American Cinematographer - March 1995 - 49

friendships with all of the artistic
people. This was my world, and
for that

reason

I could not

accept

LEE Filters

the contract."
In Mexico,

Figueroa also
script approval. His abil¬

retained

ity to choose quality material was
strengthened by his friendships
with writers, most notably with
B. Traven (The Treasure of the Si¬
erra Madre). He
interpreted the
written word with such insight
that his images often replaced
and outlasted the words in

popular

memory.

Writer Carlos

Monsaviais has said that "it falls
to the

cinematography of Gabriel
Figueroa to endow the films with
a coherence which juggles the
dialogues to present a memo¬
rable and genuine sensitivity, the
tragedy which survives the melo¬
drama, the popular authenticity
which the verbal expression is
unable to affect. Through the cin¬
ematography, the literary essence
becomes transparent." He adds,
"Figueroa's best work is what
moving pictures are all about:
that which we struggle to say, but
for which
words."

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Figueroa in 1950 with Elia
script of
Viva Zapata. "I read it and I didn't

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like it, because it was a kind of
Viva Villa!" Figueroa recalled. "It
didn't explain what Zapata was

video taps
feature

Kazan to show him the

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I said to Steinbeck, 'John, you've
mistake here. It doesn't

made

a

show

why Zapata fought. And
scene

poetry? Impossible. This

shouldn't be in the film.'
Kazan called me and said,
scene

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gue with John Steinbeck.' 'Yes, I
know that,' I said. 'But I know
more about Zapata than Steinbeck.
I bet you that.'
"He hired another writer

and the next year they appeared
with another script. It was con¬

siderably better but I still didn't
take it. They shot the film in
Texas. Kazan called me one night

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American Cinematographer - March 1995

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