Z (1969)

The critic hails it as a 1969 classic that is as exciting as a detective thriller and as authentic-looking as a documentary, plunging viewers into chaos with raw documentary realism and urgent style. It singles out the film's chilling depiction of how quashing dissent leads to a police state and its status as a profound human document with bravura style.

The critic describes it as an almost intolerably exciting political thriller that builds tremendous tension while serving as a purposeful political act in a commercial package. She singles out its dynamic, robust photography and skillful use of melodramatic techniques drawn from American gangster films to expose fascist corruption.

Costa-Gavras' crowd-pleasing left-wing thriller recreates the 1965 Lambrakis affair and its uncovering of police and government corruption using American thriller techniques to gripping effect. Though conspiracies are now commonplace, it notes the film's original impact.

The critic praises Costa-Gavras's film as a powerful and influential political thriller based on real events. He highlights the outstanding photography by Raoul Coutard and Oscar-winning editing by Françoise Bonnot as key strengths that influenced later thrillers.

The film remains an eye-catching, fast-paced watch forty years on, but its reputation as an uncompromising thriller feels overstated. The critic singles out the core of idealism and fury, embodied in the resistance of ordinary people, as what overcomes its more conventional elements.

The critic calls it an immensely entertaining topical melodrama that manipulates emotional responses and appeals to prejudices in satisfying ways, likely to be mistaken for fine art rather than popular movie art. It notes the film's origins as a Jury Prize winner at Cannes and its basis in real Greek political events.

The critic calls it a punchy political picture that mixes action, violence, and conspiracy on a robust scale, based on a real Greek political assassination but masked as fiction in an unnamed country. Director Costa-Gavras is praised for dynamic pacing without exploiting the material, with strong performances especially from Yves Montand.

The critic hails Z as the best example of the political thriller genre, praising its blend of thrilling suspense and bleak political commentary on dictatorship and corruption. The score by Mikis Theodorakis and Raoul Coutard's gritty cinematography are singled out for building tension like investigative journalism.

The critic calls Z a savage yet entertaining political thriller and dark satire that remains highly relevant, crediting its taut pacing, set pieces, and bleak conclusion. The exhilarating score by Mikis Theodorakis and the performances (especially supporting turns) are highlighted for making the message film work as genre entertainment.