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==Potential crossover sequel==
==Potential crossover sequel==
In June 2019, Tarantino had picked [[Jerrod Carmichael]] to co-write a film adaptation based on his crossover comic book series, ''Django/Zorro'' which was a crossover with ''[[Django Unchained]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://collider.com/quentin-tarantino-jerrod-carmichael-django-zorro-movie/#images|title=Exclusive: Quentin Tarantino Working with Jerrod Carmichael on 'Django/Zorro' Movie|first=Jeff|last=Sneider|website=[[Collider (website)|Collider]]|date=June 3, 2019|access-date=June 4, 2019|archive-date=June 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604051314/http://collider.com/quentin-tarantino-jerrod-carmichael-django-zorro-movie/#images|url-status=live}}</ref> Tarantino and [[Jamie Foxx]] have both expressed interest in having [[Antonio Banderas]] reprise his role as Zorro from ''[[The Mask of Zorro]]'' and ''The Legend of Zorro'' in the film in addition to Foxx returning as [[Django Freeman]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jul/28/comic-con-quentin-tarantino-django-zorro-crossover|title=Comic-Con 2014: Quentin Tarantino on the ''Django-Zorro'' crossover|first=Emma-Lee|last=Moss|website=[[TheGuardian.com]]|date=July 28, 2014|access-date=July 28, 2014|archive-date=July 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728102138/http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jul/28/comic-con-quentin-tarantino-django-zorro-crossover|url-status=live}}</ref>
In June 2019, Tarantino had picked [[Jerrod Carmichael]] to co-write a film adaptation based on his crossover comic book series, ''Django/Zorro'' which was a crossover with ''[[Django Unchained]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://collider.com/quentin-tarantino-jerrod-carmichael-django-zorro-movie/#images|title=Exclusive: Quentin Tarantino Working with Jerrod Carmichael on 'Django/Zorro' Movie|first=Jeff|last=Sneider|website=[[Collider (website)|Collider]]|date=June 3, 2019|access-date=June 4, 2019|archive-date=June 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604051314/http://collider.com/quentin-tarantino-jerrod-carmichael-django-zorro-movie/#images|url-status=live}}</ref> Tarantino and [[Jamie Foxx]] have both expressed interest in having [[Antonio Banderas]] reprise his role as Zorro from ''[[The Mask of Zorro]]'' and ''The Legend of Zorro'' in the film in addition to Foxx returning as [[Django Freeman]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jul/28/comic-con-quentin-tarantino-django-zorro-crossover|title=Comic-Con 2014: Quentin Tarantino on the ''Django-Zorro'' crossover|first=Emma-Lee|last=Moss|website=[[TheGuardian.com]]|date=July 28, 2014|access-date=July 28, 2014|archive-date=July 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728102138/http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jul/28/comic-con-quentin-tarantino-django-zorro-crossover|url-status=live}}</ref> In a 2022 interview with GQ, Carmichael revealed that the film had been cancelled.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://variety.com/2022/film/news/tarantino-django-zorror-dead-antonio-banderas-1235299613/|title= ‘We Wrote a $500 Million Film’: Tarantino’s ‘Crazy’ Django/Zorro Film Hooked Antonio Banderas|date= June 21, 2022|access-date= July 3, 2023|first= Zack|last= Sharf|work= Variety}}</ref>


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 02:11, 4 July 2023

For the anime series, see The Legend of Zorro (anime series).

The Legend of Zorro
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMartin Campbell
Screenplay byRoberto Orci
Alex Kurtzman
Story byRoberto Orci
Alex Kurtzman
Ted Elliott
Terry Rossio
Based onZorro
by Johnston McCulley
Produced byWalter F. Parkes
Laurie MacDonald
Lloyd Phillips
StarringAntonio Banderas
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Rufus Sewell
Nick Chinlund
CinematographyPhil Meheux
Edited byStuart Baird
Music byJames Horner
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing[1]
Release date
  • October 28, 2005 (2005-10-28)
Running time
130 minutes
LandVereinigte Staaten
LanguagesEnglish
Spanish
Budget$65 million
Box office$142.4 million

The Legend of Zorro is a 2005 American Western swashbuckler film directed by Martin Campbell, produced by Walter F. Parkes, Laurie MacDonald and Lloyd Phillips, with music by James Horner, and written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. It is the sequel to 1998's The Mask of Zorro; Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones reprise their roles as the titular hero and his spouse, Elena, and Rufus Sewell stars as the villain, Count Armand. The film takes place in San Mateo County, California and was shot in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, with second-unit photography in Wellington, New Zealand.[2] The film was theatrically released on October 28, 2005, by Columbia Pictures (instead of TriStar due to Columbia holding the sequel rights to TriStar's pre-1999 film library), and earned $142.4 million on a $65 million budget.

