Viva Zapata!

Viva Zapata!
Theatrical release poster
Directed byElia Kazan
Written byJohn Steinbeck
Produced byDarryl F. Zanuck
StarringMarlon Brando
Jean Peters
Anthony Quinn
CinematographyJoseph MacDonald
Edited byBarbara McLean
Music byAlex North
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • February 13, 1952 (1952-02-13)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.8 million
Box office$1,900,000 (US rentals)

Viva Zapata! is a 1952 American biographical Western film directed by Elia Kazan, dramatizing the life of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata from his peasant upbringing through his rise to power in the early 1900s and his death in 1919. It stars Marlon Brando as the title character, and features Jean Peters as his wife Josefa and Anthony Quinn as his brother Eufemio. The screenplay was written by John Steinbeck, using Edgcumb Pinchon's 1941 book Zapata the Unconquerable as a guide.

To make the film as authentic as possible, Kazan and producer Darryl F. Zanuck studied the numerous photographs that were taken during the revolutionary years, the period between 1909 and 1919, when Zapata led the fight to restore land taken from common people during the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz. Kazan was especially impressed with the Agustín Casasola collection of photographs, and he attempted to duplicate their visual style in the film. Kazan also acknowledged the influence of Roberto Rossellini's Paisan (1946).

The film was released by 20th Century Fox on February 13, 1952. It received generally positive reviews from critics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, with Anthony Quinn winning for Best Supporting Actor.