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Western directed by Louis Malle and starring Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau. Set in Central America in 1907, two Marias, one (Bardot) the daughter of an Irish revolutionary and the second (Moreau) a French singer, find themselves thrown together in a touring vaudeville act. In between singing and accidentally discovering striptease, the Marias find themselves caught up in a revolution. When the revolutionary leader and lover of Maria (Bardot) is killed, the two girls vow to carry on with the struggle.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Along with The Thief of Paris, Viva Maria! was a career-stalling flop for Louis Malle, here given his largest budget and two of France's biggest female exports, Jeanne Moreau and Brigitte Bardot. It's not entirely hard to see why the film flopped, his tale of two singers/strippers who get caught up in a Mexican revolution playing like a cross between Heller in Pink Tights and a sendup of a spaghetti Western. Certainly you'll probably spend the first half hour wondering what the plot will be when they get round to it, as Bardot's daughter of an eternal revolutionary - any revolution, it seems, will do as long as he gets to blow things or people up - finds herself suddenly orphaned and just as suddenly the replacement for Moreau's partner in her double-act after the lovesick girl kills herself. A lousy performer and a terrible singer, they compensate by accidentally inventing striptease, to the delight of their South of the Border clientele, only to get briefly involved with George Hamilton's revolution against evil landlord and local dictator José Ángel Espinoza.
Although there are some neat sight gags along the way - the skeleton of a horse and rider by the side of a desert road perhaps the best - Malle and co-writer Jean-Claude Carrière save most of their ammunition for the last half hour, which plays like a live action Looney Toons cartoon with a constant stream of neat and increasingly surreal sight gags targeting religion and capital.... Read more ›
Although there are some neat sight gags along the way - the skeleton of a horse and rider by the side of a desert road perhaps the best - Malle and co-writer Jean-Claude Carrière save most of their ammunition for the last half hour, which plays like a live action Looney Toons cartoon with a constant stream of neat and increasingly surreal sight gags targeting religion and capital.... Read more ›
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Viva Maria is a wonderfully sexy, screwball, and at times surreal period comedy starring the two great French sex symblos of the Sixties - Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau. I must admit that when I first saw this film way back then, I was primarily attracted to the obvious charms of La Bardot. But now that I am older and wiser (well, older anyway) I can fully appreciate the subtle sensuality of Jeanne Moreau whose gorgeous eyes alone could seduce any man. Together, these two make a formidable team and seem to genuinely spark off each other.
The plot is suitably silly. In some unnamed South American country, Bardot is an Irish (!) terrorist's daughter who has learned all the tricks of the trade before suddenly becoming orphaned. On the run from the authorities, she takes refuge with a motley band of travelling performers whose shows seem to mix circus and music hall. Moreau is a star attraction although she has just lost the partner in her double act. Naturally, the two girls - both named Maria - end up on stage together where problems with the costumes lead to some delightful striptease sequences. The girls are a big hit - no surprise!
The troupe's travels take them to a country in the midst of revolution. Moreau falls for the rebel leader - George Hamilton, of all people, trying hard to look moody and magnificent. When he is killed (sad for Maria, relief for the audience) the two Marias take over leadership of the rebels, inspired by Moreau's zeal and Bardot's technical knowledge of explosives.
The film rattles along at a brisk pace, littered along the way with saucy humour and outrageous sight gags.... Read more ›
The plot is suitably silly. In some unnamed South American country, Bardot is an Irish (!) terrorist's daughter who has learned all the tricks of the trade before suddenly becoming orphaned. On the run from the authorities, she takes refuge with a motley band of travelling performers whose shows seem to mix circus and music hall. Moreau is a star attraction although she has just lost the partner in her double act. Naturally, the two girls - both named Maria - end up on stage together where problems with the costumes lead to some delightful striptease sequences. The girls are a big hit - no surprise!
The troupe's travels take them to a country in the midst of revolution. Moreau falls for the rebel leader - George Hamilton, of all people, trying hard to look moody and magnificent. When he is killed (sad for Maria, relief for the audience) the two Marias take over leadership of the rebels, inspired by Moreau's zeal and Bardot's technical knowledge of explosives.
