Viva Zapata!

Last updated
Viva Zapata!
Viva Zapata!.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Elia Kazan
Written by John Steinbeck
Produced by Darryl F. Zanuck
Starring Marlon Brando
Jean Peters
Anthony Quinn
Cinematography Joseph MacDonald
Edited by Barbara McLean
Music by Alex North
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date
  • February 13, 1952 (1952-02-13)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.8 million [1]
Box office$1,900,000 (US rentals) [2]

Viva Zapata! is a 1952 American Western film directed by Elia Kazan and starring Marlon Brando, Jean Peters, and in an Academy Award-winning performance, Anthony Quinn. The screenplay was written by John Steinbeck, using Edgcumb Pinchon's 1941 book Zapata the Unconquerable as a guide.

Contents

The film is a fictionalized account of the life of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata from his peasant upbringing through his rise to power in the early 1900s and his death in 1919.

To make the film as authentic as possible, Kazan and producer Darryl F. Zanuck studied the numerous photographs that were taken during the revolutionary years, the period between 1909 and 1919, when Zapata led the fight to restore land taken from common people during the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz. Kazan was especially impressed with the Agustín Casasola collection of photographs, and he attempted to duplicate their visual style in the film. Kazan also acknowledged the influence of Roberto Rossellini's Paisan (1946). [3]

Plot

Emiliano Zapata is part of a delegation sent to complain about injustices to corrupt longtime president Porfirio Díaz, but Díaz dismisses their concerns, driving Zapata to open rebellion, along with his brother Eufemio. He unites with Pancho Villa under the leadership of naive reformer Francisco Madero.

Díaz is finally toppled and Madero takes his place, but Zapata is dismayed to find that nothing is changing. Madero offers Zapata land of his own while failing to take action to distribute land to the campesinos who fought to end the dictatorship and break up the estates of the elites. Zapata rejects the offer and seeks no personal gain. Meanwhile, the ineffectual but well-meaning Madero puts his trust in treacherous general Victoriano Huerta. Huerta first takes Madero captive and then has him murdered.

As it becomes clear that each new regime is no less corrupt and self-serving than the one it replaced, Zapata remains guided by his desire to return to the peasants their recently robbed lands while forsaking his personal interests. His brother sets himself up as a petty dictator, taking what he wants without regard for the law, but Zapata remains a rebel leader of high integrity. Although he is able to defeat Huerta after Madero's assassination, as a result of his integrity, Zapata loses his brother and his position.

Although in the end Zapata himself is lured into an ambush and killed, the film suggests that the resistance of the campesinos does not end. Rumors begin that Zapata never died, but is instead continuing to fight from the hills, feeding the campesinos a sense of hope. As several scenes suggest, over the years, the campesinos have learned to lead themselves rather than looking to others to lead them.

Cast

Anthony Quinn as Eufemio Zapata (standing), and Marlon Brando as Emiliano Zapata in a publicity photo for the film Anthony Quinn and Marlon Brando in !Viva Zapata! (1952) (cropped).jpg
Anthony Quinn as Eufemio Zapata (standing), and Marlon Brando as Emiliano Zapata in a publicity photo for the film

Production

Filming and casting

Filming took place in locations including Durango, Colorado, Roma, Texas, San Ygnacio, Texas in Zapata County, and New Mexico.

The screenplay was written by John Steinbeck based on Edgcomb Pinchon's 1941 book Zapata the Unconquerable. Steinbeck's screenplay has been published as a book along with a narrative of Zapata's life that Steinbeck also wrote.[ citation needed ]

Barbara Leaming writes in her biography of Marilyn Monroe that Monroe tried to obtain a part in the film, but failed, presumably because of Darryl F. Zanuck's lack of faith in her ability, both as an actress and as a box-office draw.[ citation needed ] 

Reception

Viva Zapata! received generally positive to mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that of 19 reviews, 58% of critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6.2/10.

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote a highly favorable review and commented that the film "... throbs with a rare vitality, and a masterful picture of a nation in revolutionary torment has been got by Director Elia Kazan." [4] Variety , however, criticized the direction and script: "Elia Kazan's direction strives for a personal intimacy but neither he nor the John Steinbeck scripting achieves in enough measure."[ citation needed ]

Senator John McCain listed Viva Zapata! as his favorite film of all time. [5]

