Che! (1969)

User Rating:

4.2/10   

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Sy Bartlett (story) and
David Karp (story) ...

Release Date:

27 June 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History

Tagline:

The Most Controversial Rebel Of Our Time!

Plot:

Biography of Argentinian revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, who helped Fidel Castro in his struggle against the corrupt Batista regime...

Plot Keywords:

Cuba | Fidel Castro | Bolivia | Mountain | Ambush

Cast

Omar Sharif	...	Che Guevara
Jack Palance	...	Fidel Castro
Cesare Danova	...	Ramon Valdez
Robert Loggia	...	Faustino Morales
Woody Strode	...	Guillermo
Barbara Luna	...	Anita Marquez
Frank Silvera	...	Goatherd
Albert Paulsen	...	Capt. Vasquez
Linda Marsh	...	Tania
Tom Troupe	...	Felipe Muñoz
Rudy Diaz	...	Willy
Perry Lopez	...	Rolando
Abraham Sofaer	...	Pablo Rojas
Richard Angarola	...	Col. Salazar
Sarita Vara	...	Celia Sanchez

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:M

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Ranch, Malibu Creek State Park - 1925 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, California, USA

Company:

Richard Fleischer

Trivia:

The film was seen as so offensive in Chile and Argentina that Molotov cocktails were reportedly thrown at the screen in some cinemas.

Quotes:

Che Guevara: The peasant is like a wild flower in the forest, and the revolutionary like a bee. Neither can survive or propogate without the other. There is one essential difference between us and bees, however. In this hive, I will *not* tolerate drones!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Neverland: The Rise and Fall of the Symbionese Liberation Army (2004)

Trying to make a bad film sound good

With more than it's fair share of wooden acting 'Che!' seems doomed from the word go.

Omar Shariff attempts to breathe life into his overtly asthmatic portrayal of the revolutionary icon, Ernesto Che Guevaro, but is held back by the sheer lack of factual references. Jack Palance portrays Fidel Castro, in a manner that could almost have been written by the US government, as a man not able to fully think things through for himself. The film portrays the July 26th movement as an inept band of unwashed desperados who want to take over Cuba, but with only sheer luck, & government ineptitude, helping them to ultimately win through.

Covering the period of time from Che's first arrival on Cuban soil in 1956 until his Bolivian death in 1967, 'Che!' struggles with both poor screenplay and locations, but still trys to maintain a sense of purpose throughout. It could have been so much better. The political oppression that led to the overthrow of the Batista regime is totally glossed over & the rebels life, in the Sierra Madre, is portrayed as almost luxurious with Batista's troops wandering around waiting to be shot. Constant monologues, as a means to link scenes, prove to be more irritating than useful, and you find yourself wishing for the what little action there is to resume.

The film truly dies when Guevara leaves Cuba for Bolivia, with Shariff becoming more asthmatic and psychotic by the minute, until his ultimate capture in the mountains and his eventual murder in the backroom of La Higuera's village schoolhouse.

Any half decent film director would probably relish the chance to make a bio-pic of the legend that is Che Guevara. Che is an icon who deserves to have a film biography worthy of his legend, in the same manner of the bio-pics of Chaplin, Gandhi, Biko, Morrison etc.