The film rattles along at a brisk pace, littered along the way with saucy humour and outrageous sight gags.... Read more ›
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By schumann_bg
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
Viva Maria! is really a fantastic film, worthy to stand alongside Malle's finest, or very nearly ... in the end it falls short of his greatest work, perhaps, for not having the depth of meaning of Au Revoir Les Enfants or Le Souffle Au Coeur. We do not learn much about life from this caper, but it has all the value of entertainment of the highest order, and a lot of aesthetic pleasure along the way. Jeanne Moreau and Brigitte Bardot play off each other wonderfully, and Moreau's character reminded me a bit of her incarnation in Jules et Jim, but in colourful dresses and without the serious undercurrents - her ability to tell of her past is used by Malle as Truffaut did, capitalising on her beautiful voice and pointing up a more comic potential. The film reminds me a bit, in tone, of Candide, and it is constantly interesting to see how Malle balances the comic requirements against the waging of a revolution in 1907 with the body count that that suggests. He does it by making the violence very "cops and robbers" in style - we see very little actual blood. Likewise, when the girls are being tortured by the Catholic church in this unnamed South American country, we never really fear for them as the priest tightens the vise around their heads - it subsequently breaks for which the Padre apologises, saying it had been very little used in recent times, or some such absurdity ... you might think it wouldn't work on film as well as in Voltaire's book, but Malle really does pull it off.... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Viva Maria
Only rated two star as film is in French
I was expecting the English version which would have rated five star
I was expecting the English version which would have rated five star
Published 4 months ago by Albert Pattison
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tin soldiers
Viva Maria! (Louis Malle, 1965, 119' )
Produced by Óscar Dancigers. Written by Louis Malle and Jean-Claude Carrière. Read more
Produced by Óscar Dancigers. Written by Louis Malle and Jean-Claude Carrière. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Dr René Codoni
1.0 out of 5 stars
BE WARNED - THIS IS NOT AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILM
Be warned - the amazon listing indicates this film is an english language film, this is NOT correct. Read more
Published 11 months ago by BAD BILL
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fun film
A fun film, with nasty old south American rulers out to make life miserable for every one, foiled by a travelling show that happens to get in the way. Read more
Published on 1 Dec 2010 by A. Smith
4.0 out of 5 stars
Viva Maria !!
I'm no expert but in my eyes this film with Brigitte Bardot, Jeanne Moreau and George Hamilton is not bad at all and even slightly naive. Read more
Published on 17 Oct 2010 by autumnleaf
5.0 out of 5 stars
Viva Maria! [DVD]
I have long sort this movie and now at last I have a copy. This is great entertainment and has been well worth waiting for. Funny and sad (at times). Read more
Published on 11 May 2010 by Well stabbed fingers!
5.0 out of 5 stars
VIVA MARIA IS SIMPLY JUST GOOD FUN
Old fashioned but wonderfully simple good entertaining fun. Despite last having watched at the pictures in the 1960s it remained firmly in the memory so the opportunity to buy it... Read more
Published on 30 Dec 2009 by Dr. Christopher D. Morris
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very unique (and very funny) movie
I immediately grabbed a copy when this came out on DVD remembering it fondly from having seen the movie a number of times at cinema clubs in late 1960s and early 1970s before it... Read more
Published on 21 Nov 2009 by Siriam
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful!
If you like something a bit 'bonkers' and whacky with strong female leads - this is it. I loved it.
Published on 9 April 2009 by H. Graham
4.0 out of 5 stars
Forty years later - still funny
Viva Maria! (Louis Malle, 1965)
Bardot is the daughter of an Irish revolutionary, and while fleeing the police she stumbles upon a small circus in Central America. Read more
Bardot is the daughter of an Irish revolutionary, and while fleeing the police she stumbles upon a small circus in Central America. Read more
Published on 28 Jan 2009 by H. Beentje
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