Rewatching Viva Zapata (1952) last night. Oh, what a formidable combination Elia Kazan and Marlon Brando were! The film is the usual Hollywood disaster when it comes to the actual history of Zapata and his times. However, in stark black and white it tells a timeless tale that revolutionaries easily turn into oppressors and that revolutions usually eat their own. A very deep film, I see new themes in it every time I watch it. The film should be shown not only in every film class but also in every political science class.
A somewhat stylized portrayal of the real Zapata but the political point is well made.
Anthony Quinn is in it too!
I thought I read all of Steinbeck’s books, but I never heard of “Viva Zapata”. Is it any good? Hopefully better than the snippets I saw.
The screenplay is available as a paperback on Amazon.