The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)

Ranch hand Pete Perkins looks to fulfill the promise to his recently deceased best friend by burying him in his hometown in Mexico.

Director:

Tommy Lee Jones

Writer:

Guillermo Arriaga

Stars:

Tommy Lee Jones, Barry Pepper, Dwight Yoakam

5 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Pete Perkins
Barry Pepper	...	Mike Norton
Julio Cesar Cedillo	...	Melquiades Estrada (as Julio César Cedillo)
Dwight Yoakam	...	Belmont
January Jones	...	Lou Ann Norton
Melissa Leo	...	Rachel
Levon Helm	...	Old Man with Radio
Mel Rodriguez	...	Captain Gomez
Cecilia Suárez	...	Rosa
Ignacio Guadalupe	...	Lucio
Vanessa Bauche	...	Mariana
Irineo Alvarez	...	Manuel (as Irineo Álvarez)
Guillermo Arriaga	...	Juan
Josh Berry	...	Border Patrolman
Rodger Boyce	...	Salesman

Storyline

A man is shot and quickly buried in the high desert of west Texas. The body is found and reburied in Van Horn's town cemetery. Pete Perkins, a local ranch foreman, kidnaps a Border Patrolman and forces him to disinter the body. With his captive in tow and the body tied to a mule, Pete undertakes a dangerous and quixotic journey into Mexico.

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Plot Keywords:

female nudity | woman | united states of america | border | u.s. border patrol | 

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Taglines:

For justice. For loyalty. For friendship.

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Genres:

Adventure | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, violence and sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Classics [United States]

Country:

France USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

24 February 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

The 3 Burials of Melquiades Estrada

Filming Locations:

Shafter, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$759,792 (France), 2 December 2005

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,859, 18 December 2005

Gross USA:

$5,023,275, 4 June 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

EuropaCorp, Javelina Film Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min 121 min 107 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tommy Lee Jones's theatrical directing debut. His only other directing credit was the TV movie The Good Old Boys (1995).

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Goofs

When Mike is digging up Melquiades he is wearing flip-flops. But later Pete pulls boots off his feet.

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Quotes

[Pete makes a date with two girls and introduces them to Melquiades]
Melquiades Estrada: That's the one from the cafe, right?
Pete Perkins: Yes, genius.
Melquiades Estrada: But she's married!
Pete Perkins: So's the other one.
Melquiades Estrada: Oh, shit.

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Crazy Credits

The title of the film and the various title cards are in both English and Spanish.

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Connections

Referenced in Mujeres en el parque (2006)

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Soundtracks

Workin' Man Blues
(1969)
Written by Merle Haggard
Performed by Merle Haggard
© Sony / ATV Music Publishing LLC d/b/a Tree Production
(P) 1985 Sony / ATV Music Publishing LLC d/b/a Tree Production
Courtesy of Sony / ATV Music Publishing LLC d/b/a Tree Production

User Reviews

- Strong piece of work from Tommy Lee Jones..

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

Directed by Tommy Lee Jones (2005)

I have always liked Tommy Lee Jones as an actor. He has made some really great performances in the movies JFK, Heaven & Earth, and The Fugitive. And otherwise he has always been good, although he got some typecast in some stereotype roles. In 1995 he debuted as a director on TV, with the movie The Good Old Boys, which I sadly haven't seen. Now, he has joined some of his famous and acknowledged colleges like Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson, Denzel Washington, and made the step from actor, to actor & director in his own very first motion picture - The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.

In this movie, Tommy plays the lead as Pete Perkins, who under some mysterious circumstances, finds out that his best friend has got killed. As a consequence of this, he reacts strong and dramatically, wanting to fulfil his old promise to his, now gone, friend.

The script is written by Guillermo Arriaga, and he mixes the characters and the beautiful landscape into an original story, dealing with many subjects. As said before, the movie is beautifully filmed and good edited. Aside from the director, the shooting star – Barry Pepper – delivers another very good and solid performance! He is a very good actor, which I hope to see a lot from in the future…

All in all a solid, and good piece of movie craft from Tommy Lee Jones, which I know respect more than ever!

8/10