| Z | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Costa-Gavras |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Based on | Z (1967 novel) byVassilis Vassilikos |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Raoul Coutard |
| Edited by | Françoise Bonnot |
| Music by | Mikis Theodorakis |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | Varloria Films (France) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 127 minutes[1] |
| Countries | |
| Languages |
|
| 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 very little 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 the first film and one of only a handful to be nominated by theAcademy Awards for bothBest Picture andBest Foreign Language Film. It won the latter as well as theJury Prize at theCannes Film Festival, theBAFTA Award for Best Film Music and theGolden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film. At the27th Golden Globe Awards, its producers refused the award to protest the film's exclusion from theBest Motion Picture – Drama category.[5]
The film centers on theright-wing, military-dominated government of an unnamedMediterranean state (based onGreece). The story begins with the closing moments of a rather dull government lecture on agricultural policy until the leader of thesecurity police takes over the podium for an impassioned speech describing the government's program to combatleftismby using the metaphors "a mildew of the mind", aninfiltration of "isms" and "sunspots".
The scene shifts to preparations for a political rally of the opposition faction in which the left-leaning,pacifist deputy is to give a speech advocatingnuclear disarmament. There have been attempts by the government to prevent the speech from being delivered. The venue has been changed to a much smaller hall, logistical problems have appeared out of nowhere and the people handing out leaflets about the change of venue are attacked by thugs under the command of the police. On his way to the venue, the deputy is hit on the head by one of the right-winganticommunist protestors, some of whom are sponsored by the government, but carries on with his sharp speech. As the deputy 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 injury eventually proves fatal, and the policemanipulate witnesses to force the conclusion that the deputy was simply run over by a drunk driver.
However, the police do not control the hospital, where theautopsy disproves their interpretation. Theexamining magistrate, with the assistance of a photojournalist, now uncovers sufficient evidence to indict not only the two right-wing militants who committed the murder but also four high-rankingmilitary police officers. 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. The widow looks distressed and appears not to believe things will change for the better.
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 term "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.[6] 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.[7] The Magistrate was based on real-life GreekjuristChristos Sartzetakis.[8] Costa-Gavras opted to show the Deputy had adulteries and conflicts with his wife to demonstrate he was simply a man.[7]
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.[9]
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.[7] In Algiers, theHotel St. Georges and the central square were filming locations, whileParis'Théâtre des Champs-Élysées was used for the ballet scenes.[7]Marcel Bozzuffi performed his ownstunts wrestling on the "Kamikaze" vehicle due to the production's lack of budget for professional stunt performers.[7]
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.[7]
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.[10]
Prints of the film were acquired by theBlack Panther Party and shown at underground screenings.[9] An advance copy of the film was shown at theUnited Front Against Fascism conference in 1969.[11]
It first aired on American television onABC on 18 March 1974.[12]
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."[13]
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."[14]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."[15]
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."[16]
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."[17]
The film was voted inTime's list of "The 15 Best Political Films of All Time."[18]
The film was selected to be screened in the Cannes Classics section of the2015 Cannes Film Festival.[19]
The film had a total of 3,952,913 admissions in France and was the 4th highest-grossing film of the year.[20] 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.[21]
Z was the second foreign-language film inAcademy history to receive a nomination forBest Picture, afterGrand Illusion.[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."
