Product Details

• Actors: Enrique Acosta, Mary Astor, Juliette Belanger, George Blankman, Charles Byer
• Format: Black & White, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Kino Video
• DVD Release Date: June 18, 2002
• Run Time: 218 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000067IYE
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #75,641 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Action & Adventure > Superheroes > Zorro

• For more information about "The Mark of Zorro/Don Q: Son of Zorro" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Most sequels pale beside the originals. However, this follow-up to Douglas Fairbanks's surprise 1920 hit, The Mark of Zorro, is a welcome exception. Though again mining the Old California Robin Hood idea, it's better produced, it's better scripted, and it features the still-agile 42-year-old Fairbanks in not two, but three roles--playing Don Diego/Zorro as well as his own foppish son, Don Cesar de Vega. The big change here: Don Cesar's weapon of choice is the whip rather than the rapier. You can think of him as a forebear of the bullwhip-cracking Indiana Jones.

The setting shifts to Spain, where Don Cesar is falsely accused of murder. Tyranny's head again rears as our hero romances a very young Mary Astor and battles the series's most formidable foe yet, Donald Crisp's Don Sebastian.

With a more reasonable budget, Fairbanks was able to stage the fights and cliffhanger escapes that were beyond him the first time around. That's Warner Oland, the best of the Charlie Chans, as Archduke Paul and Jean Hersholt of Greed as Don Fabrique Borusta. --Glenn Lovell

Product Description

Studio: Kino International Release Date: 02/03/2004 Run time: 218 minutes

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fairbanks - King of the Action Stars, August 19, 2004

By	Mykal Banta (Boynton Beach, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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If anyone doubts the temporal quality of fame, just think of Douglas Fairbanks to bring the point home. In his day, Douglas Fairbanks' fame was unprecedented. He and his wife, Mary Pickford, were thought of as America's royal family. Today, his marvelous action films are not watched save by film enthusiasts, and his face and name are lost to the youngest generation (if Jay Leno's "man on the street" interviews are any indication, our youngest Americans seem proud not to know the name of the Vice President, much less a silent screen actor like Fairbanks).

That Douglas Fairbanks should fade from memory is tremendously sad. "The Mark of Zorro" is a good example of the kind of film Fairbanks specialized in toward the end of the silent era, and were hugely popular because of the dynamic presence of its star.

There really has been nothing to compare with Fairbanks since his departure from films. No action star since can come close to his grace and power in an action film. If you doubt me, buy this DVD and see for yourself. Watch Fairbanks leap over tables, vault over chest-high walls to mount a horse, leap from a table top to a cornice near a ceiling, etc. And it was not just that he was able to do these feats, it is that he did them effortlessly. The sheer grace of the man was truly thrilling. He never seemed to strain for anything. I realized this while watching the Mark of Zorro during one scene when Fairbanks swings a leg up and dismounts a running horse, in full gallop, to land on his feet as easily as though he were stepping off the ladder. He made it look so easy, I went back and watched the scene again to make sure I had seen what I thought I saw. Yep, he had done it - smooth as silk.

Then there is his acting. In this film, Fairbanks plays a duel role: Don Diego, a foppish young noble, and his masked counterpart, Zorro. His portrayal of Don Diego is subtle and effective. His body seems shapeless and soft. His manner is distracted and indecisive and vaguely lost. He detests swordplay and is constantly wiping his face due to his great "fatigue." When his love interest declares "He is not a man - he is a fish!" she hits the nail on the head. Yet when he dons the mask, his body and manner are reborn. His body looks lithe and full of movement, and his smile, that tremendous, beaming smile that radiated pure happiness, is almost as devastating as his blade.

Finally, there is the art design and sets of this film. Fairbanks loved these period pieces, and he spared no expense on research and detail. His care, financial investment, and dedication to craft really show. Everything has a beautiful, "deep" feel.

As a side note, this review is based on the Kino DVD release of this film, and as with all the Kino releases, this edition looks simply great. God Bless Kino for being one of the best companies preserving and marketing silent films.

If you have bothered to read this review, please buy this film. If you do, Douglas Fairbanks will be popular and famous again, at least in your heart.

-Mykal Banta

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DON'T EVEN HESITATE!!!, July 18, 2002

By	Gregg Taylor (Branchville, NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Although I'd just seen "Mark of Zorro" on TCM (for their Silent Sunday), I ordered this DVD to add to my collection of silent gems...and GEMS they ARE!! The print of "Zorro" is somewhat better than TCM...this is DVD, after all...excellent piano score by Jon C. Mirsalis (as is for the second feature). Not too many flaws...VERY few scratches, and such. A mighty fine print. (Approx. 1hr. 45 min.)
As for "Don Q," the wonderful folks at KINO have not only offered what appears to be the finest print available... some scratches, yeah--but wonderfully color-tinted and a superb piano score, but they've cropped the titles and even INTER-titles!!--since the original film-frame falls somehat short of our 1.33:1 TV sets. There are some more noticeable scrathces in the original film element, but it does NOT distract!! "Don Q" offers a storyline that doesn't categorize itself as a "Swashbuckling Tale"--simply because it isn't!!--It's even better, and will keep those who haven't seen it, glued to the television! (Approx. run time: 1 hour, 50 min.)
As an extra, we see Orson Welles introduce "Mark" for PBS's "The Silent Years," complete with earlier glimpses of Doug Sr., and a SOUND clip from a 1931 talkie of his! enjoy nearly 4+ hours of one of the greatest box-office stars of the Silent Era!!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fairbanks in Fine Form, August 12, 2002

By	Robert M. Fells "Mr. Arliss's Official Biogra... (Centreville, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Although Kino makes no boast about print quality on the box, its print of MARK OF ZORRO seems to be from an excellent 35 mm source. This film is the first, and many say the best, of Doug Fairbanks' swashbucklers that he personally financed and produced during the 1920s. His subsequent films were more elaborate - he seemed to rival DeMille in epic production quality - but ZORRO is the most consistently energetic. Fairbanks remains in a class by himself as a superstar and he became a multi-millionaire by acting out his daydreams in films. That's nice work if you can get it!

DON Q, SON OF ZORRO is almost as good but bogs down here and there in story complications. The print quality and contrast is not as good as ZORRO and I suspect that DON Q comes from a 16 mm. print. The five years between the two films show Fairbanks' reputation as a producer having grown: DON Q looks as though it costs four times what MARK OF ZORRO cost. Jon Mirsalis' piano score is very qood and he captures everything that silent film accompaniment should be: melodic and never intrusive.

The bonus material is interesting but I wonder why KINO didn't include the five minutes or so of outtakes from DON Q that has been in circulation for years. The unidentified sound film excerpt of Fairbanks included with Orson Welles' introduction is from the 1931 talkie, REACHING FOR THE MOON. Even in the excerpt, Fairbanks seems rather constrained by the dialogue chores. When he enters a room by vaulting through the window, he lands with a "thump," showing why sound films would rob Fairbanks of the illusion of effortless agility so wonderfully masked in his silent films. Three chapters from his 1918 motivational book, Making Life Worthwhile, are included. Some say the book and others published during that time were ghostwritten for Fairbanks. In any event, I've wondered why he had nothing to say to the public during the years of the Great Depression in the 1930s when people really needed a boost.

I highly recommend this dvd as a superb example of energetic silent filmmaking and for the joy of experiencing the inimitable Doug Fairbanks personality.