The Legend of Zorro
Promotional poster for Legend of Zorro
Directed by	Martin Campbell
Produced by	Steven Spielberg Roger Birnbaum Gary Barber
Written by	Story: Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman Screenplay: Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (564x838, 291 KB) Summary The Legend of Zorro Movie Poster Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Martin Campbell (born October 24, 1940, Hastings) is a New Zealand film and television director. ... Steven Spielberg (born December 18, 1946)[1] is an American film director and producer. ... Gary Barber is a film producer who is affiliated with Spyglass Entertainment. ... Ted Elliott is an American screenwriter and labor leader. ... Terry Rossio, born July 2, 1960 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, is an American screenwriter screenwriting guru and film producer. ... Roberto Orci wrote the screenplay for the 2005 film The Island. ... Alex Kurtzman wrote the screenplay for the 2005 film The Island. ... Roberto Orci wrote the screenplay for the 2005 film The Island. ... Alex Kurtzman wrote the screenplay for the 2005 film The Island. ...
Starring	Antonio Banderas Catherine Zeta-Jones Rufus Sewell
Music by	James Horner
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	October 28, 2005
Language	English
Budget	$80 million
Preceded by	The Mask of Zorro
IMDb profile

The Legend of Zorro is a 2005 sequel to 1998's The Mask of Zorro, both directed by Martin Campbell. Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones reprise their roles as the titular hero and his spouse, and Rufus Sewell stars as the villain. The film, which takes place in San Mateo County, California, was shot in Mexico and Wellington,New Zealand. José Antonio Domínguez Banderas (born August 10, 1960), better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor and singer who has starred in high-profile Hollywood films including Ballistic: Ecks vs. ... Catherine Zeta-Jones (born 25 September 1969) is an Academy Award-winning Welsh actress based in the United States. ... Rufus Frederik Sewell (born October 29, 1967) is an English actor. ... James Roy Horner (born August 14, 1953) is an American composer of orchestral and film music. ... The Columbia Pictures logo from 1993 to the present Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. ... is the 301st day of the year (302nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a list of film-related events in 2005. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Mask of Zorro (1998) is an American action film directed by Martin Campbell, and stars Antonio Banderas with Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Stuart Wilson. ... This is a list of film-related events in 2005. ... The year 1998 in film involved some significant events. ... The Mask of Zorro (1998) is an American action film directed by Martin Campbell, and stars Antonio Banderas with Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Stuart Wilson. ... Martin Campbell (born October 24, 1940, Hastings) is a New Zealand film and television director. ... José Antonio Domínguez Banderas (born August 10, 1960), better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor and singer who has starred in high-profile Hollywood films including Ballistic: Ecks vs. ... Catherine Zeta-Jones (born 25 September 1969) is an Academy Award-winning Welsh actress based in the United States. ... For other uses, see Zorro (disambiguation). ... Rufus Frederik Sewell (born October 29, 1967) is an English actor. ... San Mateo County is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. ... For the first Duke of Wellington, see Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. ...

Plot summary

The plot summary in this article or section is too long compared to the rest of the article. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot.

In 1850, the people of California are voting to decide whether or not to join the United States. During one of the votes, a wild gunsman named Jacob McGivens attacks to steal the box of votes. Before he makes off with the votes however, Zorro, who has been protecting the people of California for the past ten years, appears and chases after him and his men. Zorro succeeds in recapturing the votes and fights off all of McGivens men. When McGivens attacks, he succeeds in pulling off Zorro's mask, but Zorro manages to knock him out before he sees his face. Just then a pair of spies, the Pinkertons see the face of Zorro, recognizing him as Don Alejandro de la Vega. Zorro then makes a make-shift mask out of his costume and rides off on his black stallion, Tornado, to deliver the votes to the governor. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... The Pinkerton National Detective Agency was a security guard agency established in the United States in 1850 by Allan Pinkerton. ...

Upon returning to his mansion, Alejandro is greeted by his loving wife, Elena and tells her they won. Elena believes that Alejandro can now give up being Zorro, but Alejandro is not so sure that the people will no longer need him. Angered, Elena kicks Alejandro out of the house. The next day, after sending her now 10-year-old son, Joaquin to school, Elena is confronted by the Pinkertons, who reveal that they know who Zorro really is. Soon after, Alejandro is served with divorce papers from Elena. Three months later, Alejandro is living in a hotel, having not been summoned as Zorro in all this time. His friend, Padre Felipe, convinces him to attend a party at a French count's new vineyard and there Alejandro finds out that Elena has been spending time with the count, Armand, revealed to be a schoolmate of Elena's. Later, after drinking himself crazy, Alejandro watches an explosion go off close to Armand's mansion and becomes suspicious of his ex-wife's long-time friend.

