Viva Zapata!

Anthony Quinn won an Oscar for this one because he's the only member of the cast who actually looks Mexican

All about making Zapata the ideal rebel against an authoritarian and corrupt government. For a film dealing with the Mexican Revolution, they kept it economic, not showing any battles. Instead the focus was on Zapata the man, his vision for the people and the political play going on. And it's still intense! Elia Kazan's direction works to near perfection. The cinematic composition is great and Marlon Brando plays the ruffian with morals in a way that works within the films vision.

Brando looks constipated in every scene (beneath the dark pancake makeup) and the screenplay is either stilted political sloganeering about liberty, or rustic homilies about how farming land is like keeping a woman. Mostly I appreciate this film for making me want to read a book about Mexican history.

A romanticized view of the Mexican revolutionary that focuses a lot more on his personal issues (and flaws) rather than any of the battles. Once you get over the face paint (and those eyelids!), it's a decent story, but there's nothing that feels memorable about any of the scenes, except maybe that weird poetry slam in the hot house. (New list idea: movies with the line: "Wipe them out. All of them." Include this and Phantom Menace.)

Brando in a fake moustache mumbles his way through a dreary biopic of Mexican revolutionary hero Zapata. Anthony Quinn won an Oscar presumably for being the only actual Mexican among the principal cast. A couple of strong scenes but thus rambled far too much for my liking.

Elia Kazan delivers once again in this romantic portrayal of the infamous revolutionary Zapata. The grumpy and constantly irritated Marlon Brando is as alpha as a man can be, an absolute treat for the senses with a magnetising presence in every scene that he is in. Viva Zapata! is an excellent and thoroughly entertaining flick with some great supporting cast performances too - Anthony Quinn, to name one, is great as usual.

It took me about 15 minutes of watching to get used to Brando's look, then I starting enjoying his performance. No straight lines in this one.

Leão

Good.

This movie was just great; Brando is an incredible powerful actor that embodies this charismatic leader in such a terrific way. The story is well structured and filmed beautifully. Elia is an elegant director that surprises me with every movie.

Our Daily Free Stream: Elia Kazan / Marlon Brando - Viva Zapata. Um den tatsächlich grossartig gemachten Film geniessen zu können, sollte man einfach den geschichtlichen Hintergrund ignorieren. Offensichtlich verrät der Film mehr über seinen Drehbuch-Autoren John Steinbeck und den Regisseur Elia Kazan als über die mexikanische Revolution...

For me, the subject matter didn't hold much interest, although there are some universal ideas and themes which come across well. The film built up to a solid ending. An interesting, if some what dated watch.

75.500

The sreenplay is a bit up and down but there are some super performances to keep it on track. Great story, well directed.

not bad! i love biographies!

72.750

Marlon Brando as Zapata? Badass

I'm currently living out my Marlon Brando-ecstacy. Having started with Godfather many years ago, I've only now managed to see him as anything but that cool old gangster. This movie is about the mexican independence and Brando and Anthony Quinn are equally fantastic. It's a complex story, though, and whether the film succeeds in communicating it in the best of ways... well, perhaps not. Hence the ranking.

A technically perfect screenplay (it's Steinbeck, so no surprise). At first it's abrasive to see Brando as the infamous titular character, but then the audacity, realism, and profundity of it all weighs on you. A consummate work.

Nice Movie

Moody, good-looking star vehicle taking a romanticized but glum view of history.

A lot of noble-savage, no-contractions kind of dialogue. Best things about it are Quinn and Alan Hale as (all too briefly) Pancho Villa.