Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

Theatrical Release Date: 2005 12 14 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 043396148253

Studio: Sony Pictures

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Profanity, Sexual Situations]

Summary: Veteran screen star Tommy Lee Jones makes his directorial debut with the fractured tale of murder and injustice on the U.S.-Mexico border scripted by Amores Perros and 21 Grams screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga. Mike Norton (Barry Pepper) is a fresh-faced Border Patrol officer in Cibolo County, TX, whose dedication to his new job leaves his lonely wife, Lou Ann (January Jones), with little to do but spend her days at the local diner, where she strikes up a friendship with waitress Rachel (Melissa Leo). Despite her own status as a married woman, Rachel is unfulfilled in her marriage and is intimately involved with both rugged rancher Pete Perkins (Tommy Lee Jones) and local sheriff Belmont (Dwight Yoakam). Soon after Pete hires Mexican illegal Melquiades Estrada (Julio C?sar Cedillo) as a ranch hand, the growing bond between the pair is suddenly shattered when, in a moment of panic on a routine patrol, Mike hastily guns down the innocent Melquaides. When an enraged Pete learns that Mike has unceremoniously buried the illegal immigrant in an unmarked desert grave and local authorities opt to overlook the case, he kidnaps the crooked lawman and sets out to ensure that justice is served with or without the involvement of the local police force. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Western

Awards: Best Screenplay – Cannes Film Festival Best Actor – Cannes Film Festival Best Picture – Independent Spirit Awards Best Screenplay – Independent Spirit Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Independent Spirit Awards Best Cinematography – Independent Spirit Awards Top Ten Film – Dallas/Fort Worth Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor – Independent Spirit Awards

Features: ccCommentary with Tommy Lee Jones, Dwight Yoakam and January Jones

Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 06/06/2006

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope, 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 121 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
1. "Wanna Shoot a Coyote?" [3:30]
2. The First Burial of Melquiades Estrada [3:49]
3. Boring [4:19]
4. On the Range [4:15]
5. Domestic Bliss? [3:07]
6. "Bring 'Em, Bring 'Em" [5:53]
7. The Second Burial of Melquiades Estrada [4:20]
8. How Long Have We Been Married? [4:21]
9. ?Bailar? [3:20]
10. I Love This Song [2:07]
11. Protecting the Goats [4:42]
12. Flagging Down the Sheriff [3:22]
13. Citizens Arrest [6:06]
14. Melquiades Family [2:48]
15. The Journey [4:04]
16. Precious Cargo [4:54]
17. The Journey Continues [4:30]
18. Asking a Favor [4:31]
19. Searching for Mike [4:45]
20. Finding Mike [4:23]
21. Crossing the River [3:54]
22. All Aboard America [5:51]
23. Good Morning [4:13]
24. Novelas in English [5:16]
25. Your Husband Has Passed Away? [3:47]
26. Just Like Mel Said It Was [3:56]
27. The Third Burial of Melquiades Estrada [3:31]
28. You Can Keep the Horse [7:17]

Derek Armstrong

For his debut feature, Tommy Lee Jones follows in the footsteps of other fine actors who paid attention when they were directed -- Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford, and Robert Duvall spring to mind. That is to say, he comes on the scene a confident, honed storyteller. This -- with the assistance of scripter Guillermo Arriaga -- enables a film like The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. In what could be the same border town John Sayles presents in Lone Star, Jones mines a subject that's both timely to the nation, and timeless to Texans: the unexpected byproducts of illegal immigration. But the director steers clear of a heavy-handed message movie, fixating on a single Mexican, a ranch hand named Melquiades Estrada (Julio Cedillo), who is accidentally shot by an overzealous border patrol agent (Barry Pepper). As Pete Perkins, Jones the performer is no human-rights crusader; he just cares about this particular man. In keeping a promise to his compadre -- even when it involves carrying his decaying corpse across the desert on horseback -- Jones radiates an unyielding determination, kidnapping Pepper's Mike Norton and teaching him a lesson with an almost disembodied sense of calm. But the film leaves all interpretation of the characters' growth and change up to the audience, never cheating them through a big speech or a moment of dramatic clarity. Every detail feels real, and the cinematography (by veteran Chris Menges and neophyte Hector Ortega) makes the barren Mexican countryside as formidable as any wilderness on film -- a dying frontier for men of justice. Arriaga's script also effectively carries out the parallel subplot of several stolid women resigned to disappointment back in town. While its deliberate pace may not move fast enough for some viewers, those who fall in stride with Estrada will find plenty of buried treasures. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Richard Dillard  Actor 
Victoria Jones  Actor 
Hugo Perez  Actor 
Jordan Henderson  Actor 
Brent Smiga  Actor 
Barry Tubb  Actor 
Angelina C. Torres  Actor 
Edwin 'Bubba' Broussard  Actor 
Raul Molinar  Actor 
Guillermo Von Son  Actor 
Charles Sanders  Actor 
Guillermo Arriaga  Actor 
Jesse De Luna  Actor 
Lupe Campos  Actor 
Lonnie Nelson  Actor 
Sonny Carl Davis  Actor 
Uriel Chavez  Actor 
Gustavo Sánchez Parra  Actor 
Montserrat De León  Actor 
Paulina Reyes  Actor 
Rodger Boyce  Actor 
Sean Hennigan  Actor 
Ariel Castro  Actor 
Juan Pareja  Actor 
Maya Zapata  Actor 
Terry Parks  Actor 
Jorge Ádrian Espíndola  Actor 
Sergio Rodriguez  Actor 
Josh Berry  Actor 
Irineo Alvarez  Actor 
Karen Jones  Actor 
Spike Spencer  Actor 
Richard Jones  Actor 
René Campero  Actor 
Adrian Navarette  Actor 
Tommy Lee Jones  Director 
Tommy Lee Jones  Producer 
Pierre-Ange Le Pogam  Producer 
Luc Besson  Producer 
Marco Beltrami  Composer (Music Score) 
Guillermo Arriaga  Screenwriter 
Michael Fitzgerald  Producer 
Tommy Lee Jones  Actor 
Barry Pepper  Actor 
Julio Cedillo  Actor 
Dwight Yoakam  Actor 
January Jones  Actor 
Melissa Leo  Actor 
Levon Helm  Actor 
Melvin Rodriguez  Actor 
Cecilia Suarez  Actor 
Ignacio Guadalupe  Actor 
Vanessa Bauche  Actor 

Country: France,USA