Neon Dreams: WALKER (1987) – Presented on 35mm!

PRESENTED ON 35MM! 

Neon Dreams presents Walker, Alex Cox’s wildly absurdist, scorched-earth revisionist western—a film met with both celebration and outrage, with very little middle ground. Coming in hot off the back-to-back successes of Repo Man and Sid & Nancy, Cox turned his focus to satirizing the hypocrisy of American colonialism, delivering what is arguably the most punk rock film of his career.

Walker tells the true-ish story of William Walker (Ed Harris), an American journalist and soldier of fortune who, in 1853, accepts a commission from multimillionaire Cornelius Vanderbilt (Peter Boyle) to bring “stability” to Nicaragua by aiding the Democratic Party in its civil war. Setting out with noble intentions, Walker quickly abandons any ethics he had in a bloody pursuit of power and greed.

Scored by Joe Strummer of The Clash and featuring a murderer’s row of exceptional performances from Marlee Matlin, René Auberjonois, Richard Masur, and Xander Berkeley, alongside Cox familiars Sy Richardson, Dick Rude, Miguel Sandoval, and Strummer himself, Walker is hilarious, shocking, and positively confounding. It is the kind of film that simply does not get made anymore, and for a great number of reasons.

We are delighted to host this rare 35mm screening of Walker, with the participation of director Alex Cox.

Part of the Neon Dreams series!

Cast/Crew Info
Director: Alex Cox | Cast: Ed Harris, Richard Masur, René Auberjonois, Keith Szarabajka, Sy Richardson