Z (Film 1969 - ENG & FRE SUB)

Z is a 1969 political thriller film directed by Costa-Gavras, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jorge Semprún, adapted from the 1967 novel by Vassilis Vassilikos. Audio in French with English and French subtitles (Click on CC for subtitles).

The film presents a thinly fictionalized account of the events surrounding the assassination of democratic Greek politician Grigoris Lambrakis in 1963.

With its dark view of Greek politics and its downbeat ending, the film captures the director's outrage about the junta that then ruled Greece. The title refers to a popular Greek protest slogan (Greek: Ζει, IPA: [ˈzi]) meaning "he lives," in reference to Lambrakis.

The 1963 murder of Greek politician and physician Grigoris Lambrakis and subsequent military junta in power from 1967–1973 served as the basis for the story. Among Costa-Gavras' references to the actual events was the frequency with which the military compared ideologies to diseases, seen when the General compares -isms to mildew. The Magistrate was based on real-life Greek jurist Christos Sartzetakis.[8] Costa-Gavras opted to show the Deputy had adulteries and conflicts with his wife to demonstrate he was simply a man.

Costa-Gavras was also motivated by the suspicious disappearance of Mehdi Ben Barka in 1965. Some American viewers infer parallels between the film and the assassination of John F. Kennedy, particularly given how some stylistic elements seem to mimic the Zapruder film. That said, Costa-Gavras has stated that the Zapruder film had not been widely circulated in Europe at the time and that Kennedy's assassination did not influence the production.

A French and Algerian co-production, the film stars Jean-Louis Trintignant as the investigating magistrate, an analogue of Christos Sartzetakis, who would become the President of Greece from 1985 to 1990. International stars Yves Montand and Irene Papas also appear, but despite their star billing, they have very little screen time. Jacques Perrin, who also produced the film, plays a key role as a photojournalist. Other actors in the film include Pierre Dux, Charles Denner, François Périer, Georges Géret and Bernard Fresson. The musical score was composed by Mikis Theodorakis.

The soundtrack by Mikis Theodorakis was a hit record. The Greek junta had placed the composer under house arrest but he was able to give his approval to Costa-Gavras for the use of existing musical pieces.

The film features, but does not credit, Pierre Henry's contemporary hit song "Psyché Rock".

"The Smiling Youth" and "Who's Not Talking About Easter" were among the poems adapted from Brendan Behan's play The Hostage by Theodorakis in 1962. By referring to the Irish struggle against British rule rather than Greek realities, the poems offered a way to circumvent censorship in Greece and condemn Greece's post-war right-wing establishment. "The Smiling Youth" was also one of the nicknames of Lambrakis.

Z was the first film and one of only a handful to be nominated for the Academy Awards in both Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film categories. It won the latter as well as the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music and the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film.

Z was the second foreign-language film in Academy history to receive a nomination for Best Picture, after Grand Illusion.