives me the courage to go after my own filmmaking dreams.

As director Luis Valdez creates some truly touching scenes and some truly inspiring moments. When making a Bio-picture normally certain parts are played up more for dramatic effect and Valdez does that here, but it works well. A lot of the scenes with tension between Bob and Ritchie comes from real life and comes from the own personal experience between Luis Valdez and his own brother. The love story between Ritchie and Donna played by Danielle von Zerneck are possibly the strongest scenes of the movie and shows a time of innocence.

Prior to this movie I knew who Ritchie Valens was and I knew his music, but I wouldn't be able to place the music with the artist. All the music in the movie that Ritchie sings is performed by Los Lobos who did justice to the original music, but I sought out the original versions by Ritchie and loved it. On my guitar I used to play Donna, Come on Let's Go and La Bamba non-stop. Nothing can top the opening lick in La Bamba.

Lou Diamond Phillips made his screen debut, but if not mistaken he actually shot Stand and Deliver first, but this one came out first. Lou Diamond gives a performance of a lifetime. His performance is so real and inspiring. I would rate this performance as one of my all time favorites. By the time I saw La Bamba I was already a fan of Lou Diamond, but this movie made him one of my very favorite actors of all time. Esai Morales though pretty much steals the show like I stated before. Rosanna DeSoto as Connie, Ritchie's mother is excellent and Joey Pantoliano as Ritchie's manager is excellent, but Joey Pants always delivers. Elizabeth Pena also gives a good performance as Ritchie's ex-girlfriend who is now with Bob, which creates some uneasy tension.

I'll be the first to admit the final act always gets me teary-eyed. The death of Ritchie and Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper was so tragic. Buddy Holly is one of my all time favorite musicians. When Ritchie's family and friends hear the news over the radio it's just so tragic. Sleepwalk, played by Santo & Johnny is so hauntingly beautiful and really adds to the scene; Bob walking across a wooded bridge and stops and screams Ritchie's name never fails to give me the chills.

La Bamba is truly a great and uplifting movie that is really tragic, but again very uplifting. Ritchie was only 17-years old when he died and I remember being freaked out since I was that very age when I first saw the movie. At that age death isn't something we think about and it was quite creepy. This may be clichéd, but Ritchie may be gone, but his music and impact will never be forgotten. His life inspired this movie and this movie inspired me.

Without a doubt La Bamba is my very favorite movie nothing for me comes close. I can watch this movie everyday and never once get tired of it. Each time I see the movie it feels like the first time."