View source for Z (1969 film)

{{Short description|1969 film by Costa-Gavras}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Z
| image          = CostaGavrasZ.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Costa-Gavras]]
| producer       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Jacques Perrin]]
* [[Ahmed Rachedi (film director)|Ahmed Rachedi]]
}}
| screenplay     = {{Plainlist|
* [[Jorge Semprún]]
* Costa-Gavras
}}
| based_on       = {{Based on|''Z''<br>(1967 novel)|[[Vassilis Vassilikos]]}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Yves Montand]]
* [[Irene Papas]]
* [[Jean-Louis Trintignant]]
* [[Charles Denner]]
* [[Georges Geret]]
* [[Jacques Perrin]]
* [[François Perier]]
* [[Bernard Fresson]]
* [[Pierre Dux]]
* [[Julien Guiomar]]
* [[Marcel Bozzuffi]]
* [[Magali Noël]]
* [[Renato Salvatori]]
}}
| music          = [[Mikis Theodorakis]]
| cinematography = [[Raoul Coutard]]
| editing        = [[Françoise Bonnot]]
| studio         = {{Plainlist|
* Office National pour le Commerce et l'Industrie Cinématographique
* Reggane Films
* Valoria Films
}}
| distributor    = Varloria Films (France)
| released       = {{Film date|df=y|1969|02|26|France}}
| runtime        = 127 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 126:55--><ref>{{cite web | url=http://bbfc.co.uk/releases/z-1970-0 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207003059/http://bbfc.co.uk/releases/z-1970-0 | url-status=dead | archive-date=7 February 2016 | title=''Z'' (A) | work=[[British Board of Film Classification]] | date=25 September 1969 | access-date=6 February 2016}}</ref>
| country        = {{Plainlist|
* France<ref name=bfi>{{cite web |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6bb7e02a |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811131020/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6bb7e02a |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 August 2016 |title= Z (1968) |website=BFI |access-date=5 March 2023 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=lumiere>{{cite web |url=https://lumiere.obs.coe.int/movie/17052# |title=Z |website=Lumiere |access-date=5 March 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
* Algeria<ref name=bfi/>
}}
| language       = {{Plainlist|
* French
* Russian
* English
}}
| budget         = 
| gross          = $17.3 million (United States)<ref name=gross>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=February 21, 1994|title=Top Grossing Independent Films|page=A52}}</ref>
}}
'''''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]]. The film presents a thinly fictionalized account of the events surrounding the assassination of democratic [[Greece|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 [[Greek junta|junta that then ruled Greece]]. The title refers to a popular Greek protest slogan ({{langx|el|Ζει}}, {{IPA|el|ˈzi|IPA}}) meaning "he lives," in reference to Lambrakis.

A [[France|French]] and [[Algeria|Algerian]] [[Co-production (media)|co-production]],<ref name="bfi" /> 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 shorter 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]].

''Z'' was a surprise international hit and is considered to be a landmark film of the [[political thriller]] genre. It became the first non-English language film to receive nominations for the [[Academy Awards]] in both [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] and [[Academy Award for Best International Feature Film|Best Foreign Language Film]] categories. It also received numerous accolades including [[Best Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival)|Best Actor]] for Trintignant and [[Jury Prize (Cannes Film Festival)|Jury Prize]] at the [[Cannes Film Festival]] and the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film]]. 

==Plot==
The left-wing opposition in an unnamed Mediterranean country (based on Greece under the [[Greek junta|junta]]) plan to have a famous government deputy (based on [[Grigoris Lambrakis]]) give a speech advocating for nuclear disarmament, but the government interferes by pressuring venues to deny them space and setting thugs on them to tear down posters and harass attendees. The opposition receive an anonymous tip about a threat to the deputy's life and report it to government officials, but they dismiss the claims. 

During the speech, Pirou, another deputy, goes to find their promised protection, but is mistaken for the real target and savagely beaten before his assailants realize they have the wrong man. As the intended target crosses the street from the hall after giving his speech, a delivery truck speeds past him, and a man on the open truck bed strikes him down with a club. The Chief Prosecutor is informed of the incident and the General (head of the state police and a fierce anticommunist) lies that the deputy has been injured by a drunk driver, Yago, who they have in custody. The phone then rings, revealing the deputy has died.

