Cheap Viva Zapata! (DVD) (Anthony Quinn, Marlon Brando) (Elia Kazan) Price

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Customer Reviews of Viva Zapata!

"Viva Zapata" DVD from World_Acoustic
Since I ordered this DVD from world_acoustic, I have been emailed and asked by them to up-grade my initial two-star rating of their service to one more suitable to their liking and established reputation with Amazon.com. I will do nothing of the kind. This is a two-star treatment of a four-star film. <
> Perhaps world_acoustic is more knowledgeable of Internet marketing than it is with respecting the quality of a film classic such as "Viva Zapata." I ordered this DVD from world_acoustic through Amazon.com. As a collector of such classic films, I have spent a number of years searching for this and other film classics in DVD format on the Internet. I was initially impressed that world_acoustic had made this excellent film available on DVD. That began to change when I received the DVD. <
> I was reluctant to open the DVD after receiving it because the cover indicated the language of the film was Italian with Korean subtitles. Some of the graphics on the DVD cover were in Korean. After contacting world_acoustic by email, I was assured the DVD was in English. It was. But other disappointments followed. <
> Opening credits and the on-screen storyline which establishes the setting of the film had both been edited out. <
>Of the more than 25-30 separate scenes in the film, the entire film is broken down into only six scenes on the interactive menu of the DVD. <
> The most dispicable treatment of this DVD distributed by world_acoustic is in its ending. The white horse, and its symbolic significance to the main character (Emiliano Zapata) throughout the film, is completely edited out by the elimination of the closing scene. By this act of cinematic bufoonery, world_acoustic and/or its distributor, accomplishes, through computer editing, what the Mexican army in the film could not. <
> The survival of the white horse and its return to the revolutionaries' strongholds in the mountainside, is meant as a symbol of the peasants' on-going struggle. The survival of the white horse is also meant as an enduring visual motif in the film that answers the question of Zapata's martydom to his people. <
> Instead, the ending of this film on the DVD distributed by world_acoustic ends in a freeze frame on the seemingly leaderless Mexican peasant farmers and fades to black <
>-eliminating the reappearance of the white horse as well as the closing credits. I don't think Elia Kazan would approve of the way world_acoustic and its distributor mistreated his work. <
> Perhaps if world_acoustic distributed a DVD that showed Moses receiving only six of the commandments, or showed only three gunmen being recruited by Yul Brynner to protect a Mexican village, could it out-do itself for the manner in which it misrepresents "Viva Zapata." <
> I am so dissatisfied with this DVD, I am returning it to world_acoustic. I would like Amazon.com to know, as a regular and registered customer, it is very unlikely I will be making any future purchases of any merchandise from world_acoustic.

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"Sometimes a dead man can be a terrible enemy."
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>The first thing that jumped out at me while watching this movie was the difference in approach the two main actors (Marlon Brando and Anthony Quinn) made toward their characters: Brando, utilizing all his method acting training, plays Emiliano Zapata, the Mexican revolutionary fighting for a better life for the poor of Mexico, as a quiet, turned-inward man, while Quinn, as his brother Eufemio, is much more outgoing, even fiery. It's easy to see how Quinn won the Acadamy Award for best supporting actor while Brando lost in the best actor category: Quinn is much more alive and human in his role. In fact, Brando's introverted approach at times causes the picture to drag. <
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>Zapata is a conflicted man, not only fighting for the peasants' cause, but also trying to win the hand of Josefa (Jean Peters), who rejects him at first because he's poor and landless. Things change, though, when Zapata's men ambush a train and capture the supplies. He's now a hero, and gets his Josefa as a reward. Appointed president by Pancho Villa (this is totally fictional), Zapata becomes disillusioned with the position and quits to return to his rebel army. He is forced into a trap by the authorities and is killed. Or is he? (Doubt is raised at the very end of the movie: old revolutionaries never die, just escape into the mountains - at least that seems to be the message.) John Steinbeck wrote the script, and though it contains some thrilling adventure scenes, historically it's not very accurate (not the first time for Hollywood). The photography is stunning, however, and although more fireworks might be expected from the production and acting, it's a well-directed movie by Elia Kazan and a decent action picture.

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Virtually flawless
In fact, faultless. I can't think of anything bad to say about this film, as a film. A few people find faults with the history, the accents, the make-up. I couldn't notice these faults, and don't know enough about the history to be irritated by the inevitable telescoping. For me, every element in this story blended to perfection. Every scene, without a single exception, was compelling, fascinating and moving. The writing and direction were magnificent, the acting, superb. The pacing was rhythmic and beautiful. It was a magical experience when I first saw it in 1952 or 53, and it was the same just now. Astonishingly, not one aspect had dated one iota in over 50 years --- a slightly easier feat to achieve in a costume drama, but nevertheless extremely impressive. This time round, of course, I noticed that the final scene had the same setting as the final scene in "The Wild Bunch", another near-perfect movie of quite another kind. I was merely left asking myself: could it actually be true that here was a great revolutionary, a real historical figure, who genuinely refused to turn into the person he had replaced? This film is much better than "On the Waterfront", although that features another outstanding performance by Brando, and the underlying politics which right-wingers object to is much less obtrusive.