Awards and nominations

AwardCategoryNominee(s)ResultRef.
Academy Awards Best Actor Marlon Brando Nominated [6]
Best Supporting Actor Anthony Quinn Won
Best Story and Screenplay John Steinbeck Nominated
Best Art Direction – Black-and-White Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and Leland Fuller;
Set Decoration: Thomas Little and Claude E. Carpenter
Nominated
Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture Alex North Nominated
British Academy Film Awards Best Film from any Source Nominated [7]
Best Foreign Actor Marlon BrandoWon
Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix Elia Kazan Nominated [8]
Best Actor Marlon BrandoWon
Directors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures Elia KazanNominated [9]
Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Mildred Dunnock Nominated [10]
International Film Music Critics Association Awards Best New Recording of a Previously Existing Score Alex North, Jerry Goldsmith, and Royal Scottish National Orchestra Nominated [11]

Honors

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francisco I. Madero</span> President of Mexico from 1911 to 1913

Francisco Ignacio Madero González was a Mexican businessman, revolutionary, writer and statesman, who served as the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was deposed in a coup d'état in February 1913 and assassinated. He came to prominence as an advocate for democracy and as an opponent of President and de facto dictator Porfirio Díaz. After Díaz claimed to have won the fraudulent election of 1910 despite promising a return to democracy, Madero started the Mexican Revolution to oust Díaz. The Mexican revolution would continue until 1920, well after Madero and Díaz's deaths, with hundreds of thousands dead.

<i>Viva Villa!</i> 1934 film by Howard Hawks, Jack Conway, William A. Wellman

Viva Villa! is a 1934 American pre-Code film directed by Jack Conway and starring Wallace Beery as Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. The screenplay was written by Ben Hecht, adapted from the 1933 book Viva Villa! by Edgecumb Pinchon and O. B. Stade. The film was shot on location in Mexico and produced by David O. Selznick. There was uncredited assistance with the script by Howard Hawks, James Kevin McGuinness, and Howard Emmett Rogers. Hawks and William A. Wellman were also uncredited directors on the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emiliano Zapata</span> Mexican revolutionary (1879–1919)

Emiliano Zapata Salazar was a Mexican revolutionary. He was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920, the main leader of the people's revolution in the Mexican state of Morelos, and the inspiration of the agrarian movement called Zapatismo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican Revolution</span> Nationwide armed struggle in Mexico (1910–1920)

The Mexican Revolution was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its replacement by a revolutionary army, and the transformation of Mexican culture and government. The northern Constitutionalist faction prevailed on the battlefield and drafted the present-day Constitution of Mexico, which aimed to create a strong central government. Revolutionary generals held power from 1920 to 1940. The revolutionary conflict was primarily a civil war, but foreign powers, having important economic and strategic interests in Mexico, figured in the outcome of Mexico's power struggles; the U.S. involvement was particularly high. The conflict led to the deaths of around one million people, mostly non-combatants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoriano Huerta</span> President of Mexico from 1913 to 1914

José Victoriano Huerta Márquez was a general in the Mexican Federal Army and 39th President of Mexico, who came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of Francisco I. Madero with the aid of other Mexican generals and the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. His violent seizure of power set off a new wave of armed conflict in the Mexican Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francisco S. Carvajal</span> President of Mexico in 1914

Francisco Sebastián Carvajal y Gual, sometimes spelled Carbajal was a Mexican lawyer and politician who served briefly as president in 1914, during the Mexican Revolution. In his role as foreign minister, he succeeded Victoriano Huerta as president upon the latter's resignation.

<i>Zapata: el sueño del héroe</i> 2004 Mexican film

Zapata: el sueño del héroe, also titled simply Zapata, is a 2004 Mexican film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eufemio Zapata</span> Mexican revolutionary, brother of Emiliano Zapata

Eufemio Zapata Salazar was a participant in the Mexican Revolution and the brother of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata. He was known as a womanizer, a macho man, and a very heavy drinker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plan of Ayala</span> Revolutionary document by Emiliano Zapata

The Plan of Ayala was a document drafted by revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata during the Mexican Revolution. In it, Zapata denounced President Francisco Madero for his perceived betrayal of the revolutionary ideals embodied in Madero's Plan de San Luis Potosí, and set out his vision of land reform. The Plan was first proclaimed on November 28, 1911, in the town of Ayala, Morelos, and was later amended on June 19, 1914. The Plan of Ayala was a key document during the revolution and influenced land reform in Mexico during the 1920s and 1930s. It was the fundamental text of the Zapatistas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberation Army of the South</span> Armed group during the Mexican Revolution

The Liberation Army of the South was a guerrilla force led for most of its existence by Emiliano Zapata that took part in the Mexican Revolution from 1911 to 1920. During that time, the Zapatistas fought against the national governments of Porfirio Díaz, Francisco Madero, Victoriano Huerta, and Venustiano Carranza. Their goal was rural land reform, specifically reclaiming communal lands stolen by hacendados in the period before the revolution. Although rarely active outside their base in Morelos, they allied with Pancho Villa to support the Conventionists against the Carrancistas. After Villa's defeat, the Zapatistas remained in open rebellion. It was only after Zapata's 1919 assassination and the overthrow of the Carranza government that Zapata's successor, Gildardo Magaña, negotiated peace with President Álvaro Obregón.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genovevo de la O</span> Mexican politician

