Walker is an acid western by British director Alex Cox based on the life story of William Walker (Ed Harris), the American adventurer who invaded Mexico in the 1850s and made himself President of Nicaragua shortly thereafter. It was written by Rudy Wurlitzer and scored by Joe Strummer, who also plays a small role as a member of Walker's army. The film, released in 1987 and which by the end is intentionally full of anachronisms such as helicopters...
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Walker is an acid western by British director Alex Cox based on the life story of William Walker (Ed Harris), the American adventurer who invaded Mexico in the 1850s and made himself President of Nicaragua shortly thereafter. It was written by Rudy Wurlitzer and scored by Joe Strummer, who also plays a small role as a member of Walker's army. The film, released in 1987 and which by the end is intentionally full of anachronisms such as helicopters, Zippo lighters, automatic rifles, and a car passing a horse carriage, was made in Nicaragua during the American-sponsored Contra War.
Alex Cox first visited Nicaragua in 1984, during the national election campaign for which Daniel Ortega became president, to see if conditions were as bad as the American media had reported. He discovered that this was not the case. The filmmaker was persuaded to return by two wounded soldiers from the Sandinista army. He later learned of the historical Walker from an article in Mother Jones that was largely...
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