At the hospital, the magistrate assigned to the investigation learns that the autopsy indicates the deputy died from blows to the head, not a car crash. He is informed of a witness, but before he can testify, the man is hit by a club from a passing car. The General and the man's family, who are sympathetic to the government, visit the man in the hospital and pressure him not to testify, but he does anyway, saying that Yago (his delivery driver) talked openly about the plan to murder the Deputy. The journalist visits the man and unwittingly spoils an assassination attempt by the Deputy's assailant Vago, who has been placed in the hospital by the government and is arrested. During the interrogation, the magistrate baits Vago into revealing that he is part of a clandestine anti-communist group, the Christian Royalist Organization against Communism (CROC), with ties to the state police.

With the help of a CROC informer, the journalist learns more about the organization and photographs members that the informer points out. He then takes the photos to Pirou, who identifies his assailant. It is later revealed that the Colonel bribed Pirou's assailant with a lifetime peddling license and new house to assist in their plan against the deputy. As the magistrate continues to investigate CROC, he demands that the opposition counselor produce the witness who originally told them of the plot against the deputy, revealed to be a fellow deliveryman with ties to the former Greek communist resistance movement. He describes Yago threatening him into silence, and that he saw Yago with the Colonel and the head of CROC. As one of the other opposition lawyers heads to the office to testify, a car attempts to run him down in front of a crowd of witnesses.

With a large amount of corroborating evidence, the magistrate plans to charge high-ranking military officers and, upon learning of this plan, the country's attorney general arrives and criticizes his plans, arguing that they will harm the nation. He suggests that the magistrate try Yago and Vago apart, leave the issue of the police to be solved internally, and indict the opposition for inflammatory speech, but he follows through with his plans. The General denies any affiliation with CROC, but the magistrate presents a photo of a banquet he hosted in their honor. The action of the film concludes with one of the deputy's associates rushing to see his widow to give her the surprising news of the officers' indictments, to which she looks distressed.

An epilogue provides a synopsis of the subsequent turns of events. Instead of justice being served, the prosecutor is mysteriously removed from the case, several key witnesses die under suspicious circumstances, the assassins receive relatively short sentences, the officers receive only administrative reprimands, the deputy's close associates die or are [[deported]] and the photojournalist is sent to prison for disclosing official documents. The heads of the government resign after public disapproval, but before elections are carried out, a [[coup d'état]] occurs, and the military seize power. They ban [[modern art]], [[popular music]], [[avant-garde]] novelists, [[modern elementary mathematics|modern mathematics]], [[Ancient philosophy|classic]] and [[Modern philosophy|modern philosophers]] and the use of the letter "[[Zeta|Ζ]]" ({{langx|el|zíta}}, or {{langx|el|zi}}, which is used by protesters against the former government), which refers to the deputy and means "He lives."

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Jean-Louis Trintignant]] as The Examining Magistrate (based on [[Christos Sartzetakis]])
* [[Yves Montand]] as The Deputy ([[Grigoris Lambrakis]])
* [[Irene Papas]] as Helene (Roula Lambrakis – the Deputy's wife)
* [[Pierre Dux]] as The General ([[Konstantinos Mitsou]])
* [[Jacques Perrin]] as Photojournalist (composite character, partly based on Giorgos Bertsos)
* [[Charles Denner]] as Manuel
* [[François Périer]] as The Public Prosecutor
* [[Georges Géret]] as Nick
* [[Bernard Fresson]] as Matt
* [[Marcel Bozzuffi]] as Vago (Emmanouel Emmannouilidis – man who struck Lambrakis)
* [[Julien Guiomar]] as The Colonel (Efthimios Kamoutsis)
* [[Magali Noël]] as Nick's sister
* [[Renato Salvatori]] as Yago (Spyro Gotzamanis – the driver)
* Clotilde Joanno as Shoula
* [[Maurice Baquet]] as The Mason (Manolis Hatziapostolou)
* [[Gérard Darrieu]] as Barone
* [[Jean Bouise]] as Georges Pirou
* [[Jean-Pierre Miquel]] as Pierre
* Van Doude as The Hospital Director
* [[Jean Dasté]] as Ilya Coste
* Jean-François Gobbi as Jimmy, the boxer
* Guy Mairesse as Dumas
* [[Andrée Tainsy]] as Nick's mother
* Eva Simonet as Niki
* [[Hassan El-Hassani]] as a military officer
* Sid Ahmed Agoumi as The General's driver
;Uncredited
* [[Raoul Coutard]]  as the English Surgeon
* [[Françoise Bonnot]] (voice) as closing [[voiceover]]
}}