Plot

In 1850, California is voting on whether to join the United States of America as a state. Alejandro Murrieta, now known as Don Alejandro De La Vega, foils a plot to steal the ballots. During the fight, he briefly loses his mask, and two Pinkerton agents see his face. The following day, they confront Alejandro's wife, Elena, and blackmail her into divorcing him.

Three months later, the separation from Elena and the feeling that the people no longer need Zorro are taking their toll on Alejandro. His childhood guardian, Father Felipe, convinces him to attend a party at French Count Armand's new vineyard. There, Alejandro discovers Elena is dating Armand, a friend from her time in Europe. After leaving the party, Alejandro witnesses an explosion near Armand's mansion and becomes suspicious of him.

Gunman Jacob McGivens leads an attack on Guillermo Cortez, Alejandro's friend, to seize his land deed. In the ensuing fight, Zorro recues Guillermo's wife and son, but fails to save Guillermo and the deed. Following McGivens to Armand's mansion, Zorro discovers Armand plans to build a railroad on Cortez's land. He keeps tracking McGivens, who receives a shipment's cargo in a cove. Unbeknownst to him, Alejandro's son Joaquin also hitched a ride on McGiven's cart, having snuck out of a class field trip. Zorro saves him from the bandits and, examining the shipment, sees the piece consists of bars of soap. The phrase Orbis Unum (One World in Latin) is printed on a crate lid. Upon further research, Alejandro learns Armand leads a secret society, the Knights of Aragon, which secretly rules Europe. The United States is deemed a threat to the Knights, so they plan to throw the country into chaos before it can gain too much power.

Alejandro is captured and imprisoned by the Pinkertons, who reveal they forced Elena to divorce him, seduce Armand and learn of the Knights' plans without the aid of Zorro, whose vigilante ways they dislike. Due to California not yet being a U.S. state, they cannot search Armand's home themselves. Joaquin frees Alejandro from captivity. At Armand's mansion, Zorro meets Elena. In order to distract Armand, she brings him to the terrace. While kissing him, she throws keys to Armand's vault to Alejandro. After accessing secret documents, Alejandro learns the soap bars contain an ingredient for nitroglycerin, which will be given to the Confederate army, with the help of Confederate Colonel Beauregard, to destroy the Union. Zorro and Elena reconcile while he prepares to destroy the train carrying the explosives. McGivens arrives at Felipe's church to look for Zorro. Unable to find him, he shoots Felipe and kidnaps Joaquin.

Meanwhile, Armand's butler Ferroq kills the Pinkertons and informs his master about Elena's deception. Armand confronts Elena and takes her hostage with Joaquin on the train, making Zorro unable to blow it up. Zorro is captured and unmasked in front of his son. Armand takes Joaquin and Elena away and orders McGivens to kill Alejandro. Felipe, having been saved from the bullet by a cross he wears, arrives and helps Alejandro kill McGivens.

Zorro catches up with Armand, and they fight. Meanwhile, Elena has Joaquin escape into the back cars of the train, which she disconnects. She then fights Ferroq and throws him with a bottle of nitro out of the car and near Colonel Beauregard at their prearranged meeting point, killing them. Further along the tracks, the governor prepares to sign the bill to make California a Union state. Joaquin collects Tornado, Zorro's horse, and jumps off the train. He hits a track switch, causing the train to pass around the ceremony. While fighting, Zorro sees the track is a dead end, ties Armand up on the front of the engine and escapes with Elena. The train crashes at the end of the track, setting off the nitroglycerin and killing Armand.

The governor signs the bill, and California becomes the 31st state of the United States of America. Alejandro remarries Elena and apologizes to his son for hiding his identity, recognizing that Zorro's identity should be a family secret. With Elena's support, Zorro rides off on Tornado to his next mission.

