Zoot Suit (film)

Zoot Suit is a 1981 film adaptation of the Broadway play Zoot Suit. Both the play and film were written and directed by Luis Valdez. The film stars Daniel Valdez, Edward James Olmos — both reprising their roles from the stage production — and Tyne Daly. Many members of the cast of the Broadway production also appeared in the film. Like the play, the film features music from Daniel Valdez and Lalo Guerrero, the "father of Chicano music."

Zoot Suit
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLuis Valdez
Produced byPeter Burrell
Written byLuis Valdez
Based onZoot Suit
by Luis Valdez
StarringDaniel Valdez
Edward James Olmos
Music byLalo Guerrero
Daniel Valdez
CinematographyDavid Myers
Edited byJacqueline Cambas
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • October 2, 1981 (1981-10-02)
Running time
103 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$3,256,082[1]

In 2019, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[2]

Plot

In Zoot Suit, Luis Valdez weaves a story involving the real-life events of the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial — when a group of young Mexican-Americans were charged with murder — resulting in the racially fueled Zoot Suit Riots throughout Los Angeles. In the play, Henry Reyna (inspired by real-life defendant Hank Leyvas) is a pachuco gangster and his gang, who were unfairly prosecuted, are thrown in jail for a murder they did not commit. The play is set in the barrios of Los Angeles in the early 1940s against the backdrop of the Zoot Suit Riots and World War II. As in the play, Edward James Olmos portrays El Pachuco, an idealized Zoot Suiter, who functions as narrator throughout the story and serves as Henry's conscience.

Cast

Reception

The film earned some controversy for being staged as a combination of play and movie; most of it was shot in normal cinematic fashion, but some scenes featured audience members watching the show, with the actors occasionally performing among them--a decision that Leonard Maltin in his Movie Guide called "a major distraction."

Zoot Suit holds a 56% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 9 reviews.

Awards

The film was nominated for the 1982 Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (won by Arthur). Luis Valdez won the 1983 Critics Award at the Festival du Film Policier de Cognac for Zoot Suit in Cognac, France.[3]

See also

References
  1. Zoot Suit at Box Office Mojo
  2. Tartaglione, Nancy (December 11, 2019). "National Film Registry Adds 'Purple Rain', 'Clerks', 'Gaslight' & More; 'Boys Don't Cry' One Of Record 7 Pics From Female Helmers". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  3. Valdez, Daniel; Olmos, Edward James; Aidman, Charles; Daly, Tyne (January 1, 1982), Zoot Suit, retrieved March 30, 2017
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