Viva Zapata!

Plot synopsis:
Emiliano Zapata (Marlon Brando) is part of a delegation sent to complain about injustices to corrupt longtime President Porfirio Díaz (Fay Roope), but Díaz dismisses their concerns, and tries to bribe their leader, offering him some land which Zapata rejects. As a result, Zapata is driven to open rebellion, along with his brother Eufemio (Anthony Quinn). He in the south and Pancho Villa (Alan Reed) in the north unite under the leadership of naive reformer Francisco Madero (Harold Gordon).
Díaz is finally toppled and Madero takes his place, but Zapata is dismayed to find that nothing is changed. The new regime is no less corrupt and self-serving than the one it replaced. His own brother sets himself up as a petty dictator, taking what he wants without regard for the law. The ineffectual but well-meaning Madero puts his trust in treacherous General Victoriano Huerta (Frank Silvera). Huerta first takes Madero captive and then has him murdered. Zapata himself is lured into an ambush and killed.
Zapata is depicted in the film as a rebel leader of high integrity. He is guided by his desire to return the peasants their recently robbed lands, while forsaking his personal interest, even Josefa Zapata, his newly wed wife. Steinbeck meditates in the film on the tempting military force and political might, which corrupts men.

Tags: violence, alternate history

Review:
For this portrayal in his third film Marlon Brando got a second Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, but lost to Gary Cooper for High Noon.And as a film concerning the turmoil in Mexico during the teen and twenty years of the last century Viva Zapata!
But even a few years earlier the overreaction against the church was done in the John Ford film, The Fugitive which takes place within 10 to 20 years after Zapata died.Zapata as played by Brando may be illiterate, but he is possessed of a simple eloquence and a charisma that made him a revolutionary figure, in the same manner Che Guevara became forty years later.
He tries hard to hold to the ideals of the revolution, but finds as most do that tearing down a government is relatively easy, building one from scratch is a task that has defeated many.Anthony Quinn plays Emiliano's swaggering brother Eufemio who's not quite as idealistic as Brando.
It's a very good job by Wiseman, not often talked about for some reason.Besides Quinn's Oscar and Brando's nomination, Viva Zapata!
That's three horse parlay that can't be beat.For some reason Elia Kazan was overlooked for Best Director, possibly because he had won the year before for A Streetcar Named Desire.Still Viva Zapata!
The very idea of a motion picture scripted by John Steinbeck, directed by Elia Kazan, scored by Alex North, starring Marlon Brando, co-starring Anthony Quinn........this is an almost unbelievable gathering of artistic giants.Taste in movies varies and thus one can be certain that some will not respond positively even to this one.
With its spellbinding storytelling, superb cast in top form, its insightful examination of issues which are still crucially relevant today, I can not fathom why some would not praise it.Like a long list of really fine titles that endlessly persist in remaining unavailable in DVD release, this film has me wondering once again why, in the vastness of the internet, one can not discover the reason why this major Brando star-vehicle continues to be withheld from circulation.
His work never got as far as he wanted before he was assassinated, but it was burned into the souls of the people from his region of Mexico (who still call themselves Zapatistas when involved in political protests to this day), and it did help set the stage for Cardenas' reforms in the late 1930s.With direction by Elia Kazan and screenplay by John Steinbeck, VIVA ZAPATA is a wonderful, if simplistic view of the Revolution for American audiences.
Joseph Wiseman is properly sinister as an constant malcontent agent provocateur, insinuating each leader is too weak or unreliable to lead.There are great set pieces - like Kazan's symbolic assassination of Madero by General Huerta's goons who drown out the little reformer/orator's voice as he tries to scream with a siren (but it makes the screams of the unheard martyr like a clarion call to Mexico).
Zapata is truly one of the great heroes of the 20th century, and Brando captured this along with the frustration of trying to do the right thing and yet being hamstrung by the bureaucrats who manage to survive every change in government, no matter which way in turns.The final scene in the movie leaves Zapata as a legend --- did he die, or does he still live to help the millions of peons in Mexico.Elia Kazan's direction was terrific..
