The Mask of Zorro facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Mask of Zorro
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Martin Campbell
Produced by	Doug Claybourne David Foster
Screenplay by	John Eskow Ted Elliott Terry Rossio
Story by	Ted Elliott Terry Rossio Randall Jahnson
Starring	Antonio Banderas Anthony Hopkins Catherine Zeta-Jones Stuart Wilson Matt Letscher
Music by	James Horner
Cinematography	Phil Méheux
Editing by	Thom Noble
Studio	TriStar Pictures Amblin Entertainment Zorro Productions MacDonald/Parkes Productions
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Releasing
Release date(s)	July 17, 1998 (1998-07-17)
Running time	137 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$95 million
Money made	$250.3 million

The Mask of Zorro is an exciting adventure film from 1998. It's based on the famous hero Zorro, a masked fighter who helps people. The movie was directed by Martin Campbell. It stars Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Stuart Wilson.

In the story, the first Zorro, Don Diego de la Vega (played by Hopkins), escapes from prison. He wants to find his daughter (played by Zeta-Jones) and get revenge for his wife's death. She was killed by the bad governor, Rafael Montero (played by Wilson). Don Diego gets help from a new Zorro (played by Banderas). This new hero is also seeking revenge against the governor's main helper. He also falls in love with Don Diego's daughter.

The film was a big hit when it came out on July 17, 1998. It earned $250 million worldwide, costing $95 million to make. A sequel, The Legend of Zorro, came out in 2005. It also starred Banderas and Zeta-Jones and was directed by Campbell.

Story of Zorro

In 1821, Don Diego de la Vega is a Spanish nobleman in California. He secretly fights against the Spanish rulers as Zorro. Zorro is a mysterious masked swordsman who protects the local Mexican people. The bad governor, Don Rafael Montero, tries to catch Zorro. He sets a trap during a public execution of three innocent people. Zorro stops the execution. Two young brothers, Alejandro and Joaquin Murrieta, help Zorro. Zorro thanks them by giving Joaquin a silver medallion.

Governor Montero suspects Don Diego is Zorro. He tries to arrest him at his home. A sword fight starts, and a fire breaks out. Don Diego's wife, Esperanza, is killed during the fight. Montero had always wanted Esperanza. While Don Diego's home burns, Montero takes his baby daughter, Elena. He raises her as his own. Don Diego is sent to prison, and Montero goes back to Spain.

Twenty Years Later

Twenty years pass. Alejandro and Joaquin Murrieta are now bandits. They try to trick people to get money. But they are caught by Captain Harrison Love, Montero's new American helper. Joaquin is captured and chooses to shoot himself rather than be executed by Captain Love. Alejandro escapes.

Montero returns to California as a regular citizen. Elena, who is now a beautiful young woman, is with him. She looks just like her mother. Montero's return makes Don Diego escape from prison. He meets Alejandro and sees the silver medallion he gave Joaquin. Don Diego learns Alejandro wants revenge on Captain Love for his brother's death. Don Diego agrees to train Alejandro to become the new Zorro. Alejandro agrees to learn in Zorro's secret cave under Don Diego's old family home.

New Zorro's Training

While training, Alejandro steals a black horse that looks like Zorro's famous horse, Tornado. Don Diego scolds Alejandro. He says Zorro helps people and isn't a thief. He tells Alejandro to earn Montero's trust instead. Alejandro pretends to be a rich nobleman named Don Alejandro del Castillo y García. Don Diego acts as his servant, "Bernardo." They go to a party at Montero's big house.

At the party, Alejandro impresses Elena. He also gains enough of Montero's trust to be invited to a secret meeting. There, Montero talks about a plan to take California back for the noblemen. He wants to buy California from General Santa Anna. Santa Anna needs money for an upcoming war.

The Gold Mine Plan

Montero takes Alejandro and the noblemen to a secret gold mine called "El Dorado". Peasants and prisoners are forced to work there. Montero plans to buy California from Santa Anna using gold dug from Santa Anna's own land. As "Bernardo," Don Diego gets closer to Elena. He learns that Montero told Elena her mother died giving birth.

Later, Elena meets her old nanny in a market. The nanny tells Elena the truth about her parents. Don Diego sends Alejandro, now officially the new Zorro, to steal Montero's map to the gold mine. Zorro fights Montero, Love, and their guards at the house. When Zorro escapes, Elena tries to get the map back from him. They have a short sword fight, and Zorro gives her a passionate kiss before he leaves.

Final Battle

Montero fears Santa Anna's anger if he finds out his own gold is being used to buy his land. So, Montero decides to destroy the mine and kill all the workers. Captain Love encourages this plan. Don Diego tells Alejandro to free the workers on his own. Don Diego wants to go get Elena. Alejandro feels betrayed by Don Diego's focus on revenge.

Don Diego confronts Montero at the house and reveals his true identity. But Montero captures him. He threatens to shoot Don Diego in front of Elena. As he is taken away, Don Diego tells Elena the name of some flowers she recognized when she arrived in California. This convinces her that he is her real father. Elena frees Don Diego from his cell.

