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Che!

January 01, 1970

For other uses, see Che (disambiguation).

Che! is a 1969 American biographical film directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Omar Sharif as Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara. It follows Guevara from when he first landed in Cuba in 1956 to his death in Bolivia in 1967, although the film does not portray the formative pre-Cuban revolution sections of Che's life as described in the autobiographical book The Motorcycle Diaries (1993).[3]

Che!
UK DVD cover
Directed byRichard Fleischer
Screenplay byMichael Wilson
Sy Bartlett
Story byDavid Karp
Sy Bartlett
Based onLife of Che Guevara
Produced bySy Bartlett
StarringOmar Sharif
Jack Palance
Barbara Luna
CinematographyCharles F. Wheeler
Edited byMarion Rothman
Music byLalo Schifrin
Distributed byTwentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Release date
  • May 29, 1969 (1969-05-29) (New York City)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
Spanish
Budget$5,160,000[1]
Box office$2.5 million (US/Canada rentals)[2]

Plot edit

The film tells of Che Guevara (Omar Sharif), a young Argentine doctor who proves his mettle during the Cuban guerrilla war in the late 1950s. He gains the respect of his men and becomes the leader of a patrol.

Fidel Castro (Jack Palance) is impressed by Guevara's tactics and discipline and makes him his chief adviser. When Castro defeats Cuban dictator Batista after two years of fighting, Guevara directs a series of massive reprisals, yet, Guevara dreams of fomenting a worldwide revolution. After Castro backs down during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Guevara accuses Castro of being a Soviet tool and decides to leave Cuba.

Guevara lands in Bolivia, where he attempts to begin his dream of a worldwide peasant revolution, but the Bolivian peasants do not follow his lead and the Bolivian Army pursues him.

Cast edit

Production edit

The film was directed by Richard Fleischer who said before filming:

An enormous amount of pressure has been brought to bear on this film – both for and against the subject. Each group is afraid we're going to favor the other. The picture will be a character study, and I will only say that it is neither pro nor anti Guevera. The printing of his diary caused only minor changes to the picture... I consider our sources for information impeccable and I cannot tell you who they are.[4]

"We are doing purely the story Che, the person, not the movement", said producer Sy Bartlett. "We want to show what happened with the people who touched his life."[5]

Filming started in October in Puerto Rico. The island was chosen because South America was considered too politically unstable.[5]

Release edit

The film opened without press screenings on May 29, 1969 at Loew's Cine and the new Penthouse theatre in New York City.[6] It grossed $76,000 in its opening week.[7]

Critical reception edit

The film received mostly negative reviews at the time of its release. Critic Paul Brenner stated: "In this badly misconceived pseudo-biography of the legendary Cuban revolutionary—played, incredibly, by Omar Sharif—Che Guevara takes up the cause as a rebel fighter under the direction of Fidel Castro, played—also incredibly—by Jack Palance."[8] Che! was listed in the book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (1978). The Book of Lists (1977) labeled it "a cardboard, pseudo-historical drama" and noted that "Poor Sharif is forced to deliver lines such as 'The peasant is like a flower, and the revolutionary like a bee. Neither can survive or propagate without the other'".

Film critic Roger Ebert panned the film and the motivations for producing the drama, writing: "From the beginning, it sounded like a bad dream. Hollywood was making a movie about Che Guevara. Why? Probably because somebody smelled easy money, having been inspired by the sales figures on Che posters. That must have been the reason, because Che! is abundant evidence that no one connected with this stinkeroo gave a damn about Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, the Cuban Revolution or anything else requiring more than five seconds' thought".[9]

Fleischer later said "the picture was a disaster. It should never have been made. People got emotional about it. By the time the memos from the board of directors got to me, they'd taken out all the pro-Che things. It took no sides, which wasn't what we started out to do. The producer was no help. He gave in so easily."[10]

Box office edit

According to Fox records the film required $9,400,000 in rentals to break even and by 11 December 1970 had made $4,100,000.[11] By September 1970 Fox estimated they had lost $3,389,000 on the film.[12]

