The Mask of Zorro is a film which came out in 1998. It was a property which had been in development for eight years. The property is owned by Zorro Productions, a company owned by John Gertz and his sister Nancy. Their father, Mitchell Gertz had been the agent of author Johnston McCulley who had created the character of Zorro, and had subsequently become owner of all rights regarding the character. Upon his death, the rights passed to his children.In 1990 the Gertzes started exploring the possibilities of a new feature film involving the character. As is usual in Hollywood, the script was kicked around until it crossed the desk of Steven Spielberg, who happened to be a Zorro fan from way back. At that point, the project was greenlighted. Amblin’ (Steven’s production company) and Zorro Productions would co-produce, and Tri-Star Pictures would distribute a film called The Mask of Zorro.
The story is a mixing of two legends, the legend of Zorro as created by the original author, and the legend of Joaquin Murieta and his brother Alejandro. In the 1820’s Don Diego de la Vega, the alter ego of Zorro, is robbed of his wife (through murder) and child (by kidnapping) by the departing governor of California, Don Montero, and is left to rot in prison. Twenty years pass, and Diego escapes from prison when he learns that Montero is returning to California. At the same time the Murieta brothers, Joaquin and Alejandro, have been parading around like California Robin Hoods, robbing from the rich and giving to the poor, when they are apprehended by a United States calvary officer who has teamed up with Montero, named Captain Love. Alejandro escapes, only to see his brother commit suicide and be beheaded by Captain Love. The story which follows is a passing-of-the-torch story, in which Diego and Alejandro team up to fight Montero and Captain Love, in order to save California. Added into the mix is the fact that Diego’s daughter, Elena, has been raised by Montero into a fine young woman who does not know who her real father is (nor what her supposed father is planning to do), and has fallen for a scruffy bandit, Alejandro, who will become the new Zorro.
As a character which has been around for the better part of a century (the first Zorro story appeared in print in 1919), Zorro brings some baggage with him. Although Antonio Banderas (Alejandro) is the first Hispanic actor to play the part in the movies, the character has come to represent a positive role model to the Hispanic people the world over. Even though this film is purely melodrama, the Gertzes made sure that elements of this were a part of the point of view of this film. This is high adventure, with clear cut heroes (Diego and Alejandro) and a heroine (Elena), as well as clear cut villains (Montero and Captain Love), but all through the picture there is the sense that this is about an entity, Zorro, who is a hero to pre-statehood Californians. This is, indeed, what has always attracted me to the character; he does things simply because he believes in right and wrong, and not because he has deep, dark, psychological underpinnings (such as Batman has been portrayed in recent years). Zorro dresses in his black costume because he is a classic outlaw; meaning that the mask obscures his face so he cannot be recognized, and the color is black because it blends in with the night, and for no other purpose.
As stated, Antonio Banderas starred, along with Sir Anthony Hopkins (Diego), Catherine Zeta Jones (Elena), Stuart Wilson (Montero), and Matthew Letscher (Captain Love). The production crew consisted of Steven Spielberg, Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald (co-executive producers along with John Gertz), Martin Campbell (director), Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio and John Eskow (screenwriters), Phil Meheux (Director of Photography), Cecilia Montiel (Production Designer), Michael Atwell (Art Director), Graciela Mazon (Costume Designer), and James Horner (Composer). Also of note, Bob Anderson, who had started teaching Errol Flynn, and even played Darth Vader in some scenes of the Star Wars movies, was fencing master.
Martin Campbell stated that he wanted the film to look “like one of those big Hollywood epics-with tremendous action, romance, and a lot of fun.” The look of the film, then, is somewhat bright, and full of color, as opposed to the dark, moody look typical of many of today’s action films. The production was filmed in Mexico, according to producer David Foster, because “It was important that the locations reflected the era in which our story is set.” Great expanses of land and several haciendas were what was needed, and Mexico fit the bill. Celia Montiel concentrated on historical accuracy by researching the period heavily (Pictures and paintings of Mexico from the late 1700’s to 1860’s were highly influential). One of her most phenomenal designs was a mine set which you would have thought was a model, but was built full scale, and then had to be blown up. She worked heavily with costume designer Graciela Mazon to create a rich textured look on the screen, using heavy materials. Alejandro as Zorro has an outfit that fits into his environment, which flows with his movement to make it part of the surrounding space.
When Spielberg saw what Campbell had filmed, he proclaimed that he was the best action director that he had seen. Campbell, in the opening scene, in which a crowd is forced to watch an execution (subsequently stopped by Zorro), hoped to evoke the panic and chaos of the fall of Saigon. He did this effectively by intercutting medium shots of the crowd in uproar, with expansive shots of Zorro swinging over the heads of the crowd by his whip. Campbell knows exactly what action the audience wants to see, and the way they want to see it. A prime example is a duel between Alejandro and Elena (referred to by the cast as “sexy swordfight”), which is full of double entendres, light sexual play, and action; which is very satisfying as entertainment. One of the toughest problems in sound editing, incidentally, is matching the sound of swords clashing to the image on the screen. The team received an Academy Award nomination for their work, I believe, as well as for the quality of the sound, too.
The target audience for any action film is the fifteen year old male, but I think the producers also wanted to target audiences that had watched Douglas Fairbanks, Tyrone Power, and Guy Williams. Especially since they had Catherine Zeta Jones playing Elena, this would also mean a heavy female interest that was important to the core popularity of the films dating as far back as Fairbanks. The marketing certainly reflects this, because the final song, “I want to spend my life loving you,” sung by Marc Anthony and Tina Arena, was a big hit.
The marketing has been interesting. There have been no toys associated with the movie (to my surprise), which indicates that they wanted to touch an older audience. As has been mentioned, there have been CDs of the soundtrack available (I believe you still can get them). There was a novelization of the movie (this was followed by a series of juvenile novels which, although featuring Don Diego as Zorro, were definitely spurred on by the movie), posters, and no less than 3 variations of the film on DVD. Definitely look for Blu-ray. I have hanging on my wall two plastic epees, a mask, a hat, and (in my closet) a cape; all of which was marketed as a Halloween costume.
The DVD provides a link to the Zorro Productions online website. Here you can get information about the movie, as well as information about past Zorros. There is some merchandise available here, such as the DVDs (there was a sequel-The Legend of Zorro- which I liked, but it tanked at the box office), books, CDs, and posters. Also, you can rent the film online from Netflix, and can probably download it from there, too.
As far as my personal opinion of the film’s quality and impact, if you haven’t guessed already, I loved it! A Zorro fan’s dream come true! I love the fact that Antonio Banderas, himself, is a fan and says “There is a message here in ‘Zorro’ for the entire Hispanic community. He fought for justice. He fought against poverty. This is an especially important model for kids, especially today, and especially here in Mexico.” He understands that Zorro is a role model, and it shows in his portrayal of the character. He is Zorro!
Z
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment