Viva Zapata!

Viva Zapata! is a biographical drama about Emiliano Zapata, a peasant from Morelos who takes up the cause of local farmers whose land is being taken by wealthy sugar plantation owners. When their appeals to President Porfirio Díaz, in power for more than three decades, are dismissed, Zapata joins the rebellion against the government and becomes one of its leading figures, fighting alongside Pancho Villa and his brother Eufemio. The film follows his rise and the question of what happens to revolutionary ideals once power is won.

Elia Kazan directed the film, which was released in 1952 and came fifth in his filmography, after A Streetcar Named Desire and before On the Waterfront. John Steinbeck wrote the screenplay, and Darryl F. Zanuck produced it for 20th Century Fox on a budget of 2 million dollars. Marlon Brando plays Zapata, with Jean Peters as Josefa, Anthony Quinn as Eufemio, Joseph Wiseman as Fernando, Arnold Moss as Don Nacio and Alan Reed as Pancho Villa; 71 cast members are credited.

The film holds a rating of 7.3 out of 10 from 17 critics' reviews, against 7.2 out of 10 on IMDb from around 13,000 votes and 6.8 out of 10 on TMDB from roughly 250 votes. Critics therefore rate it slightly higher than the general public, and the much larger IMDb sample points to a durable audience for the film decades after its release.