Marlon Brando is Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata in a role that earned him an Academy Award nomination.
In a rare role for Mexican born Anthony Quinn to be actually playing a Mexican as Eufernio Zapata for which he won the Academy Award for Best supporting Actor for 1952.
A peasant delegation from Morelos state go to visit Mexican President Porfirio Diaz when Zapata (Marlon Brando) reclaims their rights .Then Zapata along with his brother Eufemio (Anthony Quinn) back to Francisco Madero (Harold Gordon) , though resident in Texas , against Porfirio Diaz .
But his main enemies , the President Carranza and Obregon will fight for the power against the Villa's revolutionaries .The movie portrays until his early death , but he was assassinated when gunmen ambushed him , like it is well developed in the spectacular final shots , and it is subsequently copied at ¨Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid¨ (by George Roy Hill with Newman and Redford).The movie is an exciting retelling of Zapata's Mexican campaign , suffering and love , with broadened focus on the power abuse .The film gets influence from classic Westerns until famous Russian directors (Eisenstein , Pudovkin).
Marlon Brando chewing up scenery in the title role in one of his best performances as the hot-tempered , simple-minded revolutionary.Anthony Quinn won a deserved Oscar for his well portrayed secondary role as rough brother named Eufemio .
There's a reflection on what can so easily happen to a revolutionary movement when it takes power, as Madero (Harold Gordon) betrays the people he supposedly fought for by not pursuing land reform after he becomes president of Mexico; there's a very moving and eloquent speech by Zapata (Marlon Brando): "if they take your corn, grow more; if they kill your children, breed more," etc., etc.; there's the reflection contained at the end of the movie when it becomes clear that to kill a man does not kill the ideas the man represented.
There was also a pretty good performance from Brando, who portrays Zapata as brooding and sombre throughout - a man who finds little time to enjoy the pleasures of life (even his beautiful bride) because he spends so much time fighting for the people.
At first he doesn't look much like we remember him - Marlon Brando appears as his Mexican Emiliano Zapata with a stern face at the Mexico Priesidente demanding, simply, land rights and making sure boundaries can be drawn.
His name is circled on the President's desk, not a good sign, and from here on in Zapata is fighting and fighting (what one character says is as simple as it is - it's all he knows) so that the farmers can have their land, as opposed to time and patience, to grow their corn with.When Brando first appears as this revolutionary figure he doesn't quite look like himself, and at the same time does very much, and it's disarming.
and then the scenes kept coming, and Brando, playing Zapata as stubborn and headstrong and without much in way of a sense of humor as a leader as a General (and rightfully so as revolutionary figures tend to be, see Che for more details), is spot on.
presents Mexico in some fresh and amazing cinematography, sturdy and sometimes clever and heartfelt direction from Elia Kazan, always best with his actors (even Anthony Quinn who again proves why he was best as taking on an ethnicity and making it believable, if only up to a point as his powerhouse turn shows here), and some very interesting writing from John Steinbeck.
The script sometimes takes its turns and movements that don't make it quite flow as well as it would in a book; individual scenes are knock-outs, mini-masterpieces of words exchanged with underlying meaning or trying to find the meaning in how people can persevere, or not as it turns out (one such scene I loved is when Zapata has been installed as the President- as Pancho Villa says there's "no one else"), and the farmers he says he knows comes and demands the same things he did once before, but at a personal price.There's lots of great things like that, or just the uncomfortable but true rapore between Zapata and his future-wife's family when they talk in metaphors.
Or, perhaps, things like this just aren't possible; one can see the parallels and maybe even find this to be like a condensed version of Soderbergh's Che in taking a sobering look at the sweet highs and sobering lows of rising up against the powers that be (and yes, this is quite the leftist movie, all the more odd considering it's John McCain's favorite film!).
We thank Brando for this amazing performance and we thank Elia Kazan for having faith for the young Brando to play such a hard role.Other actors were good ..
