La Bamba (1987)
84%RT Audience Score: 78%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins & 3 nominations
Elevated by a perceptive performance by a perfectly cast Lou Diamond Phillips, La Bamba distills its subject’s creative energy — and reflects his music’s enduring appeal
La Bamba is a movie that will make you want to dance, cry, and sing all at the same time. It’s a sweet and serious film that tells the story of Ritchie Valens’ life with heart and vitality. Lou Diamond Phillips’ performance as Ritchie is so sympathetic that you can’t help but root for him. The movie has a few rough edges, but it’s still so entertaining and moving that you’ll be grabbed and held by it. Plus, the music is just so darn catchy! It’s a must-watch for anyone who loves a good biopic or just wants to have a good time.
Production Company(ies)
Mappa Genco
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Fillmore, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG-13
Year of Release
1987
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Stereo
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 24, 1987 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 2, 2002
Genre(s)
Biography/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales, Rosanna DeSoto, Elizabeth Peña, Danielle von Zerneck, Joe Pantoliano, Marshall Crenshaw, directed by Luis Valdez, written by Luis Valdez, produced by Bill Borden and Taylor Hackford, biography, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Kathy Huffhines, Jim Washburn, Carrie Rickey, Eleanor Ringel Cater, Michael H Price, Bill Cosford, George Anderson, Ángel Fernández-Santos, Tony Mastroianni, Juan Carlos Coto, Paul McKie, Rick Chatenever, PG-13, rock and roll, Ritchie Valens, Los Angeles, 1958, love ballad, Donna, Latino boy, conflicts, jealous brother, recurring nightmare, plane crash, national tour, rising star, American Bandstand, Hispanic singer, music, Los Lobos, Miles Goodman, Carlos Santana
Worldwide gross: $54,215,416
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $144,713,679
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 853
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 15,781,208
US/Canada gross: $54,215,416
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $144,713,679
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 535
US/Canada opening weekend: $5,651,990
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $15,086,489
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 785
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $6,500,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $17,350,027
Production budget ranking: 1,439
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $9,342,989
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $118,020,663
ROI to date (est.): 442%
ROI ranking: 296
Esai Morales – Bob Morales
Rosanna DeSoto – Connie Valenzuela
Elizabeth Peña – Rosie Morales
Danielle von Zerneck – Donna Ludwig
Joe Pantoliano – Bob Keane
Director(s)
Luis Valdez
Writer(s)
Luis Valdez
Producer(s)
Bill Borden, Taylor Hackford
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 3 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (74) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (61) | Rotten (13)
Sweet and serious, a fine little movie that accomplishes just what it sets out to do.
August 10, 2021 | Rating: 7/10
Kathy Huffhines
Detroit Free Press
TOP CRITIC
More than being true to the time and place, Valdez’s script and direction ring true to the heart.
August 10, 2021
Jim Washburn
Orange County Register
TOP CRITIC
Almost everyone in La Bamba is perfectly cast, but none more so than De Soto, who plays Ritchie and Bob’s mother with the vitality and ferocity usually associated with lionesses. Equally good is Elizabeth Pena.
August 10, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
[An] excruciatingly well-meaning, excruciatingly cliched film.
August 10, 2021
Eleanor Ringel Cater
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TOP CRITIC
The visionary stage-and-screen artist Luis Valdez restores Ritchie Valens to prominence with a knockout new film La Bamba.
August 10, 2021 | Rating: 8/10
Michael H. Price
Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
TOP CRITIC
As for the singer, the fire is hidden and La Bamba seems familiar from its opening minutes, as if Valens’ were a life already well-chronicled.
August 10, 2021 | Rating: 2.5/4
Bill Cosford
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
It is Lou Diamond Phillips’ sympathetic performance as Ritchie that makes La Bamba work so well.
August 10, 2021 | Rating: B
George Anderson
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The film entertains and disquiets… its tragic and troubled course is enjoyed like gentle waves. [Full review in Spanish]
August 10, 2021
Ángel Fernández-Santos
El Pais (Spain)
La Bamba is a movie with a few rough edges, but it has so much vitality you can’t help being grabbed and held by it.
August 10, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Tony Mastroianni
Akron Beacon Journal
Valdez’s simple-yet-elegant visual style is on target and his script uses the elements of Valens’ life to the fullest, almost creating an underlying poetic rhythm to the film.
August 10, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
Juan Carlos Coto
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
For all its Hollywood bombast, the poignant story of Valens’ quick fame and premature death is still moving.
August 10, 2021
Paul McKie
Winnipeg Free Press
Writer-director Luis Valdez has deftly and movingly turned Valens’ life into a meaningful cultural document.
August 10, 2021
Rick Chatenever
Santa Cruz Sentinel…
Plot
This is the true story of Ritchie Valens, a young rock and roll singer who tragically died in a plane crash at age 17. The film follows Ritchie from his days in Pacoima, California where he and his family make a meager living working on farms to his rise as a star. The film also focuses on Ritchie’s friendship and rivalry with his older brother Bob Morales and his relationship with Donna Ludwig, his girlfriend.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film La Bamba on Fresh Kernels.
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