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starring: Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Basil Rathbone, Gale Sondergaard, Eugene Pallettedirected by: Rouben Mamoulian
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786302700947
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, NTSC
ISBN: 6302700949
Label: 20th Century Fox
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: April 07, 1993
Running Time: 94 minutes
Sales Rank: 7658
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Theatrical Release Date: November 08, 1940
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
When they say they don't make 'em like they used to, they're talking about 20th Century Fox's exhilarating The Mark of Zorro, starring Tyrone Power as the caped one, Linda Darnell as his love interest, and Basil Rathbone at his scurrilous best as Zorro's nemesis. More textured than the 1920 original with Douglas Fairbanks, this 1940 version has Don Diego/Zorro (Powers) returning from Madrid to defend his father and rally the caballeros (noblemen) against Los Angeles's corrupt new governor (J. Edward Bromberg), intent on taxing the peons to death.
If this all sounds like an Old California redo of the classic Adventures of Robin Hood, that's because it is. Powers has a field day as Don Diego, the 'fancy clown' betrothed to the governor's niece, Lolita (Darnell). Don Diego the effete snob performs silly parlor tricks, peers through pince-nez, and yawns disdainfully at one and all. Power's cowardly alter ego is so believable, his transformation to masked superhero becomes all the more thrilling. Imagine Captain Pasquale's (Rathbone) shock when, in the film's brilliantly choreographed showdown, this annoying fop turns out to be a world-class swordsman.
Director Rouben Mamoulian, known for great period melodramas, does a skillful job of alternating garrison intrigue with big action scenes, including a nighttime ride that climaxes with Zorro on horseback leaping off a bridge. In the romantic highlight, Lolita confides her innermost desires to a suspiciously worldly friar. The first-rate supporting cast includes Gale Sondergaard as the governor's treacherous wife and the frog-voiced Eugene Pallette (Friar Tuck in The Adventures of Robin Hood) as a padre in cahoots with the masked one. Technically, this retelling rates an unqualified 'Wow!' The cinematography, obviously influenced by Goya, makes full use of chiaroscuro shadows, and Alfred Newman's Latin-flavored score is irresistibly rousing and romantic. --Glenn Lovell
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Well worth buying again
One of the best swashbuckling films ever made, I bought the b&w dvd when it first came out, then when I saw Fox had released a colorized edition, I decided to give it a chance. I was not disappointed. The colorization is excellent and it is like viewing an entirely new film. I've never really understood the complaints the critics have with colorizing some of these older films. If colorizing meant one could never watch the b&w version again then I'd certainly agree, but all colorizing ... Read More
Rating: - The Best!
I saw this version of Zorro when I was a child and fell in love with it. It is one of my favorites!
Rating:  - What a fun movie!
For anyone who hasn't seen the handsome and talented Tyrone Power in action yet, this film would be a great place to start getting acquainted with his impressive body of work. I think I like this film more than the original Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. version of the Zorro story, even though there aren't as many action sequences here. Although while Diego doesn't spend all that much time dressed as Zorro and battling with the bad guys, and the film probably could have been made a bit longer to include ... Read More
Rating: - zorro
mark of zorro was a very good movie, glad i was able to buy it
Rating: - I liked it....
Very good colorization of a classic movie. I haven't viewed the Black & White version yet, but it's convienent to have the choice of one disc. Of course, my favorite version of the Zorro legend is George Hamilton's "Zorro, the Gay Blade".
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