==Background==
The 1963 murder of Greek politician and physician [[Grigoris Lambrakis]] and subsequent [[Greek junta|military junta]] in power from 1967–1973 served as the basis for the story.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shaw |first=Tony |date=2014 |title=Cinematic Terror: A Global History of Terrorism on Film |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |page=105 |isbn=978-1441158093}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Costa">{{cite AV media |last=Costa-Gavras |author-link=Costa-Gavras |date=2002 |title=Z Commentary Track |medium=DVD |publisher=Wellspring Media}}</ref> The Magistrate was based on real-life Greek [[jurist]] [[Christos Sartzetakis]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Oliver Boyd Barrett |author2=David Herrera |author3=James A. Baumann |date=2011 |title=Hollywood and the CIA: Cinema, Defense and Subversion |publisher=Taylor & Francis |page=43 |isbn=978-1136806766}}</ref> Costa-Gavras opted to show the Deputy had adulteries and conflicts with his wife to demonstrate he was simply a man.<ref name="Costa"/>

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.<ref name="cine">{{cite journal |title=Costa-Gavras Talks About Z |journal=Cinéasta |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=12–16 |jstor=43551774 |year=1969 }}</ref>

==Production==
[[File:Theatre Champs Elysees 35.jpg|thumb|267px|Ballet scenes were shot at the [[Théâtre des Champs-Élysées]] in Paris]]

Principal photography took place in [[Algiers]] at actor [[Jacques Perrin]]'s suggestion, which the filmmakers approved for its Mediterranean environment and because the Ministry of Culture was accommodating.<ref name="Costa"/> In Algiers, the [[Hotel St. Georges]] and the central square were filming locations, while [[Paris]]' [[Théâtre des Champs-Élysées]] was used for the ballet scenes.<ref name="Costa"/> [[Marcel Bozzuffi]] performed his own [[stunt]]s wrestling on the "[[Kamikaze]]" vehicle due to the production's lack of budget for professional stunt performers.<ref name="Costa"/>

Costa-Gavras chose ''Z'' as the title of the film based on its common occurrence in Greek graffiti for "He lives" (or even "Lambrakis you live; it’s you who guides us!" [Λαμπράκη ζεις, εσύ μας οδηγείς!; ''Lambráki zis, esý mas odigís!'']); Costa-Gavras acknowledged a one-letter film title was unconventional and said [[Yves Montand]] expressed concern it would be confused with ''[[Zorro]]'', but Costa-Gavras said the novelty of the idea won him over.<ref name="Costa"/>

==Soundtrack==
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 soundtrack as released on [[LP record|LP]] and [[CD]] replaces Henry's song with a similar track written by Theodorakis titled "Café Rock."

# Main Title (Antonis) from the "[[Mauthausen Trilogy]]" of Mikis Theodorakis
# The Smiling Youth 
# The Chase-The Smiling Youth
# Murmur of the Heart
# Cafe Rock
# Arrival of Helen-The Smiling Youth
# Batucada
# The Smiling Youth (Bouzouki Version)
# The Smiling Youth
# Who's Not Talking About Easter
# Finale-The Smiling Youth
# Murmur of the Heart
# In This Town

"The Smiling Youth" and "Who's Not Talking About Easter" were among the poems adapted from [[Brendan Behan]]'s play ''[[The Hostage (play)|The Hostage]]'' by Theodorakis in 1962. By referring to the [[Irish War of Independence|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" (το γελαστό παιδί) was also one of the nicknames of Lambrakis.

