The Mark of Zorro

If Time film critic Richard Schickel's commentary was sharp as Zorro's blade, this DVD would have been even more fun. As it is, however, film buffs can recapture the glory of Old Hollywood with Rouben Mamoulian's classic 1940 swashbuckler starring Tyrone Power as Don Diego, a foppish "fancy clown" by day, and infamous masked adventurer by night. The template is The Adventures of Robin Hood, right down to the casting of Basil Rathbone as Zorro's nemesis, the dread Captain Esteban Pasquale, and growl-voiced Eugene Pallette as yet another unorthodox man of the cloth. Linda Darnell is ravishing as Lolita, niece of the corrupt new governor, and Zorro's love interest, but their scenes are time ill-spent away from the awesome swordfights and bridge-leaping action scenes. Boasting a rousing Oscar-nominated score by Alfred Newman (songwriter Randy Newman's uncle), the latest entry in Fox's acclaimed "Studio Classics" line arrives on DVD with a reasonably sharp transfer, and a bonus documentary: the Biography episode Tyrone Power: The Last Idol. Highly recommended. (K. Lee Benson)[DVD Review—Nov. 1, 2005—Fox, 93 min., not rated, $19.98—Making its second appearance on DVD, 1940's The Mark of Zorro: Special Edition features both the original black & white and a colorized version with Dolby Digital stereo sound together with the same extras as the first release. Bottom line: if you own the initial “Studio Classics” version, there's no reason to add this—unless you're collecting colorized titles for some reason.][Blu-ray Review—Aug. 9, 2016—Kino Lorber, 94 min., not rated, Blu-ray: $29.95—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1940's The Mark of Zorro features a fine transfer and a DTS-HD 2.0 soundtrack. Extras include audio commentary by film historian and critic Richard Schickel, a featurette on star “Tyrone Power: The Last Idol” (45 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a classic swashbuckler makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]