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La Bamba presented by TCM

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Videos & Photos

  • Event Trailer
  • Trailer 1

Movie Info & Cast

Synopsis

Biographical story of the rise from nowhere of early rock and roll singer Ritchie Valens who died at age 17 in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.

Cast

  • Lou Diamond Phillips
  • Esai Morales
  • Rosanna DeSoto
  • Elizabeth Peña
  • Danielle von Zerneck
  • Joe Pantoliano
  • Rick Dees
  • Marshall Crenshaw
  • Brian Setzer
  • Howard Huntsberry

Atom User Reviews

4.7 out of 5
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POPULAR TAGS
#epic
#great
#allthefeels
Verified Review

It was great seeing this on the big screen again. The older I get, the more I realize how young Ritchie really was when he became a star and then tragically died. The film captures the Southern California Latino feel.

JA
Jan A
Verified Review

Theater had a technical issue and we didn’t get to see the movie. So disappointed

RM
Rogelio M

Metacritic

75

This is a good small movie, sweet and sentimental, about a kid who never really got a chance to show his stuff. The best things in it are the most unexpected things: the portraits of everyday life, of a loving mother, of a brother who loves and resents him, of a kid growing up and tasting fame and leaving everyone standing around at his funeral shocked that his life ended just as it seemed to be beginning.

Metacritic review by Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
60

A dedicatory, sometimes sombre recreation of the career of 50s teen-throb Richie Valens, which feels like a personal project by director Luis Valdez.

Metacritic review by William Thomas
William Thomas
Empire
70

A film like this is quite naturally a showcase for its star, and as Valens, Lou Diamond Phillips has a sweetness and sincerity that in no way diminish the toughness of his onstage persona.

Metacritic review by Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
The New York Times