Viva Zapata!

Novelist John Steinbeck wrote the screenplay for Elia Kazan's 1952 biographical film about Emiliano Zapata, the Mexican revolutionary who helped topple President Porfirio Diaz and bring Francisco Madero to power—only to see Madero overthrown in a military coup, which resulted in Zapata's continued resistance to the new regime. Shot on location in the American Southwest, Viva Zapata! boasts visual authenticity, while Marlon Brando is powerful as Zapata, and Anthony Quinn shines in an Oscar-winning role as his brutal brother, Eufemio. Although Steinbeck's script follows the basic military and political arc of Zapata's life between 1909 and 1919, he also depicts the general in highly romanticized terms as an incorruptible (and illiterate) peasant, a man without personal ambition whose obsession with gaining land for the poor is matched only by his love for the aristocratic Josefa (Jean Peters), who becomes his adoring wife. It's a portrait that draws less on the historical record and more on Steinbeck's desire to create a folk hero who gives his life for the downtrodden. Nonetheless, Viva Zapata! is still an emotionally potent film that benefits from strong casting, solid direction by Kazan, and Joseph MacDonald's luminous black-and-white cinematography. Making its 60th anniversary edition debut with a beautiful Blu-ray transfer, this is highly recommended. (F. Swietek)