Z (1969) watch online HD

The actors falling off the truck had to do their own stunts as the low budget would not allow for a stuntman.

The first film to be nominated by the Academy for Best Film and Best Foreign Language Film.

Tied with the Fritz Lang movie M (1931) for the record for shortest movie title ever. This happens only in English countries because around the world it is known as the only shortest title of a movie mainly because 'M', in many other countries was released with the subtitle of 'The Vampire of Dusseldorf', while 'Z' didn't receive any kind of subtitles. Holds the record for the movie with the shortest title to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

The meaning of "Z" : At the very end of the movie, a message tells us "Also the military regime banned (...) the letter "Z" which means "He is alive" in ancient Greek."

The actor playing the doctor got cold feet during his explanation of the x-rays of Z's cranium. A real doctor acting as an extra, volunteered to fill in and finished the scene, his only acting performance on film.

Director Costa-Gavras says that Montand's scenes, including flashbacks and photos only occupy 12 minutes of screen time.

Many minor roles were played by members of the crew for budgetary and logistical reasons.

The producers of the film refused the Golden Globe award given for Best Foreign Language Film because they expected to receive a nomination as Best Motion Picture - Drama. As of 2014, it remains the only film to do so. (Source: Hollywood Foreign Press Association).

The photojournalist played by Actor Jacques Perrin is actually an amalgam of five or six real-life reporters. The actor also acted as co-producer and was instrumental in having the production shot in Algiers.

At the end of the film there is a list of names banned by the military junta. The names are separated by commas, except for one: "Lurçat !!?!". This is a reference to Jean Lurçat, who was the key figure in the revival of woven tapestry in the 20th century.

The X-rays used were those of a real patient who had suffered similar head traumas to Z's.

Algeria's official submission to the 1970's Oscar as Best Foreign Language Film.

In the French dialogue, the acronym CROC is expanded as "Combattants Royalistes de l'Occident Chrétien" ("Royalist Soldiers of the Christian West"). In the English subtitled version, the initials are preserved by changing the expansion to "Christian Royalist Organization against Communism".

The Cinematographer Raoul Coutard plays the British surgeon.

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

The film was restored in 2014 by KG Productions with the support of the CNC under the supervision of Costa-Gavras by Éclair Group for the image and L.E. Diapason for the sound.

The only film that year nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and not in any Best Motion Picture category at the Golden Globes.

When the officers enter the lonely hospital ward to confront the (at that point in the film) only witness willing to come forward, the camera is recording their long strides as they approach the witness' hospital bed. The sound of the foot steps is actually the sound of Nazi soldiers marching.

According to Peter Brown in the book Real Oscar, this received a Best Picture nomination due to a blitz style campaign that the studio unleashed on voters.

The fight scene between the two men on the tricycle carrier platform, is performed with music from the soundtrack of Georges Lautner's Le pacha (1968), just before the armored truck heist sequence. The soundtrack is named "Batucada Meurtrière", inspired by Brazilian music, and performed by Michel Colombier. It has never been mentioned anywhere, so only careful listening will identify it.

The credits at the end of the film roll from bottom to top which was and still is a highly unusual method. This is likely due to Z being the last letter in the Greek alphabet. The credits therefor start from an end point (Z) and move towards the starting point (A.)

The movie is based on the events surrounding the assassination of democratic Greek politician Grigoris Lambrakis. On May 22, 1963, Lambrakis was attacked and struck on the head (in the same manner depicted in the film) by right-wing extremists after giving an anti-war speech in Thessaloniki. He died of brain injuries from the attack on May 27, 1963. Following Lambrakis's assassination, a military junta of right-wing generals seized control of the Greek government in 1967. During this time, the letter Z (meaning "He is alive") became a common piece of protest graffiti in Greek cities, in memory of Lambrakis and his democratic ideals. The military junta banned the use of the letter "Z" as graffiti, in response to these protests. The Greek junta collapsed in 1974, following a disastrous invasion of Cyprus by Turkey (which led to the occupation of almost half Cyprus by the Turkish army), and democracy was restored to Greece. In the film, the Examining Magistrate (played by Jean-Louis Trintignant) is in reality Christos Sartzetakis, who later served as President of the Hellenic Republic (1985-1990).