==Release==
''Z'' was picked up for U.S. distribution by the specialty company/New York City theatre chain [[Cinema 5]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wyatt |first1=Justin |title=Donald Rugoff, Cinema V, and Commercial Strategies of 1960s–1970s Art Cinema |journal=Media Industries |date=2017 |volume=4 |issue=1 |doi=10.3998/mij.15031809.0004.104 |url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/mij/15031809.0004.104/--donald-rugoff-cinema-v-and-commercial-strategies?rgn=main;view=fulltext |access-date=2023-05-10 |publisher=[[Michigan Publishing]] ([[University of Michigan Library]]) |issn=2373-9037|doi-access=free |hdl=2027/spo.15031809.0004.104 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

==Reception==
Prints of the film were acquired by the [[Black Panther Party]] and shown at underground screenings.<ref name="cine" /> An advance copy of the film was shown at the [[United Front Against Fascism]] conference in 1969.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sharpe |first1=Kenan Bezhat |title=Directing the Revolution |url=https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/11/costa-gavras-z-1968-radical-cinema |website=Jacobin |publisher=Jacobin Magazine |access-date=22 June 2019 |date=8 November 2018}}</ref>

It first aired on American television on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] on 18 March 1974.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/1974/03/17/archives/television-this-week-cable-tv-morning-details-received-too-late-for.html|title = Television This Week|date = 17 March 1974|newspaper = [[The New York Times]]|page = 135|accessdate = 29 January 2025|url-access = limited}}</ref>

===Critical response===
At the time of release, ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' film critic [[Roger Ebert]], who named ''Z'' the best film of 1969, liked the screenplay and its message, and wrote: "[''Z''] is a film of our time. It is about how even moral victories are corrupted. It will make you weep and will make you angry. It will tear your guts out...When the Army junta staged its coup in 1967, the right-wing generals and the police chief were cleared of all charges and 'rehabilitated.' Those responsible for unmasking the assassination now became political criminals. These would seem to be completely political events, but the young director Costa-Gavras has told them in a style that is almost unbearably exciting. ''Z'' is at the same time a political cry of rage and a brilliant suspense thriller. It even ends in a chase: Not through the streets but through a maze of facts, alibis and official corruption."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/z-1969 |last=Ebert |first=Roger |newspaper=The Chicago Sun-Times |title=Z |date=December 30, 1969 |access-date=2011-02-02}}</ref>

In 2006, critic [[James Berardinelli]] wrote: "''Z'' was the third feature film from Greek-born Costa-Gavras, but it is the movie that captured him to the world's attention, winning a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. It introduced the director's signature approach of combining overt political messages with edge-of-the-seat tension."<ref>{{cite web |title=Z |last=Berardinelli |first=James |url=http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/z/z.html |year=2006 |work=reelviews.com }}</ref> [[Jonathan Richards (author)|Jonathan Richards]] wrote in 2009: "It's hard to overstate the impact that this Oscar-winning [[Procedural drama|procedural thriller]] had in 1969, on a world roiling in political activism, repression, and discord. In the U.S., the [[Vietnam War]] was on the front burner, the populace was passionately engaged, and the police riots outside the [[1968 Democratic National Convention|'68 Chicago Democratic Convention]] and the murder of Black Panther [[Fred Hampton]] were raw wounds. With this stylish, intense indictment of the assassination of a leftist political leader by a right-wing government cabal in his native Greece, director Costa-Gavras struck a nerve that resonated here and around the globe."<ref>{{cite web |last=Richards |first=Jonathan |title=In the Dark |url=http://jonrichardsplace.com/Z.html |year=2009 |access-date=6 May 2014 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303215627/http://jonrichardsplace.com/Z.html |url-status=dead }}<!--Rotten Tomatoes indicates that this quote came from film.com, but this hasn't been confirmed.--></ref>

