The Mark of Zorro (1920)
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The Mark of Zorro Movie Review
The Mark of Zorro is a 1920 action adventure film directed by Fred Niblo and starring Douglas Fairbanks. It’s such a fun movie.
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“Justice for all!
Punishment for the oppressors of the helpless
– from the governor down“
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A seemingly idiotic fop is really the courageous vigilante Zorro, who seeks to protect the oppressed. Yes, this premise of course instantly reminds everyone of another iconic character – Batman. The dual nature to him, his superheroics, and even his black appearance – all are directly taken from Zorro. But even more than that, the entire film proved to be extremely influential on the future blockbuster cinema, especially superhero movies, in its high-octane action, a sense of fun and an epic scope to it.
It does have too much action, though, which is the negative aspect that it brought to cinema unfortunately, at least in my opinion the film is way too frenetic, which led to the characterization and especially plot development feeling rushed and underdeveloped. Both are solid, but not as great as they could have been had the film slowed down at least a bit.
But what action this is! Fairbanks jumps on the tables, kicks them around, and he does all sorts of gymnastics that he truly seems like an acrobatic wonder in this age where stunts did not exist. I particularly loved the sword duels, all were excellent, and the first and the last duel in particular were incredibly entertaining, and ones for the ages. The movie has that unabashed sense of fun to it, it’s consistently entertaining, and it simply knows how to make people smile even now, a century after its release. That is how timeless it is.
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It has that infectiously amusing ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ style to it that I simply adored. In particular, the humor is pretty good, at times even excellent, and I wanted more of it for sure. The lightweight tone really suited the film well as it led to it feeling innocent and endearing, and yes, very comic-booky.
Circling back to Douglas Fairbanks, he was one hell of a legend. This actor simply exuded so much charisma, charm and star quality that he was a genuine movie star unlike no other. All Harrison Fords of the world owe him a lot, and they all fail to compete with his winning stardom. He did all of his own stunts as he was incredibly competent and acrobatic, and he looked awesome here due to his amazing, highly influential black costume with a half-face mask.
He also excelled at playing the dual role of both Zorro and this clumsy, somewhat feminine, well-dressed Diego Vega. He is the reason to see this movie for sure. Marguerite de la Motte is charming in the role of Lolita, though the film’s romance truly needed more emphasis as it felt sorely underutilized. As for Noah Beery Sr, I loved him. His buffoonery and fatness contrasted so well with Fairbanks’ agile and handsome presence, and he was simply a perfect villain for him. The scenes between the two are usually the best of the bunch.
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The Mark of Zorro looks great owing to terrific cinematography and wonderfully executed action sequences. The score and the direction are also great, and the dialogue is pretty good. The adventure elements are irresistible and the scope is quite epic. I just wish the film was slower paced, less frenetic and more plot and character-driven.
The Mark of Zorro is an incredibly influential movie, being basically the grandfather of all blockbuster cinema. In particular, it influenced the superhero subgenre that is of course extremely popular today, and Batman specifically is wholly inspired by Zorro in his dual persona and the overall look. This film is way too frenetic, less plot-driven and way too fast paced, but the action is absolutely fantastic, perfectly executed and very memorable throughout. This iconic swashbuckler is technically superb, it has that unabashed sense of fun to it, and Douglas Fairbanks is unforgettable as the titular character with his great charisma and impressive acrobatics. He was a genuine movie star.
