| Z | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Costa-Gavras |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | Z (1967 novel) byVassilis Vassilikos |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Raoul Coutard |
| Edited by | Françoise Bonnot |
| Music by | Mikis Theodorakis |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Varloria Films (France) |
Release date |
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Running time | 127 minutes[1] |
| Countries | |
| Languages |
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| Box office | $17.3 million (United States)[4] |
Z is a 1969political thriller film directed byCosta-Gavras, from ascreenplay he co-wrote withJorge Semprún, adapted from the 1967 novel byVassilis Vassilikos. The film presents a thinly fictionalized account of the events surrounding the assassination of democraticGreek politicianGrigoris Lambrakis in 1963. With its dark view ofGreek politics and its downbeat ending, the film captures the director's outrage about thejunta that then ruled Greece. The title refers to a popular Greek protest slogan (Greek:Ζει,IPA:[ˈzi]) meaning "he lives," in reference to Lambrakis.
AFrench andAlgerianco-production,[2] the film starsJean-Louis Trintignant as the investigating magistrate, an analogue ofChristos Sartzetakis, who would become thePresident of Greece from 1985 to 1990. International starsYves Montand andIrene Papas also appear, but despite their star billing, they have shorter screen time.Jacques Perrin, who also produced the film, plays a key role as aphotojournalist. Other actors in the film includePierre Dux,Charles Denner,François Périer,Georges Géret andBernard Fresson. The musical score was composed byMikis Theodorakis.
Z was a surprise international hit and is considered to be a landmark film of thepolitical thriller genre. It became the first non-English language film to receive nominations for theAcademy Awards in bothBest Picture andBest Foreign Language Film categories. It also received numerous accolades includingBest Actor for Trintignant andJury Prize at theCannes Film Festival and theGolden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film.
The left-wing opposition in an unnamed Mediterranean country (based on Greece under thejunta) plan to have a famous government deputy (based onGrigoris Lambrakis) give a speech advocating for nuclear disarmament, but the government interferes by pressuring venues to deny them space and setting thugs on them to tear down posters and harass attendees. The opposition receive an anonymous tip about a threat to the deputy's life and report it to government officials, but they dismiss the claims.
During the speech, Pirou, another deputy, goes to find their promised protection, but is mistaken for the real target and savagely beaten before his assailants realize they have the wrong man. As the intended target crosses the street from the hall after giving his speech, a delivery truck speeds past him, and a man on the open truck bed strikes him down with a club. The Chief Prosecutor is informed of the incident and the General (head of the state police and a fierce anticommunist) lies that the deputy has been injured by a drunk driver, Yago, who they have in custody. The phone then rings, revealing the deputy has died.
At the hospital, the magistrate assigned to the investigation learns that the autopsy indicates the deputy died from blows to the head, not a car crash. He is informed of a witness, but before he can testify, the man is hit by a club from a passing car. The General and the man's family, who are sympathetic to the government, visit the man in the hospital and pressure him not to testify, but he does anyway, saying that Yago (his delivery driver) talked openly about the plan to murder the Deputy. The journalist visits the man and unwittingly spoils an assassination attempt by the Deputy's assailant Vago, who has been placed in the hospital by the government and is arrested. During the interrogation, the magistrate baits Vago into revealing that he is part of a clandestine anti-communist group, the Christian Royalist Organization against Communism (CROC), with ties to the state police.
With the help of a CROC informer, the journalist learns more about the organization and photographs members that the informer points out. He then takes the photos to Pirou, who identifies his assailant. It is later revealed that the Colonel bribed Pirou's assailant with a lifetime peddling license and new house to assist in their plan against the deputy. As the magistrate continues to investigate CROC, he demands that the opposition counselor produce the witness who originally told them of the plot against the deputy, revealed to be a fellow deliveryman with ties to the former Greek communist resistance movement. He describes Yago threatening him into silence, and that he saw Yago with the Colonel and the head of CROC. As one of the other opposition lawyers heads to the office to testify, a car attempts to run him down in front of a crowd of witnesses.
With a large amount of corroborating evidence, the magistrate plans to charge high-ranking military officers and, upon learning of this plan, the country's attorney general arrives and criticizes his plans, arguing that they will harm the nation. He suggests that the magistrate try Yago and Vago apart, leave the issue of the police to be solved internally, and indict the opposition for inflammatory speech, but he follows through with his plans. The General denies any affiliation with CROC, but the magistrate presents a photo of a banquet he hosted in their honor. The action of the film concludes with one of the deputy's associates rushing to see his widow to give her the surprising news of the officers' indictments, to which she looks distressed.
An epilogue provides a synopsis of the subsequent turns of events. Instead of justice being served, the prosecutor is mysteriously removed from the case, several key witnesses die under suspicious circumstances, the assassins receive relatively short sentences, the officers receive only administrative reprimands, the deputy's close associates die or aredeported and the photojournalist is sent to prison for disclosing official documents. The heads of the government resign after public disapproval, but before elections are carried out, acoup d'état occurs, and the military seize power. They banmodern art,popular music,avant-garde novelists,modern mathematics,classic andmodern philosophers and the use of the letter "Ζ" (Greek:zíta, orGreek:zi, which is used by protesters against the former government), which refers to the deputy and means "He lives."
The 1963 murder of Greek politician and physicianGrigoris Lambrakis and subsequentmilitary junta in power from 1967–1973 served as the basis for the story.[5] Among Costa-Gavras' references to the actual events was the frequency with which the military compared ideologies to diseases, seen when the General compares-isms to mildew.[6] The Magistrate was based on real-life GreekjuristChristos Sartzetakis.[7] Costa-Gavras opted to show the Deputy had adulteries and conflicts with his wife to demonstrate he was simply a man.[6]
Costa-Gavras was also motivated by the suspicious disappearance ofMehdi Ben Barka in 1965. Some American viewers infer parallels between the film and theassassination of John F. Kennedy, particularly given how some stylistic elements seem to mimic theZapruder film. That said, Costa-Gavras has stated that the Zapruder film had not been widely circulated in Europe at the time and that Kennedy's assassination did not influence the production.[8]
Principal photography took place inAlgiers at actorJacques Perrin's suggestion, which the filmmakers approved for its Mediterranean environment and because the Ministry of Culture was accommodating.[6] In Algiers, theHotel St. Georges and the central square were filming locations, whileParis'Théâtre des Champs-Élysées was used for the ballet scenes.[6]Marcel Bozzuffi performed his ownstunts wrestling on the "Kamikaze" vehicle due to the production's lack of budget for professional stunt performers.[6]
Costa-Gavras choseZ as the title of the film based on its common occurrence in Greek graffiti for "He lives" (or even "Lambrakis you live; it’s you who guides us!" [Λαμπράκη ζεις, εσύ μας οδηγείς!;Lambráki zis, esý mas odigís!]); Costa-Gavras acknowledged a one-letter film title was unconventional and saidYves Montand expressed concern it would be confused withZorro, but Costa-Gavras said the novelty of the idea won him over.[6]
The soundtrack byMikis Theodorakis was a hit record. The Greek junta had placed the composer underhouse arrest but he was able to give his approval to Costa-Gavras for the use of existing musical pieces.
The film features, but does not credit,Pierre Henry's contemporary hit song "Psyché Rock". The soundtrack as released onLP andCD replaces Henry's song with a similar track written by Theodorakis titled "Café Rock."
"The Smiling Youth" and "Who's Not Talking About Easter" were among the poems adapted fromBrendan Behan's playThe Hostage by Theodorakis in 1962. By referring to theIrish struggle against British rule rather than Greek realities, the poems offered a way to circumventcensorship in Greece and condemn Greece's post-war right-wing establishment. "The Smiling Youth" (το γελαστό παιδί) was also one of the nicknames of Lambrakis.
