Set in somewhere in Central America in 1907 : Maria II (Brigitte Bardot) is the daughter of an Irish terrorist. After her father's death , she meets Maria I (Jeanne Morau) , a singer in a circus traveling through Central America and Mexico. She decides to stay with the circus, subsequently turned into a show including strip-tease and makes the spectacle famous . Then they accidentally meet a socialist revolutionary , Flores (George Hamilton) , and Maria falls in love with this notorious leader. The film chronicles the title role , two guerrilla leaders called Maria who flourished in the early part of the XX Century with broadened focus on the filming their feats and wars . The two become incensed by the poverty of the peasants and decide to turn revolutionary . When Flores is seriously injured , Maria promises him to go on the revolution against the tyrant military . Viva Bardot! Viva Moreau! Viva Maria!. Viva Fun! Viva Can-Can! Viva Adventure! Viva Strip Tease! Viva Love! Viva Boom-Boom! Just in case you can't catch the words above the roar of battle and laughter you can read 'em at the bottom of the screen. Viva Bardot! Viva Moreau! .Viva Bardot! Viva Moreau! (Viva Don't Miss It!).
Colorful portrayal of two revolutionary leaders - both named Maria- who find themselves leading a revolution against the nasty dictator , the mean capitalists , the cruel military and the inquisitive Church, being entirely filmed in spectacular Mexican exteriors . This is an exciting historical film about two rebels and a number of patriots , containing a succession of fights , shootouts , pursuits , raids and breathtaking frames . This vibrant movie is an uneven rehash of the Mexican leaders who early XX century carried out a series of upheavals against the established power and dictatorships , including epic battles , explosions , chases , overwhelming scenes and resulting to be a feast of action for the eyes. Big-budgeted film by producer Óscar Dancigers -who financed Luis Buñuel's Mexican films- with hundreds of extras , a lot of riders , and using trains and weaponry for the filming . Starring duo are frankly magnificent as the sex-pot dancers turned into notorious and rowdy bandits , as they're almost-perfect in title role . Bombshell Brigitte Bardot is very charming as a dancer who on her debut as a singer, she unintentionally invents the strip-tease , while attractive Jeanne Moreau is nice as expert shooter and by the way has an affair with revolutionary leader Hamilton who promptly gets killed . The two French sex symbols are fine match . Being a French/Mexican co-production , here appears several important Mexican secondarian actors giving fine interpretations such as : Caudio Brook , Carlos López Moctezuma , Adriana Roel , and Francisco Reiguera who played Quijote in Orson Welles' Don Quixote .
It packs brilliant and sunny cinematography by prestigious cameraman Henri Decaë, shot on location in Tepoztlán, Morelos, Guanajuato, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. As well as rousing and lively musical score by composer Georges Delerue. The motion picture was well directed by Louis Malle . Filmmaker Louis Malle who married Candice Bergen is considered to be one of the best French directors of film history . He made good movies, usuallly with big name actors playing intelligent dramas and regarding interesting and brooding issues. As Malle directed various important films as "Frantic" , "The lovers" with Jeanne Moreau, "A very private affair" , "Viva Maria" with Brigitte Bardot and Moreau, "The fire within", "Spirits of the dead" , "Murmur of the heart", "Pretty baby" with Brooke Shields, My dinner with Andre, Atlantic City with Burt Lancaster, Susan Sarandon, "Crackers", "Alamo Bay" with Ed Harris, "May fools" , "Damage" with Jeremy Irons and "Vanya on 42nd Street", among others. Rating : 6.5/10. Better than average. Well worth watching. Essential indispensable seeing for Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau fans.
Colorful portrayal of two revolutionary leaders - both named Maria- who find themselves leading a revolution against the nasty dictator , the mean capitalists , the cruel military and the inquisitive Church, being entirely filmed in spectacular Mexican exteriors . This is an exciting historical film about two rebels and a number of patriots , containing a succession of fights , shootouts , pursuits , raids and breathtaking frames . This vibrant movie is an uneven rehash of the Mexican leaders who early XX century carried out a series of upheavals against the established power and dictatorships , including epic battles , explosions , chases , overwhelming scenes and resulting to be a feast of action for the eyes. Big-budgeted film by producer Óscar Dancigers -who financed Luis Buñuel's Mexican films- with hundreds of extras , a lot of riders , and using trains and weaponry for the filming . Starring duo are frankly magnificent as the sex-pot dancers turned into notorious and rowdy bandits , as they're almost-perfect in title role . Bombshell Brigitte Bardot is very charming as a dancer who on her debut as a singer, she unintentionally invents the strip-tease , while attractive Jeanne Moreau is nice as expert shooter and by the way has an affair with revolutionary leader Hamilton who promptly gets killed . The two French sex symbols are fine match . Being a French/Mexican co-production , here appears several important Mexican secondarian actors giving fine interpretations such as : Caudio Brook , Carlos López Moctezuma , Adriana Roel , and Francisco Reiguera who played Quijote in Orson Welles' Don Quixote .
It packs brilliant and sunny cinematography by prestigious cameraman Henri Decaë, shot on location in Tepoztlán, Morelos, Guanajuato, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. As well as rousing and lively musical score by composer Georges Delerue. The motion picture was well directed by Louis Malle . Filmmaker Louis Malle who married Candice Bergen is considered to be one of the best French directors of film history . He made good movies, usuallly with big name actors playing intelligent dramas and regarding interesting and brooding issues. As Malle directed various important films as "Frantic" , "The lovers" with Jeanne Moreau, "A very private affair" , "Viva Maria" with Brigitte Bardot and Moreau, "The fire within", "Spirits of the dead" , "Murmur of the heart", "Pretty baby" with Brooke Shields, My dinner with Andre, Atlantic City with Burt Lancaster, Susan Sarandon, "Crackers", "Alamo Bay" with Ed Harris, "May fools" , "Damage" with Jeremy Irons and "Vanya on 42nd Street", among others. Rating : 6.5/10. Better than average. Well worth watching. Essential indispensable seeing for Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau fans.