Genovevo de la O was an important figure in the Mexican Revolution in Morelos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural depictions of Emiliano Zapata</span>

References and depictions of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, places and things named for and commemorating him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitutionalists in the Mexican Revolution</span> Faction of the Mexican Revolution (1910-20) which followed Pres. Venustiano Carranza

The Constitutionalists were a faction in the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920). They were formed in 1914 as a response to the assassination of Francisco Madero and Victoriano Huerta's coup d'etat. Also known as Carrancistas, taking that name from their leader, Venustiano Carranza the governor of Coahuila. The Constitutionalists played the leading role in defeating the Mexican Federal Army on the battlefield. Carranza, a centrist liberal attracted Mexicans across various political ideologies to the Constitutionalist cause. Constitutionalists consisted of mainly middle-class urbanites, liberals, and intellectuals who desired a democratic constitution under the guidelines "Mexico for Mexicans" and Mexican nationalism. Their support for democracy in Mexico, caught the attention of the United States who aided their cause. In 1914, the United States occupied Mexico's largest port in Veracruz in an attempt to starve Huerta's government of customs revenue. They crafted and enforced the Mexican Constitution of 1917 which remains in force today. Following the defeat of General Huerta, the Constitutionalists outmaneuvered their former revolutionary allies Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa becoming the victorious faction of the Mexican Revolution. However the Constitutionalists were divided amongst themselves and Carranza was assassinated in 1920. He was succeeded by General Álvaro Obregón who began enforcing the 1917 constitution and calming revolutionary tensions. His assassination and the subsequent power vacuum this created spurred his successor, Plutarco Elías Calles to create the National Revolutionary Party (PNR) which would hold uninterrupted political power in Mexico until 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amador Salazar</span> Mexican military leader (1868–1916)

Amador Salazar Jiménez was a Mexican military leader who participated in the Mexican Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treaty of Ciudad Juárez</span> 1911 treaty during the Mexican Revolution

The Treaty of Ciudad Juárez was a peace treaty signed between the President of Mexico, Porfirio Díaz, and the revolutionary Francisco Madero on May 21, 1911. The treaty put an end to the fighting between forces supporting Madero and those of Díaz and thus concluded the initial phase of the Mexican Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Cuautla</span> Battle of the Mexican Revolution

The Battle of Cuautla was a battle between the forces of Emiliano Zapata and the federal army of the Mexican government that took place in the state of Morelos from May 11–19, 1911, during the Mexican Revolution. It has sometimes been described as "six of the most terrible days of battle in the whole Revolution". Eventually, the remains of the defending "Golden Fifth" regiment, the Fifth Cavalry Regiment of the Federal Army, withdrew and Zapata took control of the town. The Zapatista victory convinced Porfirio Díaz to come to terms with Francisco Madero, agree to the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez and resign as president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otilio Montaño Sánchez</span>

Otilio Edmundo Montaño Sánchez was a Zapatista general during the Mexican Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pablo González Garza</span>

Pablo González Garza was a general during the Mexican Revolution. He is considered to be the main organizer of the assassination of Emiliano Zapata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama</span> Mexican revolutionary (1880–1967)

Antonio Diaz Soto y Gama was a Mexican politician and revolutionary during the Mexican Revolution.

References

  1. Solomon, Aubrey (January 1, 1988). Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History . Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 247. ISBN   978-0-8108-4244-1.
  2. 'Top Box-Office Hits of 1952', Variety, January 7, 1953
  3. Thomas, Tony (November 6, 1975). The Films of Marlon Brando (second ed.). Citidel Press. p.  47. ISBN   978-0806504810.
  4. Crowther, Bosley (February 8, 1952). "THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; Marlon Brando Plays Mexican Rebel Leader in 'Viva Zapata!' New Feature at the Rivoli" . The New York Times.
  5. McCain, John. "FAQ - United States Senator John McCain". www.mccain.senate.gov.
  6. "The 25th Academy Awards (1953) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  7. "BAFTA Awards: Film in 1953". British Academy Film Awards . Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  8. "Viva Zapata!". Cannes Film Festival . Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  9. "5th Annual DGA Awards". Directors Guild of America Awards . Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  10. "Viva Zapata!". Golden Globe Awards . Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  11. "1998 FMCJ Awards". International Film Music Critics Association. 1999. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  12. "AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-06.