Afterwards, McGivens and his men attack a peasant family, the Cortezes, with whom Alejandro is friends. McGivens, siding with Armand, wants to buy their land to build a railroad, but the husband, Guiarmo, refuses and Zorro arrives to stop McGivens. He succeeds in rescuing Guiarmo's wfie, Blanca, and infant son, José, but McGivens shoots Guiarmo just before disappearing with his gang, the deed to the Cortez home in hand. Zorro then stakes McGivens out at Armand's mansion to confirm his suspicions and finds out that he is working for Armand and that the mansion is awash with Confederate soldiers. He then chases after McGivens to a shore where the count's cargo is being delivered. Thanks to Joaquin, who nearly gets himself killed when he goes after McGivens and his gang, Alejandro, hidden beneath Zorro's mask, rescues his son from danger. Luckily, Joaquin saved a bar of soap from one of Armand's cargo boxes and unknowingly shows it to his father. Together with this evidence, Felipe and Alejandro learn that Armand is part of a secret society, the Knights of Aragon, headed by corrupt a Confederate Army officer, Colonel Beauregard, who plans to conquer the Union States.

Sometime later, Alejandro is captured by the two Pinkertons and is told that they blackmailed Elena into divorcing him and getting close to Armand to find out his plans. Joaquin stumbles onto his father's whereabouts and frees him from prison after a run-in with several guards. Zorro then heads over to Armand's mansion, while Elena also arrives there and follows Armand to his secret lair. She then attacks the guards, but is outnumbered. Luckily Zorro arrives and they fight off all the guards. They then eavesdrop on Armand and Beauregard's meeting and learn that the soap bars are actually used to create nitroglycerin, which they plan to distribute throughout the Confederate army to destroy the Union. After confessing her involvement with the Pinkertons and that the divorce was fake, Elena then heads back to the mansion before Armand gets back and Zorro prepares to destroy the train carrying all of the explosive. McGivens meanwhile arrives at Felipe's church and shoots the priest as he tries to fight back. He also kidnaps Joaquin. Nitroglycerin (NG), also known as nitroglycerine, trinitroglycerin, and glyceryl trinitrate, is a chemical compound. ...

At the mansion, Armand finds out about Elena's deceit and captures her, as McGivens arrives with Joaquin, informing the count of Felipe's death and that Zorro's son is a witness. Zorro then lights a fuse that will destroy the train and seemingly disappers into the night with his horse, Tornado. But after seeing Armand, Elena, and Joaquin approaching the train, he runs back and stops the fuse at the last second. McGivens then captures Zorro and unmasks him in front of everyone, including Joaquin. Armand then leaves on the train with Elena and Joaquin, giving McGivens the order to kill Alejandro.

Zorro saves a young girl from certain death. This shot, which is reminiscent of a scene from Spider-Man 2, appears in the film's trailer and the DVD menu but not the film itself.

Before he can however, Felipe arrives and helps Alejandro fight McGivens. He eventually is killed when a drop of nitro lands on his head and explodes. Felipe then reveals that his crucifix around his neck shielded him from McGivens' bullet and Alejandro goes to save Elena and Joaquin. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article is about the 2004 film. ...

The next morning, Zorro catches up to the train on Tornado. After a long chase, Tornado lands ontop of the train and into the cargo car just as it approaches a tunnel. Zorro then makes his way to the passenger car and engages Armand in a sword fight. Meanwhile, Elena has Joaquin escape on Tornado to stop the train. Colonel Beauregard is killed by a bottle of nitroglycerin that Elena throws at him as he rides alongside the train. Further along the tracks, the governor is signing the bill that will make California a state and a crowd are witnessing it. As the train gets closer, Joaquin has Tornado hit a track switch, causing the train pass around the governor's car. Zorro and Armand's duel takes them from the passenger car, to the locomotive, and to the very front. Zorro is incapacitated for a short time, which Armand uses to attempt to stab him, but Elena blocks him and the two have a short fight. Zorro wakes up and sees a large pile of rails blocking the end of the track. Zorro attacks Armand and hooks him to the front of the train. Zorro then uses his whip and swings to safety with Elena. Armand notices the railblock too late and is killed when the train rams him into the block. The crash causes the train to stop quickly, causing the nitro to explode, destroying the entire train. The governor then finishes the bill and California becomes the 31st state of America.

Later, Felipe remarries Alejandro and Elena with Joaquin as the only witness. Elena then allows Alejandro to continue being Zorro, accepting that it is who he is, and Zorro rides off on Tornado into the sunset. In 1850 Zorro also helped the Spanish at the Alamo.

Main cast

José Antonio Domínguez Banderas (born August 10, 1960), better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor and singer who has starred in high-profile Hollywood films including Ballistic: Ecks vs. ... Catherine Zeta-Jones (born 25 September 1969) is an Academy Award-winning Welsh actress based in the United States. ... This is for The Legend of Zorro villain. ... Rufus Frederik Sewell (born October 29, 1967) is an English actor. ... Julio Oscar Mechoso (born 31 May 1955) is a Cuban-American actor. ... Leo Burmester (born February 1, 1944 in Louisville, Kentucky) is an actor who who oft plays cops and rural types on TV and in films, but on stage has performed as Osric in Hamlet (Kevin Kline in title role) for the New York Shakespeare Festival, as well as in such... Nicholas Chinlund, born November 18, 1961 in New York City, is an actor. ...

Historical and cultural references

The Legend of Zorro 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 San Mateo County.

