Z (1969)

Director:

Costa-Gavras

Writers:

Vasilis Vasilikos (novel)
Jorge Semprún (writer)

Release Date:

8 December 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | History | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Following the murder of a prominent leftist, an investigator tries to uncover the truth while government officials attempt to cover up their roles.

Plot Keywords:

Cover Up | Government | Greece | Police | Demonstration

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Yves Montand	...	The Deputy
Irene Papas	...	Helene, the Deputy's wife
Jean-Louis Trintignant	...	The Examining Magistrate
Jacques Perrin	...	Photojournalist
Charles Denner	...	Manuel
François Périer	...	Public Prosecutor
Pierre Dux	...	The General
Georges Géret	...	Nick (as Georges Geret)
Bernard Fresson	...	Matt
Marcel Bozzuffi	...	Vago (as Marcel Bozzufi)
Julien Guiomar	...	The Colonel
Magali Noël	...	Nick's Sister
Renato Salvatori	...	Yago
Habib Reda
Clotilde Joano	...	Shoula (as Clotilde Joanno)

Also Known As:

Z ou l'anatomie d'un assassinat politique (France) (working title)

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

France | Algeria

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Spain:(Banned) (1969 - 1976) | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Spain:13 (re rating) | Sweden:15 | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:16 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Algeria

Company:

Office National pour le Commerce et l'Industrie Cinématographique

Trivia:

The meaning of "Z" : At the very end of the movie, a message tells us "Also the military regime banned (...) the letter "Z" which means "He is alive" in ancient Greek."

Quotes:

Narrator: Concurrently, the military banned long hair on males; mini-skirts; Sophocles; Tolstoy; Euripedes; smashing glasses after drinking toasts; labor strikes; Aristophanes; Ionesco; Sartre; Albee; Pinter; freedom of the press; sociology; Beckett; Dostoyevsky; modern music; popular music; the new mathematics; and the letter "Z", which in ancient Greek means "He is alive!"

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Gefängnisbilder (2000)

Soundtrack:

Messe Pour le Temps Présent--Psyché Rock

stunning political drama

Having seen this at the Art Theatre in Akron, Ohio, upon its first American release, this film was a forcefully stunning, face slapping wake up call to keep a vigilant eye on most politicians because they are controlled only by the constraints we present and confine them with. Grown men left the theater with tears pouring down their cheeks not only because of the great performances and story, but because these were the Nixon years, and the film made us realize we were only a pen stroke away from the horror of losing freedom and democracy here in the United States. No country is safe, and it could be argued in areas of Florida today that, even though we preserved our nation and eliminated Nixon, it was a Pyrhic victory, a temporary victory, and our democracy and how it is supposed to ethically work was left disheveled and browbeaten in the end, anyway. One thing is for certain; the rats are in the cupboard now. And this film hits all the right buttons; great music, acting, an avant garde documentary style of filming that was sensational in its time and still is good today, but so many people have copied it, it seems to lack originality since we are so accepting now of something that was novel at the time...but this is the real thing that started it all. A film that should be in everyone's home and shown to every civic class in America.