Did Zapata agonize about the loss of his friends?"Viva Zapata" was nominated for several Oscars, and Quinn won on the basis of one great scene with Brando near the film's conclusion.
Emiliano Zapata (Marlon Brando) was a principled, charismatic revolutionary who led peasants from Mexico in the early part of the 20th century against the dictator, Porfirio Diaz who might had proclaimed himself the father of the nation but was stealing land from the poor farmers.What Viva Zapata shows that the cycle of betrayal is endless, one dictator goes and another one emerges.
When Zapata is President his brother Eufemio (Anthony Quinn) regards it is his right to take land and property by force.With at times a literate and clever script written by John Steinbeck, direction by the then leftist Elia Kazan the film is too uneven.
There are at times some great black and white photography but the film lacks action, the plot is messy and it does not always makes sense.Brando gives a sombre and moody performance but does look odd as a Mexican.
(I got to know him when I lived in New York and in real life he was an extremely intelligent, polished gentle-man, in the literal sense of the word.) He played such an off-beat role to perfection in Detective Story, which was released in 1951, one year before Zapata.
I bet that working with him was truly an adventure.Quinn is also a really great actor.Although his face is more suitable for roles of Spanish and Arabian characters,he could rush at some other as well.Spectacular moment in this film is certainly that white horse,a symbol of many,not just Zapata.Symbol of all great people fighting for great ideas.At every step we could see that white horse,guiding his way to eternity...VIVA BRANDO!!!..and of course VIVA ZAPATA!!!.
The story of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata (Marlon Brando), who led a rebellion against the corrupt, oppressive dictatorship of president Porfirio Diaz (Fay Roope) in the early 20th century.Sadly, I do not know the story of Zapata well enough to criticize this film for its accuracy or lack thereof.
Marlon Brando is Zapata, he is a man that stands up for his people, but he is troubled, he knows that if he wins the war it will be much harder to manage a country and compromise with the ruling forces, than to fight for it.
Joseph Wiseman is the man without feelings who has made power his God. Marlon Brando shows what a great actor he was for playing a character that was so distant from him in culture and appearance and not for one minute being unconvincing.
When asked by a reporter in early 2008 to name his favorite movie, U.S. presidential candidate John McCain said, "Viva Zapata!" "I still think it's the great classic," he said.This 1952 Darryl Zanuck production directed by Elia Kazan and the recipient of an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor to Anthony Quinn, stars Marlon Brando as Mexican peasant-turned-revolutionary Emiliano Zapata set in the years leading up to World War I.I'm a film buff and I never heard of it until I heard McCain speak.I found a VHS copy through my library and watched it today.Written by John Steinbeck with his only original screenplay, the script contains memorable passages on democracy, human conscience, violence, and peace.
This is great in some ways but unbalanced on the whole though it is required viewing for any serious classic movie fan especially anybody who appreciates Brando, Kazan and anthony quinn.
Surprisingly good Hollywood approach to the life of Emiliano Zapata by Elia Kazan and John Steinbeck, the kind of film that if made today would cause a controversy due to its lack of authenticity in self-representational terms.
One would think a film starring Marlon Brando and Anthony Quinn, directed by Elia Kazan, and written by John Steinbeck would be a sure thing.
I know casting Caucasian actors as people of color was a common convention in earlier cinematic times, and that one needs to just suck it up and go with it if one is going to bother watching a movie like this in the first place, but my goodness was it hard to get past Marlon Brando as a Mexican revolutionary.
It's like reading a novel with chapters missing.Quinn received the first of his two Best Supporting Actor Oscars for playing Zapata's brother, but I'm not sure why.
Brando won his second of four consecutive Best Actor nominations, Steinbeck was nominated for Best Story and Screenplay, and the film received two technical nominations for its black and white art direction and its score (by Alex North).Not exactly a dud, but definitely a disappointment.Grade: B-.
There are many many more in this wonderful movie which is directed exquisitely by Elia Kazan..Viva Brando!.
What was Marlon Brando thinking when he decided to play in Viva Zapata!?