Z was picked up for U.S. distribution by the specialty company/New York City theatre chainCinema 5.[9]
Prints of the film were acquired by theBlack Panther Party and shown at underground screenings.[8] An advance copy of the film was shown at theUnited Front Against Fascism conference in 1969.[10]
It first aired on American television onABC on 18 March 1974.[11]
At the time of release,Chicago Sun-Times film criticRoger Ebert, who namedZ the best film of 1969, liked the screenplay and its message, and wrote: "[Z] is a film of our time. It is about how even moral victories are corrupted. It will make you weep and will make you angry. It will tear your guts out...When the Army junta staged its coup in 1967, the right-wing generals and the police chief were cleared of all charges and 'rehabilitated.' Those responsible for unmasking the assassination now became political criminals. These would seem to be completely political events, but the young director Costa-Gavras has told them in a style that is almost unbearably exciting.Z is at the same time a political cry of rage and a brilliant suspense thriller. It even ends in a chase: Not through the streets but through a maze of facts, alibis and official corruption."[12]
In 2006, criticJames Berardinelli wrote: "Z was the third feature film from Greek-born Costa-Gavras, but it is the movie that captured him to the world's attention, winning a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. It introduced the director's signature approach of combining overt political messages with edge-of-the-seat tension."[13]Jonathan Richards wrote in 2009: "It's hard to overstate the impact that this Oscar-winningprocedural thriller had in 1969, on a world roiling in political activism, repression, and discord. In the U.S., theVietnam War was on the front burner, the populace was passionately engaged, and the police riots outside the'68 Chicago Democratic Convention and the murder of Black PantherFred Hampton were raw wounds. With this stylish, intense indictment of the assassination of a leftist political leader by a right-wing government cabal in his native Greece, director Costa-Gavras struck a nerve that resonated here and around the globe."[14]
In 2009,Armond White praised the film and wrote: "Ending with a provocative, unorthodox tally of fascist clampdowns on freedom of expression and the arts, Costa-Gavras angles his exposé with a frightening coda that encapsulates the on-going political struggle. He avoids hippie optimism and foresees contemporary cynicism with a basic thriller device: a warning.Z carries the reverberations of that cultural shift from enlightenment to paranoia in each of its shrewdly devised tropes from common genres. Costa-Gavras expresses the tension and terror of political conspiracy that haunted the democratic and anti-war movements of the sixties—and still does."[15]
OnRotten Tomatoes, the film has a 94% "fresh" score based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The site's consensus states: "Powerfully effective, thisanti-fascist political thriller stands out as both high-consciencemelodrama and high-tempoaction movie."[16]
The film was voted inTime's list of "The 15 Best Political Films of All Time."[17]
The film was selected to be screened in the Cannes Classics section of the2015 Cannes Film Festival.[18]
The film had a total of 3,952,913 admissions in France and was the 4th highest-grossing film of the year.[19] It was also very popular in the United States grossing $17.3 million,[4] being one of the top five highest-grossing non-English language films.[20]
Z was the second foreign-language film inAcademy history to receive a nomination forBest Picture, afterGrand Illusion.[21] At the27th Golden Globe Awards, its producers refused the award to protest the film's exclusion from theBest Motion Picture – Drama category.[22]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | 7 April 1970 | Best Picture | Ahmed Rachedi andJacques Perrin | Nominated | [23] |
| Best Director | Costa-Gavras | Nominated | |||
| Best Adapted Screenplay | Jorge Semprún and Costa-Gavras | Nominated | |||
| Best Foreign Language Film | Algeria | Won | |||
| Best Film Editing | Françoise Bonnot | Won | |||
| BAFTA Awards | 1970 | Best Film | Costa-Gavras | Nominated | [24] |
