Viva Zapata!

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Leaburn O @RT35452347 Aug 11, 2026 Pretty awful hagiography that paints Zapata as a modern day(ish) Robin Hood. This is romanticised to the point of absurdity and pretty boring because of it. Watched on DVD. See more Joaquin U @Joaquin1 Jul 11, 2026 Entertaining. If you’re expecting historical accuracy, you won’t get much, but it’s not distorted either. Incompetent critics often judge old films through modern lenses. The craft of acting is the freedom to embody any character; today, actors are boxed into their race as if that were progress. This film has weaknesses in script and direction, but the theme and Zapata’s character were treated with respect, so much so that Brando, the hottest young star at the time, was cast in the role, with strong support around him. Not the best film, but a minor classic. See more Rami A @Bunt101 Jun 15, 2025 While not accurate, this is still an entertaining movie. Even though, the role of Zapata should've been given to a Mexican actor, I still thought Marlon Brando did a decent job. It's not his best role, but still decent enough. See more Liam D @Mediawatcher2003 Jun 7, 2024 While an very engaging and well made film but the casting of Marlon Brando over the time it’s questionable See more Cameron M @Cameron11 Jan 8, 2022 An entertaining film about of history I didn't know anything about. However, though Brando tries his best, he is woefully miscast as Zapata. I enjoyed the story of the film where Zapata fights for his people's land but then becomes part of the government that ignores the people's pleas. Zapata's confrontation with his brother was well-written and well-acted by Anthony Quinn. However, the shoot-out was confusingly shot, which was odd as most of the shot-outs in the film had good cinematography. The film is notable for being one of the few films scripted by John Steinbeck, but, although the story has similarities with Steinbeck's literary works (i.e. poor working class people looking for a better life), the writing was nothing of note. Brando was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar but lost to Gary Cooper. Out of the other nominees, I've only seen Kirk Douglas in The Bad and the Beautiful and his performance was leagues better than Brando's. Quinn won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar but, although Quinn's performance was better than Hunnicutt's acting in The Big Sky, I thought Richard Burton's performance was better in My Cousin Rachel. Steinbeck was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar which I don't think was deserved, but I haven't seen the other nominated films in that category. Overall, Viva Zapata! was an entertaining film with some good acting and some beautiful cinematography but some pacing issues and a bland screenplay did hurt the film's overall quality. See more steve d @RT35616104 Jul 21, 2020 The weak script dooms it. See more Read all reviews

Viva Zapata!

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