In 2009, [[Armond White]] praised the film and wrote: "Ending with a provocative, unorthodox tally of fascist clampdowns on freedom of expression and the arts, Costa-Gavras angles his exposé with a frightening coda that encapsulates the on-going political struggle. He avoids hippie optimism and foresees contemporary cynicism with a basic thriller device: a warning. ''Z'' carries the reverberations of that cultural shift from enlightenment to paranoia in each of its shrewdly devised tropes from common genres. Costa-Gavras expresses the tension and terror of political conspiracy that haunted the democratic and anti-war movements of the sixties—and still does."<ref>{{cite web |author1=Armond White |title=Z: Sounding the Alarm |url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1275-z-sounding-the-alarm |website=The Criterion Channel |access-date=20 July 2024 |date=October 25, 2009}}</ref>

On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has a 94% "fresh" score based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The site's consensus states: "Powerfully effective, this [[anti-fascist]] political thriller stands out as both high-conscience [[melodrama]] and high-tempo [[action movie]]."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/z/ | title=Z (1969) | work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | date=8 December 1969 | publisher=[[Flixster]] | access-date=7 January 2021}}</ref>

The film was voted in ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'''s list of "The 15 Best Political Films of All Time."<ref>{{cite magazine |author1=Ben Cosgrove |title=The 15 Best Political Films of All Time: The Votes Are In |url=https://entertainment.time.com/2012/09/05/the-15-best-political-films-of-all-time-the-votes-are-in/slide/z/ |magazine=TIME |publisher=TIME USA, LLC. |access-date=29 June 2021 |date=August 22, 2012}}</ref>

The film was selected to be screened in the Cannes Classics section of the [[2015 Cannes Film Festival]].<ref name="Classics">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/article/61328.html |title=Cannes Classics 2015 |access-date=30 April 2015 |date=29 April 2015 |work=Cannes Film Festival}}</ref>

===Box office===
The film had a total of 3,952,913 admissions in France and was the 4th highest-grossing film of the year.<ref name="JPBox Office">{{cite web|url=http://www.jpbox-office.com/fichfilm.php?id=9023&affich=france|title=Z (1969)- JPBox-Office|publisher=jpbox-office.com}}</ref> It was also very popular in the United States grossing $17.3 million,<ref name=gross/> being one of the top five highest-grossing non-English language films.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=January 7, 1991|title=Top 60 foreign-language films in the U.S.|page=19|last=Cohn|first=Lawrence}}</ref>