Soundtrack edit

Che!
Soundtrack album by
Lalo Schifrin
Released1969
RecordedMay 7, 9 & 30, 1969
Los Angeles
GenreFilm score
LabelTetragrammaton
T-5006
ProducerDon Shain
Lalo Schifrin chronology
Bullitt
(1968) 		Che!
(1969) 		Kelly's Heroes
(1970)

The film score was composed, arranged and conducted by Lalo Schifrin and the soundtrack album was released on the Tetragrammaton label in 1969.[13]

Track listing edit

All compositions by Lalo Schifrin except as indicated

  1. "Ché (Orchestra Version)" – 2:22
  2. "La Columna" – 2:34
  3. "Emboscada" – 3:10
  4. "La Ruta" – 2:42
  5. "Charangos" – 2:04
  6. "Fiesta Numero Dos" - 3:06
  7. "Recuerdos" – 2:44
  8. "Fiesta Numero Uno" – 2:13
  9. "Anita" – 2:00
  10. "La Barraca" – 1:56
  11. "Tiempo Pasado" – 3:00
  12. "Ché (solo guitar version)" – 3:17

Personnel edit

  • Lalo Schifrin – piano, arranger, conductor
  • Marcus Cabuto, Luis Gasca – trumpet
  • Ronnie Lang, Jose Lazano, Bud Shank, Sheridon Stokes, Tom Scott, Ted Nash, Justin Gordon – flute
  • George del Barrio – piano, arranger
  • Bob Bain, Dennis Budimer, Jose Gamboa, Al Hendrickson, Lalo Ruiz, Tommy Tedesco – guitar
  • Humberto Cane, Bill Plummer – bass
  • Francisco Aguabella, Larry Bunker, Julio Collazo, Orlando Lopez, Mongo Santamaría, Ken Watson – percussion
  • Alfredo Ebat, Bobby Bruce, Erno Neufeld, David Frisina, Paul Shure, Marvin Limonick, Alexander Murray, George Mast, Nathan Kaproff, Bonnie Douglas, Anatol Kaminsky, Herman Clebanoff – violin
  • Myra Kestenbaum, Peter Mark, Allan Harshman, Milton Thomas – viola
  • Raphael Kramer, Edgar Lustgarten, Kurt Rener – cello
  • Dorothy Remsen, Catherine Gotthoffer – harp
  • Robert Helfer – orchestra manager
  • Kaskara – voice (tracks 3, 5 & 12)

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p255
  2. ^ Solomon p 231. See also "Big Rental Films of 1969", Variety, 7 January 1970 p 15. Please note figures are rentals not total gross.
  3. ^ Che! at IMDb  .
  4. ^ Warga, W. (Aug 16, 1968). "Fleischer---a busy director". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 156049301.
  5. ^ a b RICHARD F SHEPARD (Nov 12, 1968). "Film about guevara a boon to puerto rico". New York Times. ProQuest 118252749.
  6. ^ "B'Way Catching Breath for Holiday; 'Winning,' $200,000; 'Columbus,' 60G 'Curious,' 41G, 12th; 'Slime' $35,000". Variety. May 28, 1969. p. 8.
  7. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. June 11, 1969. p. 9.
  8. ^ Brenner, Paul. Che! at AllMovie. Last accessed: January 9, 2008.
  9. ^ Ebert, Roger. "Che! review". The Chicago Sun-Times, film review, June 10, 1969. Last accessed: January 9, 2008.
  10. ^ "Fleischer Just Not Much of a Talker". Los Angeles Times. Aug 1, 1971. p. q15.
  11. ^ Silverman, Stephen M (1988). The Fox that got away : the last days of the Zanuck dynasty at Twentieth Century-Fox. L. Stuart. p. 328. ISBN 9780818404856.
  12. ^ silverman p 259
  13. ^ Payne, D. Lalo Schifrin discography accessed March 15, 2012

