Viva Maria! (1965)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Louis Malle

Writers:

Louis Malle (scenario and dialogue) and
Jean-Claude Carrière (scenario and dialogue)

Release Date:

18 December 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Romance | Western

Tagline:

Viva Fun! Viva Can-Can! Viva Adventure! Viva Strip Tease! Viva Love! Viva Boom-Boom!

Plot:

Somewhere in Middle America, 1907: Maria II, the daugther of an Irish terrorist, meets after the dead of her father Maria I...

Plot Keywords:

Church | Circus | Revolution | Rebellion | Mexico

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Brigitte Bardot	...	Maria I
Jeanne Moreau	...	Maria II
Paulette Dubost	...	Mme Diogène
Claudio Brook	...	The Great Rodolfo
Carlos López Moctezuma	...	Rodríguez (as Carlos Lopez Moctezuma)
Poldo Bendandi	...	Werther
Gregor von Rezzori	...	Diogène (as Gregor Von Rezzori)
Francisco Reiguera	...	Father Superior
Jonathan Eden	...	Juanito Diogène
Roberto Pedret	...	Pablo
José Ángel Espinosa 'Ferrusquilla'	...	The Dictator of San Miguel (as José Ángel Espinoza)
George Hamilton	...	Flores

Runtime:

Argentina:122 min | France:120 min | USA:119 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

English | Spanish | French | German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:A (1966) | West Germany:16 (nf) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

Company:

Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF)

Trivia:

This movie was the subject of one of two U.S. Supreme Court cases that led to the establishment of the MPAA Ratings Code. Upon the U.S. release of this "Viva Maria," the movie classification board of the city of Dallas, Texas, banned the movie within the city on the grounds that it was too racy. The American distributor sued -- case title: "Interstate Circuit, Inc. v. City of Dallas (1968) -- and, on 22 April 1968, won. In its ruling, the Supreme Court stated that censorship aimed at minors was okay, but censorship could not be applied to adults. On the same day, the Supreme Court handed down its ruling in a second case, titled "Ginsberg v. New York (1968)," which established that 17 years of age constituted adulthood in cases of censorship. The case involved a New York City luncheonette owner named Sam Ginsberg who was caught selling a "Playboy" magazine to a 16 year old in a NYPD sting operation. The Supreme Court ruled that if the boy had been 17 years old, then Ginsberg would have done no wrong in selling him the magazine. By combining these two rulings, the Supreme Court established the precedent that adult-oriented movies were acceptable as long as "no one under 17 is admitted without parent or adult guardian."

Goofs:

Continuity: The two Marias' underpants during the strip scene.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Die Stille nach dem Schuß (2000)

Viva Maria! (1965) ***

This vastly enjoyable romp features Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau at their loveliest as two saloon entertainers who (inadvertently) not only find themselves in the middle of the Mexican Revolution, but also invent striptease in the process! VIVA MARIA! sees Louis Malle return to the "anything goes" territory of his earlier success, ZAZIE DANS LE METRO (1960); here he is aided immeasurably by an engaging cast (which also includes Luis Bunuel regular, Claudio Brook and an understandably daunted George Hamilton!) and an impeccable crew (co-screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, cinematographer Henri Decae, composer Georges Delerue, assistant directors Juan Bunuel and Volker Schlondorff)! While the film is uneven in spots, the last half hour is a succession of hilarious sight gags which border at times, perhaps unsurprisingly given its credentials, on the surreal and the anti-clerical.