Z

UPC: 715515049313

Studio: Criterion

MPAA Rating: PG   Contains:[Violence, Not For Children]

Summary: 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, Rovi

Category: Thriller

Awards: Anthony Asquith Award – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Picture – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Foreign Film - Foreign Language – null Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Foreign Language Film – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Actor – Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize – Cannes Film Festival Best Picture – New York Film Critics Circle Best Director – New York Film Critics Circle Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Foreign Film - Foreign Language – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture – National Society of Film Critics Best Screenplay – Edgar Allan Poe Awards Best Screenplay – Edgar Allan Poe Awards

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

Z

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 10/27/2009

Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Vistavision

Audio: DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Runtime: 127 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) French

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Z
1. Ideological Mildew [6:20]
2. Refusals ad Threats [5:14]
3. The Deputy's Arrival [7:30]
4. Before His Speech [3:45]
5. Crossing the Square [3:53]
6. "The People Require the Truth" [5:15]
7. After His Speech [4:30]
8. Yago and Vago [9:35]
9. "Clinically Dead" [3:32]
10. His Wife's Arrival [4:29]
11. The Magistrate Takes Over [5:35]
12. Z [5:35]
13. "The Colonel and I Were There" [4:29]
14. A Volunteer Witness [6:42]
15. Family Matters [4:45]
16. Questioning Vago [3:53]
17. CROC [5:10]
18. Georges' Attacker [5:48]
19. "Honor is at Stake" [3:05]
20. Building a Case [5:45]
21. Manuel's Statement [7:37]
22. Grounds for Indictment [5:11]
23. "Name and Occupation" [5:36]
24. Coda [3:43]
1. "Against the Colonels" [5:29]
2. Three Main Actors [4:26]
3. Camara, Editing, and Music [6:44]
4. When the Movie Arrived [2:22]

Lucia Bozzola

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, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Pierre Dux  Actor 
Jean-Pierre Miquel  Actor 
Georges Rouquier  Actor 
Jean Bouise  Actor 
Steve Gadler  Actor 
Magali Noël  Actor 
Jose Artur  Actor 
Gérard Darrieu  Actor 
Julien Guiomar  Actor 
Jean-Francois Gobbi  Actor 
Clotilde Joano  Actor 
Maurice Baquet  Actor 
Bernard Fresson  Actor 
Andrée Tainsy  Actor 
Van Doude  Actor 
Guy Mairesse  Actor 
Jean Dasté  Actor 
Gabriel Jabbour  Actor 
Renato Salvatori  Actor 
Marcel Bozzuffi  Actor 
Georges Géret  Actor 
Eva Simonet  Actor 
Costa-Gavras  Director 
Costa-Gavras  Screenwriter 
Jacques Perrin  Producer 
Ahmed Rachedi  Producer 
Jorge Semprun  Screenwriter 
Mikis Theodorakis  Composer (Music Score) 
Yves Montand  Actor 
Irene Papas  Actor 
Jean-Louis Trintignant  Actor 
Jacques Perrin  Actor 
François Perier  Actor 
Charles Denner  Actor 

Country: France,Algeria