External links edit

January 01, 1970
other, uses, disambiguation, 1969, american, biographical, film, directed, richard, fleischer, starring, omar, sharif, marxist, revolutionary, ernesto, guevara, follows, guevara, from, when, first, landed, cuba, 1956, death, bolivia, 1967, although, film, does. For other uses see Che disambiguation Che is a 1969 American biographical film directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Omar Sharif as Marxist revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara It follows Guevara from when he first landed in Cuba in 1956 to his death in Bolivia in 1967 although the film does not portray the formative pre Cuban revolution sections of Che s life as described in the autobiographical book The Motorcycle Diaries 1993 3 Che UK DVD coverDirected byRichard FleischerScreenplay byMichael WilsonSy BartlettStory byDavid KarpSy BartlettBased onLife of Che GuevaraProduced bySy BartlettStarringOmar SharifJack PalanceBarbara LunaCinematographyCharles F WheelerEdited byMarion RothmanMusic byLalo SchifrinDistributed byTwentieth Century Fox Film CorporationRelease dateMay 29 1969 1969 05 29 New York City Running time96 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguagesEnglishSpanishBudget 5 160 000 1 Box office 2 5 million US Canada rentals 2 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Release 5 Critical reception 6 Box office 7 Soundtrack 7 1 Track listing 7 2 Personnel 8 See also 9 References 10 External linksPlot editThe film tells of Che Guevara Omar Sharif a young Argentine doctor who proves his mettle during the Cuban guerrilla war in the late 1950s He gains the respect of his men and becomes the leader of a patrol Fidel Castro Jack Palance is impressed by Guevara s tactics and discipline and makes him his chief adviser When Castro defeats Cuban dictator Batista after two years of fighting Guevara directs a series of massive reprisals yet Guevara dreams of fomenting a worldwide revolution After Castro backs down during the Cuban Missile Crisis Guevara accuses Castro of being a Soviet tool and decides to leave Cuba Guevara lands in Bolivia where he attempts to begin his dream of a worldwide peasant revolution but the Bolivian peasants do not follow his lead and the Bolivian Army pursues him Cast editOmar Sharif as Che Guevara Jack Palance as Fidel Castro Cesare Danova as Ramon Valdez Robert Loggia as Faustino Morales Woody Strode as Guillermo Barbara Luna as Anita Marquez Frank Silvera as Goatherd Albert Paulsen as Captain Vasquez Linda Marsh as Tania Tom Troupe as Felipe Munoz Rudy Diaz as Willy Perry Lopez as Rolando Abraham Sofaer as Pablo Rojas Richard Angarola as Colonel Salazar Sarita Vara as Celia Sanchez Gil Serna as Lt Suarez Paul Bertoya as Raul CastroProduction editThe film was directed by Richard Fleischer who said before filming An enormous amount of pressure has been brought to bear on this film both for and against the subject Each group is afraid we re going to favor the other The picture will be a character study and I will only say that it is neither pro nor anti Guevera The printing of his diary caused only minor changes to the picture I consider our sources for information impeccable and I cannot tell you who they are 4 We are doing purely the story Che the person not the movement said producer Sy Bartlett We want to show what happened with the people who touched his life 5 Filming started in October in Puerto Rico The island was chosen because South America was considered too politically unstable 5 Release editThe film opened without press screenings on May 29 1969 at Loew s Cine and the new Penthouse theatre in New York City 6 It grossed 76 000 in its opening week 7 Critical reception editThe film received mostly negative reviews at the time of its release Critic Paul Brenner stated In this badly misconceived pseudo biography of the legendary Cuban revolutionary played incredibly by Omar Sharif Che Guevara takes up the cause as a rebel fighter under the direction of Fidel Castro played also incredibly by Jack Palance 8 Che was listed in the book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time 1978 The Book of Lists 1977 labeled it a cardboard pseudo historical drama and