They go to the mine. Alejandro defeats and kills Captain Love, getting revenge for his brother Joaquin. Don Diego defeats and kills Montero, getting revenge for Esperanza. Elena and Alejandro free the workers just before the explosives go off. They find Don Diego, who is badly hurt. He makes peace with Alejandro and Elena. He gives his blessing for Alejandro to marry his daughter before he dies.

Sometime later, Alejandro and Elena are married. Alejandro tells stories to their baby son, Joaquin (named after his brother), about his grandfather's heroic deeds as Zorro.

Main Characters

Antonio Banderas played the new Zorro.

• Antonio Banderas as Alejandro Murrieta / Zorro: Antonio Banderas was paid $5 million for this role. Alejandro Murrieta is the fictional brother of the real-life Joaquin Murrieta. To get ready, Banderas trained with Spain's Olympic fencing team for four months. He then practiced more fencing and sword fighting with Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones. They trained for 10 hours a day for two months, focusing on the fight scenes. The fight choreographer, Bob Anderson, praised Banderas as the best natural talent he had worked with.
• José María de Tavira plays a young Alejandro Murrieta.
• Anthony Hopkins as Don Diego de la Vega / Zorro: Anthony Hopkins joined the cast in December 1996. He is known for serious acting but wanted to be in an action film.
• Catherine Zeta-Jones as Elena Montero: Catherine Zeta-Jones signed on in November 1996. Director Steven Spielberg saw her in a TV show and suggested her. Even though she is Welsh, she found similarities between her own fiery personality and Elena's Latin spirit. This film helped her become a very famous actress.
• María and Mónica Fernández Cruz play Elena de la Vega as a baby.
• Stuart Wilson as Don Rafael Montero: Stuart Wilson was cast after another actor dropped out. He had worked with director Martin Campbell before.
• Matt Letscher as Captain Harrison Love
• Tony Amendola as Don Luiz
• Pedro Armendáriz, Jr. as Don Pedro
• Victor Rivers as Joaquin Murrieta
• Diego Sieres as Young Joaquín Murrieta
• William Marquez, as Fray Felipe
• L. Q. Jones as Three-fingered Jack
• Julieta Rosen as Esperanza De La Vega: Don Diego's wife and Elena's mother.
• Maury Chaykin as Prison Warden

Making the Movie

Movie Planning

Robert Rodriguez (pictured) chose Antonio Banderas as Zorro before leaving the project. Martin Campbell then became the director.

In 1992, TriStar Pictures and Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment started planning a Zorro film. They hired Joel Gross to write the script. Spielberg was thinking about directing it himself. By 1993, Mikael Salomon was set to direct, and Sean Connery was chosen to play Don Diego de la Vega. The first choice for the young Zorro was Andy García. Singer Shakira was also considered for Elena but turned it down.

In 1995, Robert Rodriguez took over as director. He had just had success with his low-budget action films. Antonio Banderas, who starred in Rodriguez's film Desperado, was chosen for the main role. Rodriguez wanted a budget of $45 million, but the studio only offered $41 million. Because they couldn't agree on the budget, Rodriguez left the project in June 1996. Banderas stayed with the film. Martin Campbell then became the director. The final script was written by John Eskow, Ted Elliott, and Terry Rossio.

Filming the Movie

Filming for The Mask of Zorro began in Mexico on January 27, 1997. The budget was $60 million. Most of the movie was filmed at Estudios Churubusco in Mexico City. Production stopped for four days in February when director Martin Campbell got sick. Filming continued in Tlaxcala, where the crew built the Montero family's big house and town sets.

The movie went over budget by $10 million. During the final editing, Spielberg and Campbell decided that Don Diego de la Vega's death was too sad. So, they added a new ending three months after filming ended. In this new ending, Alejandro and Elena are happily married with their baby son.

Music of the Movie

James Horner was chosen to write the music for the film in September 1997. The movie's soundtrack was very popular. It featured a duet called "I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You" by Marc Anthony and Tina Arena. This song plays during the end credits and was a hit single in Europe.

Releasing the Movie

The Mask of Zorro was first planned for release in December 1997, but this was changed to March 1998. Then, it was moved again to July 1998 because more filming was needed. This delay added $3 million in costs.

To promote the film, TriStar bought a 30-second ad spot during the Super Bowl XXXII for $1.3 million. Sony Pictures Entertainment, the parent company, also showed clips from the film at a trade show. Actors Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins spoke at the event. The movie's trailer was also shown before the film Godzilla. Sony also created an official website for the film in June 1998.

The film was popular with European royalty. The King and Queen of Spain, and Princess Elena, attended the premiere in Madrid. Later, Prince Charles and his sons attended a special showing in the UK.

Home Video Release

The Mask of Zorro was released on VHS and DVD on December 1, 1998. It later came out on Blu-ray in 2009 and in 4K UHD in 2020.

Comic Book Version

• Image Comics: The Mask of Zorro (August 1998)

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See also

In Spanish: La máscara del Zorro para niños