- Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz/24-bit) French & Spanish (Latin American) Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish (Latin American)
- Subtitles Color: White
- Region: ABC (Region-Free)
- Rating: Not Rated)
- Discs: 1 (1 x Blu-ray)
- Digital Copies: N/A
- Run Time: 113 Mins.
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Blu-ray Release Date: May 7, 2013
- List Price: $24.99
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(The below TheaterByte screen captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray Discs and losslessly compressed in the PNG format. There should be no loss of picture quality with this format. All screen captures should be regarded only as an approximation of the full capabilities of the Blu-ray format.
The Film
[Rating:4/5]
Elia Kazan’s Viva Zapata! Is the director’s epic look at the Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata’s most crucial years as part of the Mexican Revolution. With a screenplay from John Steinbeck and starring Marlon Brando as Zapata, the film is more a fictional, idealized account of Zapata, who fought for the independence of the farmers of the southern states, that it is an outright biopic. Given to hyperbole and grand gestures, Kazan seems satisfied to overlook the more brutal aspects of Zapata as a warrior, opting instead for the idea of the man as a highly moral, idealistic peasant of noble lineage fighting for the “every man”. Anthony Quinn, who earned an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, which also made him the first Mexican-American to win the statuette, plays Zapata’s more menacing, drunken brother Eufemio Zapata, and is in many ways the perfect counterweight to the almost too perfectly molded Zapata.
While the film on the whole certainly has its flaws, one cannot argue against the absolute electricity that exists between Brando and Kazan at this stage, and Brando himself turns in a riveting performance. His Zapata is an ideologue on the verge of shooting someone in the head or throwing a few fists at any moment. Perhaps inspired by the story and by Brando, Kazan also gives us some beautifully captured imagery, right up there with the best of the sweeping westerns. The action sequences are meticulously organized and choreographed while the attention to detail from the costumes right on down to some nearly archival historical moments feel truly authentic.
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
The transfer of Viva Zapata! from Fox is a little uneven, sometimes looking very crisp, other times looking rather soft and overwhelmed by grain. Still, it looks natural and shows a strong amount of contrast with consistent black levels. Source damage is very limited, though the odd scratches and specks of dust do pop up from time to time.
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
The original monaural soundtrack is offered in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz/24-bit). It sounds a little boxy a definitely has some audible crackle, showing the limitations of its time, but it gets the job done, and provides intelligible dialogue.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1/5]
Only the English and Spanish trailers are offered, which is a disappointment. It would have been nice to see a documentary on this film.
- Theatrical Trailer (1.37:1; SD)
- Spanish Trailer (1.37:1; SD)
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3.5/5]
Early Brando and Kazan is always easy to recommend, and Viva Zapata!, though flawed, is still an enjoyable film. Pick this one up if you can.
Additional Screen Captures
[amazon-product]B00BN3EDBK[/amazon-product]
Best Buy:
Purchase Viva Zapata! on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
[amazon-product]B00BN3EDBK[/amazon-product]
Best Buy:
Purchase Viva Zapata! on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1/5]