La Bamba
The brief but incandescent life of rock-and-roll trailblazer Ritchie Valens is immortalized in this enthralling biopic from another Mexican American icon, Luis Valdez, the father of Chicano cinema. With sweetness and swagger, Lou Diamond Phillips embodies the 1950s California teenager who, forged by his fiercely supportive mother (Rosana DeSoto) and rebellious brother (Esai Morales), rises from his farm-working roots to chart-topping fame in the early days of rock—until one fateful night that haunts music history. Propelled by a hip-shaking soundtrack featuring Los Lobos and Carlos Santana, La Bamba captures the electric vitality of an artist who bridged cultures to create his own American dream.
DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New 4K digital restoration, approved by director Luis Valdez, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- Audio commentaries featuring Valdez, actors Lou Diamond Phillips and Esai Morales, and producers Stuart Benjamin, Taylor Hackford, and Daniel Valdez
- New interview with Luis Valdez
- Conversation between Valdez and filmmaker Robert Rodriguez from El Rey Network’s The Director’s Chair
- Making-of program featuring cast and crew
- Audition footage
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing and Spanish subtitles
- PLUS: An essay by critic Yolanda Machado
New cover by Eric Skillman
DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New 4K digital restoration, approved by director Luis Valdez, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- Audio commentaries featuring Valdez, actors Lou Diamond Phillips and Esai Morales, and producers Stuart Benjamin, Taylor Hackford, and Daniel Valdez
- New interview with Luis Valdez
- Conversation between Valdez and filmmaker Robert Rodriguez from El Rey Network’s The Director’s Chair
- Making-of program featuring cast and crew
- Audition footage
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing and Spanish subtitles
- PLUS: An essay by critic Yolanda Machado
New cover by Eric Skillman
Cast
- Lou Diamond Phillips
- Ritchie Valens
- Esai Morales
- Bob Morales
- Rosana DeSoto
- Connie Valenzuela
- Elizabeth Peña
- Rosie Morales
- Joe Pantoliano
- Bob Keane
- Danielle von Zerneck
- Donna Ludwig
- Daniel Valdez
- Lelo
- Felipe Cantu
- Curandero
- Marshall Crenshaw
- Buddy Holly
- Rick Dees
- Ted Quillin
- Howard Huntsberry
- Jackie Wilson
Credits
- Director
- Luis Valdez
- Written by
- Luis Valdez
- Executive producer
- Stuart Benjamin
- Produced by
- Taylor Hackford
- Produced by
- Bill Borden
- Associate producer
- Daniel Valdez
- Director of photography
- Adam Greenberg
- Edited by
- Don Brochu
- Edited by
- Sheldon Kahn
- Production designer
- Vincent Joseph Cresciman
- Set decorator
- Rosemary Brandenburg
- Sound
- Susumu Tokunow
- Music
- Carlos Santana
- Music
- Miles Goodman
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A scene from La Bamba
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