Z [Criterion Collection]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Z is one of the most politically insightful films ever made, exposing government hypocrisy and cover-up in the wake of a political assassination. Zei (Yves Montand) is a scientist who is scheduled to give a speech against the use of the atomic bomb. On the way to the event, he is attacked outside the auditorium by a group of right-wing extremists with political ties to the government as the police stand by and do nothing to intervene. He recovers long enough to make the speech but is later clubbed again and must undergo several surgeries, then dies during one of the procedures. A newspaper reporter finds a witness to the event and a judge willing to hear the case despite government protests. The ensuing trial reveals a government conspiracy, but the results of the trial are thrown out when a new government is formed by a military coup, which results in the intolerance that outlaws long hair, the Beatles, and any peaceful protests. Director Costa-Gavras used actual trial transcripts of the investigation into the May 22, 1963, assassination of Greek pacifist leader Gregoris Lambrakis, which proved a government conspiracy in his death. Yves Montand gives the best dramatic performance of his life, and Irene Papas stars as his wife, Helena. Z won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film of 1969, was 14th in terms of box-office success, and hit an international nerve in the age of social unrest, government cover-up, and political assassinations. All those involved worked on the film for a reduced rate with an option for royalties based on earnings at the theater window. The letter Z in the Greek alphabet means "he is alive." ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 (Vistavision)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Encoding: NTSC
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV, Color
• Subtitle: English
• Features:
  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by cinematographer Raoul Coutard
  • Audio commentary featuring film historian Peter Cowie
  • New interviews with director Costa-Gavras and Coutard
  • Archival interviews with Costa-Gavras; producer-actor Jacques Perrin; actors Pierre Dux, Yves Montand, Irene Papas, and Jean-Louis Trintignant; and Vassilis Vassilikos, author of the book Z
  • Theatrical trailer

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Editing - 1969 (Françoise Bonnot)
•     Won Best Foreign Language Film - 1969 (Costa-Gavras)
•     Nominated Best Adapted Screenplay - 1969 (Costa-Gavras, Jorge Semprun)
•     Nominated Best Director - 1969 (Costa-Gavras)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1969 (Ahmed Rachedi, Jacques Perrin)

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Won Anthony Asquith Award - 1969 (Mikis Theodorakis)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1969 (Costa-Gavras)

• Cannes Film Festival

•     Won Best Actor - 1969 (Jean-Louis Trintignant)
•     Won Jury Prize - 1969

• Directors Guild of America

•     Nominated Best Director - 1969 (Costa-Gavras)

• Edgar Allan Poe Awards

•     Won Best Screenplay - 1969 (Costa-Gavras, Jorge Semprun)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Won Best Foreign Film - Foreign Language - 1969

• National Society of Film Critics

•     Won Best Picture - 1969

• New York Film Critics Circle

•     Won Best Director - 1969 (Costa-Gavras)
•     Won Best Picture - 1969

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Yves Montand - The Deputy
       Irene Papas - Helene, the Deputy's wife
       Jean-Louis Trintignant - The Magistrate
       Jacques Perrin - Photojournalist
       François Perier - Public Prosecutor

• Director:

  Costa-Gavras

• Producer:

  Jacques Perrin, Ahmed Rachedi

• Book Author:

  Vassili Vassilikos

• Screenwriter:

  Costa-Gavras, Jorge Semprun

• Cinematographer:

  Raoul Coutard

• Composer (Music Score):

  Mikis Theodorakis

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Bernard Gérard

• Editor:

  Françoise Bonnot

• Art Director:

  Jacques D'Ovidio

REVIEW:

• Turning the events preceding the 1960s military junta in Greece into a kinetic political thriller, Costa-Gavras' Z (1969) is a cinematically compelling argument against state repression. In a story based on the assassination of pacifist Gregoris Lambrakis, Greek expatriate Costa-Gavras' French New Wave techniques create visual energy and documentary immediacy while humanizing the Lambrakis analogue (Yves Montand) and his wife (Irene Papas). Cinematographer Raoul Coutard's moving camera and location shooting pump up suspense as key witnesses are pursued by mysterious thugs; newsreel-style crowd scenes become threateningly chaotic, emphasizing the government's collusion in the assassination. The couple's flash-cut memories of their married life emphasize the personal loss inflicted in the name of "democracy." Despite the film's basis in fact, Costa-Gavras neither identifies the country nor gives names to the main characters, turning the story into a universal warning against the rise of totalitarianism. An international hit (though banned in Greece), and all the more relevant amid late-'60s cultural upheavals in the U.S. and France, Z won awards as Best Film of the Year from both the National and New York film critics groups and became the first film nominated for Oscars as both Best Picture and Best Foreign-Language Film. It won the latter, along with Best Editing. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

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