Almost 25 years ago when I saw this in the cinema and yet I don't think I had seen it again until now with this splendid Blu-ray from Criterion. In the notes there is a suggestion that this wonderful film might be a mixed genre of the western, the film noir, a murder mystery and romance so there may be something in this. Although I have to say that it really has something of a western about it, set on the Texas and Mexico border, the baddie as Kris Kristofferson (brilliantly) and the goody Chris Cooper (almost as well done) and although there are one sided gun fights but no horses. Not quite a noir, certainly not black&white because the cinematography colour is great although I think that the Joel and Ethan Coen with their low budgets created own classic noir and with this one there is something about the hard boiled dialogue about it. I could say this is a murder mystery because it starts at the very beginning in the desert and only finishes at the very end. There is some romance towards the end but there is of course some history (surely not about the Alamo) and rather a lot of racism. Thrilling throughout but there are the tensions of black, white and Hispanic.
Review of Lone Star