== Awards and nominations ==
''Z'' was the second foreign-language film in [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|Academy]] history to receive a nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], after ''[[La Grande Illusion|Grand Illusion]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://emanuellevy.com/oscar/oscar-history-foreign-language-films-as-best-picture-nominees-1/ |title=Oscar: Foreign Language Films as Best Picture Nominees |last=Levy |first=Emanuel |publisher=Emanuellevy.com |date=25 July 2006 |access-date=13 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113235036/http://emanuellevy.com/oscar/oscar-history-foreign-language-films-as-best-picture-nominees-1/ |archive-date=13 November 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> At the [[27th Golden Globe Awards]], its producers refused the award to protest the film's exclusion from the [[Best Motion Picture – Drama]] category.<ref name="GlobeRefusal">{{cite web |title=Trivia |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/trivia-0 |access-date=2 November 2017 |work=Golden Globes website}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
! scope="col"| Award
! scope="col"| Date of ceremony
! scope="col"| Category
! scope="col"| Recipient(s)
! scope="col"| Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable"| {{Abbr|Ref(s)|Reference(s)}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5| [[Academy Awards]]
| rowspan="5" | [[42nd Academy Awards|7 April 1970]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]
| [[Ahmed Rachedi (film director)|Ahmed Rachedi]] and [[Jacques Perrin]]
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="5" | <ref name="Oscars1970">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1970 |title=The 42nd Academy Awards (1970) Nominees and Winners |date=4 October 2014 |access-date=1 April 2018 |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]]}}</ref> 
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| [[Costa-Gavras]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]]
| [[Jorge Semprún]] and Costa-Gavras
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best International Feature Film|Best Foreign Language Film]]
| [[Algeria]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing|Best Film Editing]]
| [[Françoise Bonnot]]
| {{won}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5| [[BAFTA Awards]]
| rowspan="5" | [[23rd British Academy Film Awards|1970]]
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| Costa-Gavras
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="5" | <ref name="BAFTAAward">{{Cite web|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1970/film? |title=Film in 1970 |access-date=1 April 2018 |publisher=[[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]] }}</ref>
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| Costa-Gavras, Jorge Semprun
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]]
| Françoise Bonnot
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Film Music|Best Film Music]]
| [[Mikis Theodorakis]]
| {{won}}
|-
| United Nations Award
| rowspan="3" | Costa-Gavras
| {{nom}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=3| [[Cannes Film Festival]]
| rowspan="3" | [[1969 Cannes Film Festival|8 – 23 May 1969]]
| [[Jury Prize (Cannes Film Festival)|Jury Prize]]
| {{won}}
| rowspan="3" | <ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2523/year/1969.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Z |access-date=1 April 2018 |publisher=[[Cannes Film Festival]] }}</ref>
|-
| [[Palme d'Or]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Best Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival)|Best Actor]]
| [[Jean-Louis Trintignant]]
| {{won}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[Directors Guild of America Award]]
| [[22nd Directors Guild of America Awards|1970]]
| [[Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film|Best Director]]
| rowspan="5" | Costa-Gavras
| {{nom}}
| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/0903-Fall-2009/Profile-Costa-Gavras.aspx |title=World Class |last=Major |first=Wade |access-date=1 April 2018 |publisher=[[Directors Guild of America]] |archive-date=2 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402102155/https://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/0903-Fall-2009/Profile-Costa-Gavras.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
! scope="row"| [[Golden Globes]]
| rowspan="1" | [[27th Golden Globe Awards|2 February 1970]]
|[[Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]]
| {{won}}
| rowspan="1" | <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/z |title=Z |access-date=1 April 2018 |publisher=[[Hollywood Foreign Press Association]]}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row"| [[National Society of Film Critics]]
| rowspan="1" | [[National Society of Film Critics Awards 1969|January 1970]]
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| {{won}}
| rowspan="1" | <ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/01/06/archives/national-film-critics-crown-z-jon-voight-miss-redgrave.html |title=National Film Critics Crown 'Z,' Jon Voight, Miss Redgrave |last=Weiler |first=AH |access-date=1 April 2018 |work=[[The New York Times]]|date=6 January 1970 }}</ref>
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=2| [[New York Film Critics Circle]]
| rowspan="2" | [[New York Film Critics Circle Awards 1969|25 January 1970]]
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| {{won}}
| rowspan="2" | <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nyfcc.com/awards/?awardyear=1969 |title=1969 Awards |access-date=1 April 2018 |publisher=[[New York Film Critics Circle]] }}</ref>
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| {{won}}
|-
|}

== Legacy ==
Filmmakers [[Paul Greengrass]] and [[Aki Kaurismäki]] listed the film in their top 10 films of all time for the 2012 ''[[Sight and Sound]]'' poll<ref>{{cite web |title=Votes for Z (1968) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6bb7e02a/sightandsoundpoll2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170727110519/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6bb7e02a/sightandsoundpoll2012 |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 July 2017 |access-date=29 June 2021 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute}}</ref> and other films directors such as [[Michael Haneke]], [[Paul Schrader]] and [[John Woo]] have listed it as one of their favorite films.<ref>{{cite web |author1=LaCinetek |title=Z by Costa-Gavras |url=https://www.lacinetek.com/fr-en/film/z-costa-gavras-vod |website=LaCinetek |date=1968 |access-date=20 July 2024}}</ref>

The French filmmaker [[Mathieu Kassovitz]] listed the film as influential to his work.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Will Higbee |title=Mathieu Kassovitz |date=2006 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=9780719071461 |page=11 |quote=One final and important influence from 1970s French Cinema is Costa-Gavras. A regular visitor to the apartment block where Kassovitz grew up – his son lived in the same building – Costa-Gavras was another of the filmmakers Kassovitz discovered through his parents: ‘Môme, mon père m’a montrè ses films et ce que j’ai fait a ètè influencè par des films comme Z ou L’Aveu. Des films forts, profonds, oû l’on touch à des sujets importants, primordiaux’ (Kassovitz 1998).}}</ref>

