The Unforgettable Images of Raoul Coutard
November 14, 2016
Film Info
- France, Greece
- 1969
- 127 minutes
- Color
- 1.66:1
- French
- Spine #491
A pulse-pounding political thriller, Greek expatriate director Costa-Gavras’s Z was one of the cinematic sensations of the late sixties, and remains among the most vital dispatches from that hallowed era of filmmaking. This Academy Award winner—loosely based on the 1963 assassination of Greek left-wing activist Gregoris Lambrakis—stars Yves Montand as a prominent politician and doctor whose public murder amid a violent demonstration is covered up by military and government officials; Jean-Louis Trintignant is the tenacious magistrate who’s determined not to let them get away with it. Featuring kinetic, rhythmic editing, Raoul Coutard’s expressive vérité photography, and Mikis Theodorakis’s unforgettable, propulsive score, Z is a technically audacious and emotionally gripping masterpiece.
Cast
| The Doctor | Yves Montand |
| Hélène, the doctor's wife | Irene Papas |
| The Magistrate | Jean-Louis Trintignant |
| Photojournalist | Jacques Perrin |
| The general | Pierre Dux |
| Public Prosecutor District Attorney | François Périer |
| Manuel | Charles Denner |
| Nick | Georges Géret |
Credits
| Director | Costa-Gavras |
| Co-producer | Jacques Perrin and Ahmed Rachedi |
| Based on the book Z by | Vasilis Vasilikos |
| Screenplay | Jorge Semprún and Costa-Gavras |
| Music | Mikis Theodorakis |
| Cinematography | Raoul Coutard |
| Editing | Françoise Bonnot |
| Production design | Jacques D'Ovidio |
Disc Features
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by cinematographer Raoul Coutard
- Audio commentary featuring film historian Peter Cowie
- New interviews with Costa-Gavras and Coutard
- Archival interviews with Costa-Gavras; producer-actor Jacques Perrin; actors Pierre Dux, Yves Montand, Irène Papas, and Jean-Louis Trintignant; and Vassilis Vassilikos, author of the book Z
- Theatrical trailer
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Armond White
New cover by Eric Skillman
Current Posts
Video
On Five
Visits with Raoul Coutard
By November 14, 2016
Last week, we were saddened to learn of the passing of Raoul Coutard. Our technical director, Lee Kline, shared some memories of working with the great cinematographer.
Read more »
Interviews
Photo Galleries
Photo Galleries
Photo Galleries
Features
Z and the New York Film Critics Circle
By December 10, 2009
Upon its U.S. release in the fall of 1969, Costa-Gavras’sZ made a splash unprecedented for a non-Hollywood film: star Yves Montand talked it up to Johnny Carson onThe Tonight Show, and the film . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Z: Sounding the Alarm
By October 26, 2009
Costa-Gavras’s 1969 political assassination thriller Z appeared at the end of a decade of burgeoning cultural change and rampant paranoia. In the United States, this Algerian-French coproduction . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Z: Sounding the Alarm
By October 26, 2009
Costa-Gavras’s 1969 political assassination thriller Z appeared at the end of a decade of burgeoning cultural change and rampant paranoia. In the United States, this Algerian-French coproduction . . . Read more »
Big Screen
Repertory Pick: Costa-Gavras in the Midwest
December 08, 2016
This weekend, the Indiana University Cinema screens Costa-Gavras’s 1969 thriller Z as part of an ongoing series of films selected by the university’s president. Loosely inspired by the 1963 . . . Read more »
Video
On Five
Visits with Raoul Coutard
By November 14, 2016
Last week, we were saddened to learn of the passing of Raoul Coutard. Our technical director, Lee Kline, shared some memories of working with the great cinematographer.
Read more »
Interviews
Photo Galleries
Photo Galleries
Photo Galleries
Features
Z and the New York Film Critics Circle
By December 10, 2009
Upon its U.S. release in the fall of 1969, Costa-Gavras’sZ made a splash unprecedented for a non-Hollywood film: star Yves Montand talked it up to Johnny Carson onThe Tonight Show, and the film . . . Read more »
Press Notes
Press Notes: Z
November 05, 2009
Critics are rallying around the Criterion special edition DVD of Costa-Gavras’s benchmark political thriller Z. As Film.com’s Amanda Mae Meyncke cries, “This 1970 Academy Award best foreign film . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Z: Sounding the Alarm
By October 26, 2009
Costa-Gavras’s 1969 political assassination thriller Z appeared at the end of a decade of burgeoning cultural change and rampant paranoia. In the United States, this Algerian-French coproduction . . . Read more »
News
Z in L.A.
April 02, 2009
The new 35 mm print of Costa-Gavras’s Academy Award–winning Z, struck for the fortieth anniversary of the film in a joint effort by Janus Films and Rialto Pictures, is opening today at Los . . . Read more »