The Legend of Zorro continues its predecessor's inclusion of historical elements of California history into the fiction, though many liberties have been taken. Alejandro Murrieta, the Mexican-born Californian who became Zorro at the end of the previous film, 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., and speaks English with a Hispanic accent. Leo Burmester plays P. G. T. Beauregard, a Confederate general, who character is killed during the film's climax. And Pedro Mira plays pre-presidential Abraham Lincoln as an observer to California's statehood, though the real Lincoln never travelled to the region. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 520 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (566 × 652 pixel, file size: 252 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A reference to the California Bear Flag Revolt in the film The Legend of Zorro. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 520 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (566 × 652 pixel, file size: 252 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A reference to the California Bear Flag Revolt in the film The Legend of Zorro. ... The modern Bear Flag of California The flag of California was first flown during the Bear Flag Revolt as the flag of the California Republic, and a modified version was then adopted by the California state legislature in 1911 as the state flag. ... A replica of the first Bear Flag now on display at El Presidio de Sonoma, or Sonoma Barracks, established in 1836 by Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo as a part of Mexicos strategy to halt Russian incursions into the region. ... Sonoma County is on the northwest coast of California, one of the northernmost parts of the greater San Francisco Bay Area, U.S. Its population at the 2000 census was 458,614. ... San Mateo County is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area. ... Artists rendition of Joaquin Murrieta (artist unknown, ca. ... Bennet Riley (or Bennett) (1790–June 6, 1853) was the seventh military governor of California, serving in 1849, before the territory became a U.S. state. ... Pedro Armendáriz Jr. ... Leo Burmester (born February 1, 1944 in Louisville, Kentucky) is an actor who who oft plays cops and rural types on TV and in films, but on stage has performed as Osric in Hamlet (Kevin Kline in title role) for the New York Shakespeare Festival, as well as in such... Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard (pronounced IPA: ) (May 28, 1818 – February 20, 1893), was a Louisiana-born general for the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. ... For other uses, see Abraham Lincoln (disambiguation). ...

The Legend of Zorro, which takes place in 1850, includes a significant number of deviations from history, particularly in depicting an organized Confederate States of America and a (presumably, though this is not explicitly stated) completed First Transcontinental Railroad, each more than a decade before their times. Furthermore, a deleted scene on the film's DVD features a short discussion on a magic lantern presentation. Motto Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem (none official) God Save the South (unofficial) The Bonnie Blue Flag (unofficial) Dixie (unofficial) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Religion... This article refers to a railroad built in the United States between Omaha and Sacramento completed in 1869. ... The magic lantern or Laterna Magica was the ancestor of the modern slide projector. ...

The film also contains a number of references to other films. The plot bears a striking resemblance to that of Notorious, in which a deadly explosive is similarly concealed in wine bottles. Murrieta has changed his name to Alejandro de la Vega, the surname of the original Zorro, Diego de la Vega. Zorro conceals his costume under a priest's robes, a tactic used in numerous Zorro-related works including its immediate predecessor. One character says of Zorro's mask: "This belongs in a museum... and so do you," a textual homage to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. (Zorro's use of a whip for combat and acrobatics inspired Jones'). And during the prison escape, Zorro disarms two swordsmen only to have a third flee in terror in a scene reminiscent of one from The Princess Bride. (Westley's disguise in that film was a near-copy of the Zorro costume.) Notorious is a 1946 thriller directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman as two people whose lives become intimately entangled during an espionage operation. ... Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Denholm Elliott, Julian Glover, Alison Doody, River Phoenix, and John Rhys-Davies. ... The Princess Bride is a 1987 film, based on the 1973 novel The Princess Bride by William Goldman, combining comedy, adventure, romance and fantasy. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Critical reception

Unlike the critically acclaimed The Mask of Zorro, The Legend of Zorro was given mixed reviews, scoring a 47 from Metacritic and a 25% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Mick Lasalle of the San Francisco Chronicle called it "not remotely enjoyable"^[1], and Roger Ebert bemoaned that "of all of the possible ideas about how to handle the Elena character, this movie has assembled the worst ones."^[2] Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com, however, lauded it as "almost shamefully entertaining, bold and self-effacing at once", noting the civic and parental questions it raises.^[3] Slate Magazine critic David Edelstein concurred, praising Banderas and Zeta-Jones as "drop-dead-gorgeous movie stars and spectacular clowns." ^[4] Fans of the first film heavily criticized the relative lack of action. Both critics and admirers agreed that the film was aimed at younger audiences than was The Mask of Zorro. The Mask of Zorro (1998) is an American action film directed by Martin Campbell, and stars Antonio Banderas with Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Stuart Wilson. ... Metacritic is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows, DVDs and books. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Todays San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 as The Daily Dramatic Chronicle by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. ... Roger Joseph Ebert (born June 18, 1942) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American film critic. ... Salon. ... Categories: Magazines stubs | Microsoft subsidiaries | Websites | The Washington Post ... The Mask of Zorro (1998) is an American action film directed by Martin Campbell, and stars Antonio Banderas with Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Stuart Wilson. ...

References

External links

• Official Site
• Legend of Zorro (2005) at the Internet Movie Database
• Slant Magazine Film Review by Keith Uhlich