Cast

Alternate ending

An alternate ending, included on the DVD, shows a grown-up Joaquin putting on the costume and riding off into the sunset, following his father's and grandfather Diego de la Vega's (portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in The Mask of Zorro) footsteps as Zorro, while the elderly Alejandro and Elena watch proudly. This was changed to the theatrical ending in order to allow for future sequels with Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, something that never happened.

Historical references

File:Bear Point.jpg
The fictional Bear Point, as seen in the film.

The Legend of Zorro continues its predecessor's inclusion of Spanish historical elements of California history into the fiction, though many liberties have been taken. Alejandro, the Mexican-born Californian who became Zorro at the end of The Mask of Zorro, is a fictional brother to Joaquin Murrieta, for whom the character's son Joaquin is named. Military governor Bennet Riley, the last of California's heads of state prior to statehood, is portrayed, but the Maryland-born American is played by the Mexican actor Pedro Armendáriz Jr. who speaks English with a Hispanic accent. Leo Burmester plays R. S. Beauregard, a Confederate colonel whose character is not to be confused with the historical P. G. T. Beauregard. Pedro Mira plays a pre-Presidential Abraham Lincoln as an observer to California's statehood, though the real Lincoln never traveled to the region. The film also features a fictional monument called Bear Point, commemorating the site where the original Bear Flag of the California Republic flew briefly in 1846. Although the actual flag flew in Sonoma County, the film suggests that Bear Point is located in San Mateo County.

The Legend of Zorro, which takes place in 1850, includes a significant number of deviations from national history as well, particularly in depicting an organized Confederate States of America and a presumed completed First transcontinental railroad, each more than a decade before their times. Additional deviations include a quote from the Gettysburg Address, which would not be written until 1863. A map discovered by Zorro delineates two states (Arizona and New Mexico) that did not achieve statehood until 1912; several other states depicted on the map entered into the Union long after California. The film also features characters who identify themselves as agents of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, which had been established in the year 1850 but was known at the time as the North-Western Police Agency.[3]

A deleted scene on the film's DVD features a short discussion on a magic lantern presentation.

The use of the Henry repeating rifle by Jacob McGivens is a mistake, it was introduced in the early 1860s and produced through 1866.

Music

The Legend of Zorro: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Film score by
James Horner
ReleasedOctober 25, 2005
Recorded2004–2005
Length75:34
LabelSony
James Horner chronology
Flightplan
(2005) 		The Legend of Zorro: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(2005) 		The New World
(2005)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
SoundtrackNet
Track listing
No.TitelLength
1."Collecting the Ballots"3:27
2."Stolen Votes"6:31
3."To the Governor's... And Then Elena"4:05
4."This Is Who I Am"3:05
5."Classroom Justice"1:50
6."The Cortez Ranch"6:35
7."A Proposal with Pearls / Perilous Times"3:58
8."Joaquin's Capture and Zorro's Rescue"5:00
9."Jailbreak / Reunited"5:36
10."A Dinner of Pigeon / Setting the Explosives"5:04
11."Mad Dash / Zorro Unmasked"3:20
12."Just One Drop of Nitro"2:40
13."The Train"11:11
14."Statehood Proclaimed"5:00
15."My Family Is My Life..."8:14

Reception

The Legend of Zorro currently holds a rating of 47 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 33 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews."[4] On Rotten Tomatoes, 26% of 138 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.9/10. The site's critics consensus states, "Zorro can survive a lot of things, but it looks like he can't survive marriage".[5] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.[6]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a below-average review, awarding it one and a half out of four stars, commenting that "of all of the possible ideas about how to handle the Elena character, this movie has assembled the worst ones."[7] James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave The Legend of Zorro two out of four stars, saying that "the action is routine", "the chemistry between the two leads, which was one of the highlights of The Mask of Zorro, has evaporated during the intervening years", and that the movie "fails to recapture the pleasure offered by The Mask of Zorro."[8]

Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com praised the film, calling it "entertaining, bold, and self-effacing at once", noting the civic and parental questions it raises.[9] Slate Magazine critic David Edelstein also praised the film, in particular the action scenes, villains, and chemistry between Banderas and Zeta-Jones.[10] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said the film was "watchable – not remotely enjoyable, but watchable."[11] Nathan Rabin of The Onion's A.V. Club gave the film a lukewarm review, saying that "director Martin Campbell doles out action sequences stingily", and added that "The Legend of Zorro still feels like a half-hearted shrug of a sequel."[12] Brian Lowry of Variety said that The Legend of Zorro is "considerably less charming than The Mask of Zorro", but added that the film "gets by mostly on dazzling stunt work and the pleasure of seeing its dashing and glamorous leads back in cape and gown."[13] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly awarded the film a "B−" score. Schwarzbaum said that "too many scenes emphasize gross butchery over the elegance of the blade", but added that the film is "well-oiled" and praised the "fancy fight sequences".[14]

Stephen Hunter of The Washington Post reacted negatively, calling The Legend of Zorro "a waste of talent, time, and money" and "stupid and boring".[15] Marc Savlov of the Austin Chronicle was also not impressed, remarking that "there are precious few things for a Zorro fan – or a film fan, for that matter – not to loathe about The Legend of Zorro."[16][17] The film did reasonably well at the box office, grossing $142,400,065 internationally, but did not match the success of its predecessor.[18]

Home media

The film was released on DVD and VHS on January 31, 2006. It was later released on Blu-ray on December 11, 2007.[citation needed]

Potential crossover sequel

In June 2019, Tarantino had picked Jerrod Carmichael to co-write a film adaptation based on his crossover comic book series, Django/Zorro which was a crossover with Django Unchained.[19] Tarantino and Jamie Foxx have both expressed interest in having Antonio Banderas reprise his role as Zorro from The Mask of Zorro and The Legend of Zorro in the film in addition to Foxx returning as Django Freeman.[20] In a 2022 interview with GQ, Carmichael revealed that the film had been cancelled.[21]

References

  1. ^ a b c "The Legend of Zorro". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Archived from the original on December 3, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  2. ^ "The Legend Of Zorro To Shoot In New Zealand". Scoop. December 16, 2004. Archived from the original on June 3, 2010. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  3. ^ Horan, James David; Swigget, Howard (1951). The Pinkerton Story. Putam. p. 202.
  4. ^ "The Legend of Zorro Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  5. ^ "The Legend of Zorro". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on September 14, 2008. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  6. ^ "Home". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on January 2, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  7. ^ Roger Ebert (October 27, 2005). "The Legend of Zorro Movie Review (2005)". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on February 19, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  8. ^ Berardinelli, James (2005). "Review: Legend of Zorro, The". Reelviews. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  9. ^ Stephanie Zacharek (October 28, 2005). "The Legend of Zorro". Salon. Archived from the original on January 3, 2007.
  10. ^ Edelstein, David (October 28, 2005). "Laugh Laugh Scream Scream". Slate. Archived from the original on February 19, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  11. ^ LaSalle, Mick (October 28, 2005). "This guy just can't hang up his mask". The San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 10, 2006. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  12. ^ Rabin, Nathan (October 26, 2005). "The Legend Of Zorro". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on May 15, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  13. ^ Lowry, Brian (October 23, 2005). "The Legend of Zorro". Variety. Archived from the original on March 12, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  14. ^ Schwarzbaum, Lisa (October 26, 2005). "The Legend of Zorro Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  15. ^ Hunter, Stephen. "The Legend of Zorro". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  16. ^ "The Legend of Zorro - Film Calendar". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on December 23, 2008. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  17. ^ Savov, Marc (October 28, 2006). "Film Review: The Legend of Zorro". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 11, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  18. ^ "The Legend of Zorro (2005)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
  19. ^ Sneider, Jeff (June 3, 2019). "Exclusive: Quentin Tarantino Working with Jerrod Carmichael on 'Django/Zorro' Movie". Collider. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  20. ^ Moss, Emma-Lee (July 28, 2014). "Comic-Con 2014: Quentin Tarantino on the Django-Zorro crossover". TheGuardian.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  21. ^ Sharf, Zack (June 21, 2022). "'We Wrote a $500 Million Film': Tarantino's 'Crazy' Django/Zorro Film Hooked Antonio Banderas". Variety. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
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