noted that Poor Sharif is forced to deliver lines such as The peasant is like a flower and the revolutionary like a bee Neither can survive or propagate without the other Film critic Roger Ebert panned the film and the motivations for producing the drama writing From the beginning it sounded like a bad dream Hollywood was making a movie about Che Guevara Why Probably because somebody smelled easy money having been inspired by the sales figures on Che posters That must have been the reason because Che is abundant evidence that no one connected with this stinkeroo gave a damn about Che Guevara Fidel Castro the Cuban Revolution or anything else requiring more than five seconds thought 9 Fleischer later said the picture was a disaster It should never have been made People got emotional about it By the time the memos from the board of directors got to me they d taken out all the pro Che things It took no sides which wasn t what we started out to do The producer was no help He gave in so easily 10 Box office editAccording to Fox records the film required 9 400 000 in rentals to break even and by 11 December 1970 had made 4 100 000 11 By September 1970 Fox estimated they had lost 3 389 000 on the film 12 Soundtrack editChe Soundtrack album by Lalo SchifrinReleased1969RecordedMay 7 9 amp 30 1969 Los AngelesGenreFilm scoreLabelTetragrammatonT 5006ProducerDon ShainLalo Schifrin chronologyBullitt 1968 Che 1969 Kelly s Heroes 1970 The film score was composed arranged and conducted by Lalo Schifrin and the soundtrack album was released on the Tetragrammaton label in 1969 13 Track listing edit All compositions by Lalo Schifrin except as indicated Che Orchestra Version 2 22 La Columna 2 34 Emboscada 3 10 La Ruta 2 42 Charangos 2 04 Fiesta Numero Dos 3 06 Recuerdos 2 44 Fiesta Numero Uno 2 13 Anita 2 00 La Barraca 1 56 Tiempo Pasado 3 00 Che solo guitar version 3 17 Personnel edit Lalo Schifrin piano arranger conductor Marcus Cabuto Luis Gasca trumpet Ronnie Lang Jose Lazano Bud Shank Sheridon Stokes Tom Scott Ted Nash Justin Gordon flute George del Barrio piano arranger Bob Bain Dennis Budimer Jose Gamboa Al Hendrickson Lalo Ruiz Tommy Tedesco guitar Humberto Cane Bill Plummer bass Francisco Aguabella Larry Bunker Julio Collazo Orlando Lopez Mongo Santamaria Ken Watson percussion Alfredo Ebat Bobby Bruce Erno Neufeld David Frisina Paul Shure Marvin Limonick Alexander Murray George Mast Nathan Kaproff Bonnie Douglas Anatol Kaminsky Herman Clebanoff violin Myra Kestenbaum Peter Mark Allan Harshman Milton Thomas viola Raphael Kramer Edgar Lustgarten Kurt Rener cello Dorothy Remsen Catherine Gotthoffer harp Robert Helfer orchestra manager Kaskara voice tracks 3 5 amp 12 See also editList of American films of 1969 The Motorcycle Diaries 2004 film directed by Walter Salles Che 2008 film directed by Steven SoderberghReferences edit Solomon Aubrey Twentieth Century Fox A Corporate and Financial History The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series Lanham Maryland Scarecrow Press 1989 ISBN 978 0 8108 4244 1 p255 Solomon p 231 See also Big Rental Films of 1969 Variety 7 January 1970 p 15 Please note figures are rentals not total gross Che at IMDb nbsp Warga W Aug 16 1968 Fleischer a busy director Los Angeles Times ProQuest 156049301 a b RICHARD F SHEPARD Nov 12 1968 Film about guevara a boon to puerto rico New York Times ProQuest 118252749 B Way Catching Breath for Holiday Winning 200 000 Columbus 60G Curious 41G 12th Slime 35 000 Variety May 28 1969 p 8 50 Top Grossing Films Variety June 11 1969 p 9 Brenner Paul Che at AllMovie Last accessed January 9 2008 Ebert Roger Che review The Chicago Sun Times film review June 10 1969 Last accessed January 9 2008 Fleischer Just Not Much of a Talker Los Angeles Times Aug 1 1971 p q15 Silverman Stephen M 1988 The Fox that got away the last days of the Zanuck dynasty at Twentieth Century Fox L Stuart p 328 ISBN 9780818404856 silverman p 259 Payne D Lalo Schifrin discography accessed March 15 2012External links editChe at IMDb nbsp Che at AllMovie Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Che amp oldid 1220458671, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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