Product Description

This 12-part serial made in 1939 places Don Diego (Reed Hadley) in Mexico. Disguuised as Zorro, he joins the conflict between the Mexican state and the Yaqui people where It seems a strange and mysterious figure in gold armor and a mask is being worshiped by the Yaqui, who rally behind their new leader to steal gold shipments from their Mexican neighbors. Diego must find out who is behind this false golden god and expose him for the good of peace!

The legendary masked swordsman Zorro dodges a variety of deathtraps, including exploding barns, runaway elevators and avalanches in his effort to thwart the insidious plan of armored bad guy Don Del Oro to rule Mexico. Directed by John English (TV’s "Gunsmoke", "Lassie") and William Whitney (TV’s "Bonanza", "The Virginian"). The original 12 chapter serial that inspired a number of Zorro adaptations including Walt Disney’s classic television series and Antonio Banderas’ blockbuster The Mark of Zorro. Early western directing style cited as an influence on later westerns including Rio Bravo, The Wild Bunch, and Unforgiven.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #82124 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-06-29
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Original recording remastered, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 240 minutes

Customer Reviews

Zorro at His Cliffhanging Best
"Zorro's Fighting Legion" (1939) remains one of the great serials with its impressive cast, energetic direction and first-rate action sequences. Reed Hadley is terrific as Don Diego/Zorro, while Don Del Oro emerges as a classic villain. When it came to serials, Republic Pictures was second to none in terms of quality - and "Zorro's Fighting Legion" is Saturday matinee escapism of the highest calibre.

ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE VERSION!!
Read the horrid reviews (as usual) for the Madacy product, then grab this Hal Roach Studios/Image version of this classic Republic Serial, perhaps second in fame only to THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL. This version is meticulously mastered from the original camera negative with fine grain shots substituted wherever necessary. Where Madacy "simply" eliminates(!) the beginnings and ends of each of their twelve 16mm chapters, making it more into a herky-jerky feature film that runs 3-1/2 hours (then making you buy TWO separate discs in order to obtain the whole story), this Hal Roach Studios version is absolutely complete--four hours on one disc (double-coated, no turning over!) and boasts trailers for six other top serials to boot. All from 35mm, with the visual power and dynamic soundtrack range the use of those elements brings to the table. This is the one you've been waiting for, so get the best possible version. (Same for ROBINSON CRUSOE OF CLIPPER ISLAND, ZORRO RIDES AGAIN and ZORRO'S BLACK WHIP, also mastered from the original 35mm nitrate camera negatives and fine grains. They're all being released by Image in the coming months.) As the reviewer from the Knight-Ridder Newspaper chain recently published "Do yourself a favor--wait for the Hal Roach Studios version from Image--it's the real deal". I concur. It's worth the little bit extra you have to pay to be able to see the picture and hear the sound the way it was all meant to be presented. ZORRO'S FIGHTING LEGION is worth the money for the twelfth chapter alone, with it's great unmasking scene (but, no peeking till you've built up to it by watching the first eleven!). You'll love it.

GOOD FOR MADACY, BUT STILL DISAPPOINTING!
While Madacy may not have digitally remastered their version of Zorro's Fighting Legion, this disc does have decent picture and sound quality. The print is at times a little dark, but overall it is not bad to look at. The biggest problem with Madacy's version is that they not only have cut out the title's beginning and endings, they also removed the chapter recaps as well. This seems an odd choice on their part, considernig all chapter recaps were left in on their Painted Stallion, and New Adventures of Tarzan DVD's. Without the chapter recaps the serial loses some of its flare. I would reccomend waiting for the Image version of the serial. I understand that theirs comes from the original negative.