The French filmmaker [[Rachid Bouchareb]] listed ''Z'' as an influence on his film [[Outside the Law (2010 film)|''Outside the Law'']].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Michael Gott |author2=Leslie Kealhofer-Kemp |title=ReFocus: The Films of Rachid Bouchareb |date=September 21, 2020 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=9781474466530 |page=107 |quote=When Bouchareb was asked specifically about the titles that influenced his controversial film Outside the Law (2010), he said: “It was a mix. A lot of political movies like Z by Costa-Gavras and Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers.”}}</ref>

It is regarded as one of American filmmaker [[Oliver Stone]]'s favorite films that inspired his filmmaking.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Alex Ritman |date=February 17, 2020 |title=Oliver Stone to Head Jury of Inaugural Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oliver-stone-head-jury-red-sea-film-festival-saudi-arabia-1279627/ |access-date=29 June 2021 |website=Hollywood Reporter |publisher=The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. |quote=Stone will also present a classic film that inspired him, Costa Gavras’ Z.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Matt Zoller Seitz |title=The Oliver Stone Experience |author2=Ramin Bahrani |author3=Kiese Laymon |date=September 13, 2016 |publisher=ABRAMS |isbn=9781613128145 |page=78}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Stephen Lavington |title=Virgin Film: Oliver Stone |date=November 30, 2011 |publisher=Ebury Publishing |isbn=9780753547663 |quote=One film often referred to by Stone in interviews was Z (Constantin Costa Gavras, 1968) and its influence is immediately apparent.}}</ref> [[John Milius]] also cited the film as an influence.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Thompson |first=Richard |date=July–August 1976 |title=STOKED |journal=[[Film Comment]] |pages=10–21}}</ref>

The American filmmaker [[Steven Soderbergh]] listed ''Z'' as an inspiration on his film ''[[Traffic (2000 film)|Traffic]]'' and stated that he "wanted to make it like [Costa-Gavras]'s Z".<ref>{{cite book |author1=Steven Soderbergh |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t2y9xsq0gUMC&dq=Steven+Soderbergh+Costa-Gavras+Z&pg=PA107 |title=Steven Soderbergh - Interviews |date=2002 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |isbn=9781578064298 |editor1-last=Kaufman |editor1-first=Anthony |page=107 |chapter=Ed Kelleher/1998 |access-date=12 July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ho3dBwAAQBAJ&dq=Steven+Soderbergh+Costa-Gavras+Z&pg=PT128 |title=Steven Soderbergh - Interviews, Revised and Updated |date=2015 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |isbn=9781626745407 |editor1-last=Kaufman |editor1-first=Anthony |access-date=12 July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8z6ikCJ4wAgC&dq=Steven+Soderbergh+Costa-Gavras+Z&pg=PT190 |title=The Philosophy of Steven Soderbergh |date=January 28, 2011 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=9780813139890 |editor1-last=Palmer |editor1-first=R. Barton |quote=Soderbergh called Traffic his “$47 million Dogme film” and used hand-held camera, available light, and (ostensibly) improvistational performance in an attempt to present a realistic story about illegal drugs. He prepared by analyzing two political films made in a realist style: Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966) and Z (Constantin Costa-Gavras, 1969), both of which he described as having “that great feeling of things that are caught, instead of staged, which is what we were after.” |access-date=12 July 2021 |editor2-last=Sanders |editor2-first=Steven M.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Mark Gallagher |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ucfjPQRtZDQC&dq=Steven+Soderbergh+Costa-Gavras+Z&pg=PA55 |title=Another Steven Soderbergh Experience - Authorship and Contemporary Hollywood |date=April 4, 2013 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=9780292748811 |page=55 |chapter=Hollywood Authorship and Transhistorical Taste Cultures |access-date=12 July 2021}}</ref>

