Product Description

A sweeping romantic adventure of love and honor, tragedy and triumph set against Mexico's fight for independence. Twenty years have past since Don Diego de la Vega (Hopkins) fought oppression as the legendary hero, Zorro. Now he must find a successor and he chooses Alejandro Murietta (Banderas), a bandit with a troubled past who he must, somehow, transform into the fearless fighter he once had been. Then, armed with sword, whip, mask and the jet-black stallion, Tornado, the new Zorro must stop tyrant Raphael Montero, newly returned from Spain with a plot to actually buy California and enslave the populous to work in his mines.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6994 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2005-10-18
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese
• Dubbed in: French, Portuguese, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 136 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
A lusty and rousing adventure, this calls to mind those glorious costume dramas produced so capably by the old Hollywood studio system--hardly surprising, in that its title character, a de facto Robin Hood in Old California, provided starring vehicles for Douglas Fairbanks and Tyrone Power, the '50s TV hit, and dozens of serials and features. Zorro, a pop-fiction creation invented by Johnston McCulley in 1918, is given new blood in this fast-moving and engaging version, which actually works as a sequel to the story line in the Fairbanks-Power saga, The Mark of Zorro. A self-assured Anthony Hopkins is Don Diego de la Vega, a Mexican freedom fighter captured and imprisoned just as Spain concedes California to Santa Ana. Twenty years later, he escapes from prison to face down his mortal enemy, a land grabbing governor played with slimy spitefulness by Stuart Wilson. Too old to save the local peasants on his own, he trains bandito Antonio Banderas to take his place. Much swashbuckling ensues as Banderas woos Catherine Zeta-Jones, becomes a better human being, and saves the disenfranchised rabble. Director Martin Campbell wisely instills a measure of frivolity into the deftly choreographed action sequences, while letting a serious tone creep in when appropriate. This covers much ground under the banner of romantic-action-adventure, and it does so most excellently. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Amazon.com
In this day of movies in which one can't tell whether the action was manufactured by computer generation or by a cookie cutter, The Mask of Zorro is a grand throwback. It recalls and celebrates the fantasy workshop that Hollywood was and can be at its best. It's an audience pleaser in the best sense of the word, combining great-looking performers with gorgeous vistas and production design, a story that is familiar yet never insults the viewer's intelligence, and plenty of eye-popping action.

Anthony Hopkins stars as the original Zorro, a masked vigilante protecting his people from official corruption in Mexico and what will become California (from Hannibal Lecter to Merchant-Ivory to action hero--is there nothing this man cannot do?). He's imprisoned for his troubles, and upon his release, mentors an impetuous pupil (Antonio Banderas, more suave than ever) in the fine arts of swordplay and triumphing over evil. Catherine Zeta-Jones capably portrays the beauty linked to both men--Zorro I's daughter, Zorro II's object of desire.

The plotting contains few surprises, but the interplay between the three leads is always winning, and the winks to the swashbuckling genre are playful without ever being heavy-handed or campy. --David Kronke

From The New Yorker
Antonio Banderas cuts a dashing figure as Johnston McCulley's Robin Hood-like hero, but director Martin Campbell's lumpy direction doesn't coalesce into anything much beyond a pleasant assembly of set pieces. Still, there are some wonderful moments, particularly Banderas's rousing swordplay-as-foreplay scenes with his gorgeous co-star, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and his flamboyantly choreographed duelling scenes with the glinty-eyed Anthony Hopkins, who trains Banderas like a Jedi Knight. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Mask of Zorro
I can't believe how quickly I received by product. Excellent. Would definately purchase from this seller again.

Superbit Deluxe release: Stunning anamorphic video & surround sound
"The Mask of Zorro", released in 1998, was the first of two "new" Zorrro movies, the later entry being "The Legend of Zorro". Not only is the "Mask" highly entertaining--how could you go wrong with a cast that includes Anthony Hopkins (who plays the 'first' Zorro), Antonio Banderas (who takes over the Zorro role and is trained by Hopkins), and gorgeous Catherine Zeta-Jones? There is plenty of action (some great sword fighting scenes, but being PG-13, no profanity and minimal gore--but the villians finally get their just due at the end), humor, romance, some history (how much of the setting and events in the 1820s-1840s colonial California is acccurate is questionable--but who cares? This is fiction), beautiful sets, a decent plot, and great performances by the entire cast.

The "Superbit Deluxe Collection", a two-disc set, presents a stunning anamorphic widescreen transfer of this movie to DVD, with equally stellar DTS surround sound. The picture is flawless, crystal clear and free of any defects with fantastic color saturation. I could not believe this was not a high-definition DVD, the picture looked that good. Just as excellent is the DTS sound which filled the room.

Superbit, a Sony technology and a forerunner of Blu Ray, has been discontinued. It's a shame because Superbit DVDs can be played on regular DVD players. There is enhanced image resolution and sound on Superbit DVDs. I watched this DVD on my large-screen, high-definition TV, played on a Toshiba HD DVD player. You must have either a high-defintion DVD player or a high-quality DVD player than can "upconvert" the sound and image to see the advantage of Superbit. The Toshiba HD DVD players are quite good at this, as are the more recent Blu Ray players. There are also a number of new "upconverting" regular DVD players as well.

I bought a used copy of this movie from Amazon at a great price. Get a Superbit version of this movie while the supply lasts. You will not be disappointed with the picture and sound quality. Highly recommended!

Well done!
Great movie. My husband had his doubts when he saw the movie cover, but we both really enjoyed the great acting and action scenes.