The Mark of Zorro [Blu-ray]

Director: Rouben Mamoulian Rouben Mamoulian

Overview

This is perhaps the best of the many Zorro films as Tyrone Power gives an outstanding performance as the alternately swishing and swashbuckling son of a 19th century California aristocrat. As a champion of the oppressed, Zorro must face a wicked governor portrayed by J. Edward Bromberg, who, of course, has a beautiful niece whom our hero loves. Basil Rathbone is a delightfully evil assistant to the governor. Based on Johnston McCulley's novel The Curse of Capistrano, The Mark of Zorro was a remake of the 1920 silent film and by far superior to all the Zorro incarnations. Interspersed with humor and one-liners but still keeping up with the highest of swashbuckling traditions, it is an action-packed story of one man standing against a corrupt, oppressive government on behalf of those less able to bear their burdens.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/02/2016
UPC:	0738329206192
Original Release:	1940
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound]
Language:	English
Time:	1:34:00

Special Features

Audio Commentary by Film Historian/Critic Richard Schickel; Tyrone Power: The Last Idol Documentary; Trailers

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Tyrone Power	Don Diego Vega / Zorro
Linda Darnell	Lolita Quintero
Basil Rathbone	Captain Esteban Pasquale
Gale Sondergaard	Inez Quintero
Eugene Pallette	Fra Felipe
J. Edward Bromberg	Don Luis Quintero
Montagu Love	Don Alejandro Vega
Janet Beecher	Senora Isabella Vega
Robert Lowery	Rodrigo
Chris-Pin Martin	Turnkey
George Regas	Sgt. Gonzales
Belle Mitchell	Maria
John Bleifer	Pedro
Frank Puglia	Cafe Proprietor
Pedro de Cordoba	Don Miguel
Guy D'Ennery	Don Jose
Eugene Borden	Officer of the Day
Fred Malatesta	Sentry
Fortunio Bonanova	Sentry
Harry Worth	Caballero
Gino Corrado	Caballero
Lucio Vellegas	Caballero
Paul Sutton	Soldier
Ted North	Bit
Ralph Byrd	Student/Officer
Franco Corsaro	Orderly
Hector V. Sarno	Peon at Inn
Stanley Andrews	Commanding Officer
Victor Kilian	Boatman
Raphael Corio	Manservant
Charles Stevens	Jose, a Peon
William Edmunds	Peon
Jean Del Val	Sentry
Frank Yaconelli	Servant
Alfred Newman	Composer

Technical Credits

Bess Meredyth

John Foote

Garrett Fort

Raymond Griffith	Producer
Rouben Mamoulian	Director
Darryl Zanuck	Producer
Bess Meredyth	Screenwriter
John Foote	Screenwriter,Screenwriter
Garrett Fort	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

The Mark of Zorro is just about as much fun as a picture can be. A true swashbuckling adventure, Zorro is one of the finest costume adventure stories ever filmed, one that's laced with a healthy dollop of romance and more than a smidgen of comedy. It's all wildly improbable, of course, one of the ancestors of the superhero comic strip/film, and anyone who is bothered by a woman's inability to recognize her lover in a simple disguise should just look elsewhere. But anyone who is willing to dispense with logic and just accept things at face value will have a great time with Zorro. (One caveat: the portrayal of the peasants is decidedly stereotypical and will definitely offend some.) Director Rouben Mamoulian has a fine old time with this film, jettisoning his more experimental tendencies and concentrating simply on presenting a story that is all about excitement and delivering the goods in spades. He's helped enormously by the stellar performance of Tyrone Power, who was clearly born to play the role. He gets it all right -- the charisma, the courage, the foppishness, the desire -- it's all there in all the right proportions. Power picks Zorro up and carries it on his manly shoulders without breaking a sweat. He even manages -- just barely -- to keep Basil Rathbone from stealing the film away from him, which is no mean feat. Rathbone is in absolutely superlative form, all elegance and ice, the kind of villain that audiences truly love to hate. There's also some nice moments from the wicked Gale Sondergaard, and Linda Darnell makes Lolita a prize worth fighting for. Zorro leaves its mark, indeed; it's a delightfully good film.