The American filmmaker [[William Friedkin]] listed ''Z'' as one of his favorite films and mentioned the film's influence on him when directing his film ''[[The French Connection (film)|The French Connection]]'': "After I saw ''Z'', I realized how I could shoot ''The French Connection''. Because he [Costa-Gavras] shot ''Z'' like a [[documentary]]. It was a fiction film but it was made like it was actually happening. Like the camera didn't know what was gonna happen next. And that is an induced technique. It looks like he happened upon the scene and captured what was going on as you do in a documentary. My first films were documentaries too. So I understood what he was doing but I never thought you could do that in a feature at that time until I saw ''Z''."<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/p-APzEjrklc Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20130612082549/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-APzEjrklc&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |title=William Friedkin's Favorite Films of all Time |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-APzEjrklc |access-date=29 June 2021 |website=YouTube | date=12 June 2013 |publisher=Fade In Magazine}}{{cbignore}}</ref> As an homage, Friedkin cast actor [[Marcel Bozzuffi]] in a similar role.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Archives |first=L. A. Times |date=1988-02-04 |title=M. Bozzuffi; Tough Guy in French Films |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-02-04-mn-40280-story.html |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>

The American actor and filmmaker [[Ben Affleck]] listed the film as an influence for his film [[Argo (2012 film)|''Argo'']].<ref>{{cite web |author1=Jennifer Vineyard |title=Ben Affleck on Why He Got to Look Hot in Argo |url=https://www.vulture.com/2012/10/ben-affleck-argo-interview.html |website=Vulture |publisher=Vox Media, LLC. |access-date=11 April 2023 |date=October 10, 2012 |quote=Affleck: "I haven’t done a movie that I haven’t ripped off from another one! [Laughs.] This movie, we ripped off All the President’s Men, for the CIA stuff, a John Cassavetes movie called The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, which we really used as a reference for the California stuff, and then there was kind of a Battle of Algiers, Z/Missing/Costa-Gavras soup of movies, that we used for the rest of it."}}</ref>

The movie provided the inspiration for the name of Z Magazine, now [[ZNetwork]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Z |url=https://znetwork.org/about-z/ |website=ZNetwork |language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of submissions to the 42nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film]]
* [[List of Algerian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0065234}}
* [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/z-am16217 ''Z'' at AllMovie]
* {{TCMDb title|id= 53021}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|z}}
* [http://www.theplaka.com/culture/film/z.htm ''Z''] background and analysis at Plaka
* [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1275-z-sounding-the-alarm ''Z: Sounding the Alarm''] an essay by [[Armond White]] at the [[Criterion Collection]]

{{Costa-Gavras}}
{{Jacques Perrin}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for ''Z''
|list=
{{AcademyAwardBestForeignLanguageFilm 1961–1980}}
{{Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize}}
{{Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film 1965–1989}}
{{National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film}}
{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film}}
{{Algerian submission for Academy Awards}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Z (Film)}}
[[Category:1969 crime thriller films]]
[[Category:1969 films]]
[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
[[Category:1960s French films]]
[[Category:1960s French-language films]]
[[Category:1960s in Greek politics]]
[[Category:1960s political thriller films]]
[[Category:1960s Russian-language films]]
[[Category:Algerian drama films]]
[[Category:Best International Feature Film Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:Best Foreign Language Film Golden Globe winners]]
[[Category:Jury Prize (Cannes Film Festival) winners]]
[[Category:Edgar Award–winning works]]
[[Category:English-language Algerian films]]
[[Category:English-language French films]]
[[Category:English-language political thriller films]]
[[Category:Existentialist films]]
[[Category:French crime thriller films]]
[[Category:French docudrama films]]
[[Category:French political thriller films]]
[[Category:Films à clef]]
[[Category:Films about anti-fascism]]
[[Category:Films about assassinations]]
[[Category:Films about coups d'état]]
[[Category:Films about political repression]]
[[Category:Films based on Greek novels]]
[[Category:Films directed by Costa Gavras]]
[[Category:Films scored by Mikis Theodorakis]]
[[Category:Films set in Greece]]
[[Category:Films set in hospitals]]
[[Category:Films shot in Algeria]]
[[Category:Films shot in France]]
[[Category:Films shot in Paris]]
[[Category:Films set in 1963]]
[[Category:Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing Academy Award]]
[[Category:National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film winners]]
[[Category:Political thriller films based on actual events]]