The Mask of Zorro (1998)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Martin Campbell

Writers (WGA):

Johnston McCulley (character Zorro)
Ted Elliott (story) ...

Release Date:

17 July 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Romance | Western

Plot:

The elder Zorro comes out of retirement to train a new Zorro to fight the enemy Montero.

Plot Keywords:

Zorro | California | Revenge | Mask | Young Versions Of Characters

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Antonio Banderas	...	Alejandro Murrieta / Zorro
Anthony Hopkins	...	Don Diego de la Vega / Zorro
Catherine Zeta-Jones	...	Elena Montero / Elena Murrieta
Stuart Wilson	...	Don Rafael Montero
Matt Letscher	...	Capt. Harrison Love
Tony Amendola	...	Don Luiz
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	Don Pedro (as Pedro Armendariz)
William Marquez	...	Fray Felipe
José Pérez	...	Cpl. Armando Garcia (as Jose Perez)
Victor Rivers	...	Joaquín Murrieta
L.Q. Jones	...	Three-Fingered Jack
Julieta Rosen	...	Esperanza de la Vega
Luisa Huertas	...	Nanny
José María de Tavira	...	Young Alejandro Murrieta (as Jose Maria de Tavira)
Raúl Martínez	...	Heavyset Lieutenant (as Raul Martinez)

Also Known As:

Die Maske des Zorro (Germany)
Mark of Zorro (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some intense action and violence.

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Brazil:12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Chile:TE | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-8 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG-13 | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba)

Filming Locations:

Atotonilico de Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico

Company:

Amblin Entertainment

Trivia:

The scene in the church is an homage to The Mark of Zorro (1940) in which Zorro pretends to be a priest and hears a confession from his lady love who proceeds to fall for the masked bandit.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Alejandro is fighting Captain Love at the gold mine, he stops the large wheel from spinning by sticking something in it. The next time we see it, the ladder is in there holding the wheel, but it is not broken anymore. When he jumps off the platform the wheel starts moving and then stops again.

Quotes:

Don Diego de la Vega: You cannot imagine, Rafael, how I have dreamed of this moment, night and day, twenty long years.
Don Rafael Montero: Really? I haven't given you a second thought.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 56th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1999) (TV)

Soundtrack:

I Want To Spend My Lifetime Loving You

Fun, Old-Fashioned Adventure

This movie had just a couple of things I would have changed but the overwhelming minutes of this 137-minute movie were well done: a nice old- fashioned adventure story.

Yes, it's hokey in spots, there is a needless irreverent scene in the confessional and the final action scene goes on too long, but all of that is almost standard fare in today's films. Anyway, the "good" in this film far outweighs the "bad."

Some of the "good" is beautiful cinematography featuring bold colors; good action scenes; very little profanity; interesting and somewhat likable lead characters (played by Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Bandaras and Catherine Zeta- Jones), a fun story and very good 5.1surround sound.

Zeta-Jones was a brand new "face" with this movie and she's never looked better. Hopkins, as usual, is the best character as the older "Zorro" who teaches the young one (Bandaras). Some of the action scenes are almost cartoon-like in credibility (Bandaras doing flips while riding two horses at once!) but they are fun.

The story is a familiar one that seems to always satisfy people: revenge.