| Best Screenplay | Costa-Gavras, Jorge Semprun | Nominated | |||
| Best Editing | Françoise Bonnot | Nominated | |||
| Best Film Music | Mikis Theodorakis | Won | |||
| United Nations Award | Costa-Gavras | Nominated | |||
| Cannes Film Festival | 8 – 23 May 1969 | Jury Prize | Won | [25] | |
| Palme d'Or | Nominated | ||||
| Best Actor | Jean-Louis Trintignant | Won | |||
| Directors Guild of America Award | 1970 | Best Director | Costa-Gavras | Nominated | [26] |
| Golden Globes | 2 February 1970 | Best Foreign Language Film | Won | [27] | |
| National Society of Film Critics | January 1970 | Best Film | Won | [28] | |
| New York Film Critics Circle | 25 January 1970 | Best Film | Won | [29] | |
| Best Director | Won |
FilmmakersPaul Greengrass andAki Kaurismäki listed the film in their top 10 films of all time for the 2012Sight and Sound poll[30] and other films directors such asMichael Haneke,Paul Schrader andJohn Woo have listed it as one of their favorite films.[31]
The French filmmakerMathieu Kassovitz listed the film as influential to his work.[32]
The French filmmakerRachid Bouchareb listedZ as an influence on his filmOutside the Law.[33]
It is regarded as one of American filmmakerOliver Stone's favorite films that inspired his filmmaking.[34][35][36]John Milius also cited the film as an influence.[37]
The American filmmakerSteven Soderbergh listedZ as an inspiration on his filmTraffic and stated that he "wanted to make it like [Costa-Gavras]'s Z".[38][39][40][41]
The American filmmakerWilliam Friedkin listedZ as one of his favorite films and mentioned the film's influence on him when directing his filmThe French Connection: "After I sawZ, I realized how I could shootThe French Connection. Because he [Costa-Gavras] shotZ like adocumentary. It was a fiction film but it was made like it was actually happening. Like the camera didn't know what was gonna happen next. And that is an induced technique. It looks like he happened upon the scene and captured what was going on as you do in a documentary. My first films were documentaries too. So I understood what he was doing but I never thought you could do that in a feature at that time until I sawZ."[42] As an homage, Friedkin cast actorMarcel Bozzuffi in a similar role.[43]
The American actor and filmmakerBen Affleck listed the film as an influence for his filmArgo.[44]
The movie provided the inspiration for the name of Z Magazine, nowZNetwork.[45]
One final and important influence from 1970s French Cinema is Costa-Gavras. A regular visitor to the apartment block where Kassovitz grew up – his son lived in the same building – Costa-Gavras was another of the filmmakers Kassovitz discovered through his parents: 'Môme, mon père m'a montrè ses films et ce que j'ai fait a ètè influencè par des films comme Z ou L'Aveu. Des films forts, profonds, oû l'on touch à des sujets importants, primordiaux' (Kassovitz 1998).
When Bouchareb was asked specifically about the titles that influenced his controversial film Outside the Law (2010), he said: "It was a mix. A lot of political movies like Z by Costa-Gavras and Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers."
Stone will also present a classic film that inspired him, Costa Gavras' Z.
One film often referred to by Stone in interviews was Z (Constantin Costa Gavras, 1968) and its influence is immediately apparent.
Soderbergh called Traffic his "$47 million Dogme film" and used hand-held camera, available light, and (ostensibly) improvistational performance in an attempt to present a realistic story about illegal drugs. He prepared by analyzing two political films made in a realist style: Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966) and Z (Constantin Costa-Gavras, 1969), both of which he described as having "that great feeling of things that are caught, instead of staged, which is what we were after."
Affleck: "I haven't done a movie that I haven't ripped off from another one! [Laughs.] This movie, we ripped off All the President's Men, for the CIA stuff, a John Cassavetes movie called The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, which we really used as a reference for the California stuff, and then there was kind of a Battle of Algiers, Z/Missing/Costa-Gavras soup of movies, that we used for the rest of it."
