This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

A different way of telling a story

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

I hated this movie so much, I kept fast-forwarding through the last hour, only pressing play when Anthony Quinn was on the screen, hoping to find some reason why he won the first of his Oscars for his performance. I never found one. I don't know why he was even nominated. I really don't understand why Marlon Brando was nominated-or the impossibly lousy screenplay adaptation by John Steinbeck, or the subpar music from Alex North. This movie wasn't even good enough to insult by calling it a "B-movie".Marlon Brando is given dark makeup on his skin, a curly wig, and a comical mustache to convince the audience he's Mexican. He plays the revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, but as he speaks with absolutely zero trace of even the slightest attempt at a Mexican accent, it isn't believable. He prances around-and I mean that literally; he actually prances across the room in the middle of a shootout-and speaks and acts exactly like Marlon Brando. 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. He hardly has any lines! It's as if the Academy wanted to prove they weren't racist by giving him the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Jean Peters, also given a dark, curly wig, plays Marlon's love interest. 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. This entire movie was so stinky I really can't fathom why it was up for any Oscars in the first place. I'm surprised audiences didn't get up and leave the theaters in droves during opening weekend. Had I been forced to see this in the theaters without the option of leaving early, I might have had to start singing "O Susannah" to keep from losing my mind.

Few actors (I can think of none) who actually live the scenes they are in rather than act them. Brando is in a class of his own. Here are a few scenes that capture the depth of Brando's skills. The best one is the scene in the church where he tries to propose to Josepha. It goes from deep anger to incredible tenderness. He actually physically hurts Jean Peters in this scene before capturing her heart. Another one captures the depth of his anguish when he holds his brother in his arms after the latter is assassinated. It cannot but bring tears to one's eyes. There are many many more in this wonderful movie which is directed exquisitely by Elia Kazan..Viva Brando!

Elia Kazan's "Viva Zapata!" has been released as a DVD in the expensive Kazan Set and as an import title. Much to my surprise it is also available on Blu-ray. I found it by accident while tracking down rumors that Kazan's "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn" had been put out in the Blu-ray format. It turns out the above two Kazan films are packaged with "Man On A Tightrope" and "Wild River" in a set called Kazan A Fox, Vol. 2 and are available exclusively from Fox Connect for $44.98 ($11.25 per title). The transfers of all four films are excellent and at that price real bargain. They also offer Kazan At Fox, Vol. 1 in Blu-ray with "Gentlemen's Agreement", "Panic In The Street", "Pinky" and "Boomrang!". 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. Remember they are offered exclusively by Fox Connect.

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. I didn't buy it entirely in the first scene... 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. It's worthy of the rest of his oeuvre at the time, if not quite up to the monolithic status of Streetcar and Waterfront then at least as good if not better than the underrated The Wild One. This is vintage Brando every step of the way, absorbing us in this figure who reminds us all why it's necessary to have such heroes - but also the lacerating side of the double-edged sword where-in those in power will do all they can to destroy the hero. That and, well, revolutions and movements of ideas amongst people end up turning things pretty damn bittersweet; just look at the very end for that, as four peasants talk of Zapata's status as an idea as well as a man.Viva Zapata! 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. If only Steinbeck didn't sometimes jerk the story ahead without some warning (it will be hard to explain, you just have to see it to understand, though this may have more to do with the direction than writing, more research is needed for this assumption) it would be unstoppable as a classic. As it stands though Viva Zapata! is an essential chronicle of a rebel with a cause, an honest man of principles who tried to do too much good in a country where it just wasn't possible. 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!)