And, with writing by John Steinbeck and direction by Elia Kazan (a great director, by the way), it's not surprising this film is far better than average.
But Viva Zapata would not be the excellent motion picture it is, if it didn't boast the wonderful performances of Brando and Quinn, and the stunning photography of Joe McDonald.
It needed something, anything!With Marlon Brando and Elia Kazan at the height of their powers, both young and passionate, between their twin masterpiece collaborations "Streetcar Named Desire" in 1951 and "On the Waterfront" in 1953 - you expect something special.But Viva Zapata is the least special thing i've ever seen.The unremarkableness of this movie is quite unsettling.
I don't know why he was even cast, and the only reason I can come up with as to why he was nominated for Best Actor was because the Academy was trying to apologize for him being the only cast member of A Streetcar Named Desire the year before who wasn't nominated.Anthony Quinn plays Marlon's brother, but for the vast majority of his screen time, he just stands in the background with a floppy hat to distinguish himself.
She also speaks exactly like she always does, without a hint of a Mexican accent.Marlon Brando stunk, the music stunk, the script stunk, and even my beloved Anthony Quinn stunk.
So if you are interested in "Viva Zapata!" in Blu-ray, or any of the other seven Kazan films then you will be as excited as I was to find out about their availability.
For his performance, he was nominated for his third consecutive Oscar, but Gary Cooper won for 'High Noon'.Anthony Quinn gives an effective portrayal of Eufemio Zapata , the swaggering, lecherous, bullying brother, and wins his first Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor...
Destiny has singled him out...'Viva Zapata!' received 5 Academy Award Nominations...It is a greatly entertaining film, excitingly directed by Kazan who made its action sequences so intense and who permitted his actors full scope in developing their characters....
Okay, I am not -entirely- going to pan this movie in the way it would certainly be universally panned today (to start with, you have to look real hard to find any actual Mexican@s in the cast - the only one I found in the named cast was Margo playing an unnamed "soldadera", though there are some others in the uncredited list).Furthermore, I think it's worth seeing for some of the theatrical bits that have entered the collective consciousness, like where Zapata demonstrates to Madero that political power really does grow out of the barrel of a gun, as Mao would later point out.
All he wants is justice and fairness for his people but as things progress he is drawn deeper into a civil war where allies and enemies are often difficult to tell apart.Written by John Steinbeck, directed by Elia Kazan, starring Marlon Brando and Anthony Quinn, and based on a true story, on paper this has all the makings of a classic.
Brando, in his third movie, puts in a strong performance as Zapata.
Anthony Quinn won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1953 for his portrayal of Eufemio, Zapata's brother.No, it is in the execution, especially direction and editing, that things fall a bit short of their potential.
While Elia Kazan was a great director, I can't help but think this movie would have been a masterpiece if someone like John Huston, or maybe John Ford, had directed it..
But it might not come as a surprise for a film written by John Steinbeck and directed by Elia Kazan : through the portrayal of Emiliano Zapata, the legendary Mexican revolutionary played by the no-less legendary Marlon Brando, it's the very notions of power and leadership that are questioned, much more their corruptive effect.And the result is a strange mixture of conventional Western-like escapism with the local texture provided by sombreros, white outfits for men and black dresses for women and more ambitious attempts of a character study.
Great Kazan film with an amazing performance by Brando in one of his earliest (and best) roles.
Emiliano Zapata, as played by Brando, is a beautiful, simple man, whose ideals are used as a pawn by others.
You are not likely to forget the memorable acting by the young Marlon Brando (committed in then before he became jaded and walked through most of his later roles), as well as by Jean Peters, Anthony Quinn (Oscar Winner as Pancho Villa), and Joseph Wiseman.
The dialog is brisk and to the point with the exception of a hokey wedding night scene that is strained to say the least.Director Elia Kazan removed from the familiar trappings of the New York Stage and the city itself gets superb performances from his actors particularly Anthony Quinn as Zapata's brother, Jean Peters as Zapata's wife and Joseph Wiseman as a duplicitous adviser that is pure Shakespeare.