Some of my favorite childhood memories are of my family going out together to the theater. A film that has always stood out to me that we watched is The Mask of Zorro. It was a film about a timeless character that outwitted his opponents in charming and sometimes comical fashion. This film has one of my favorite movie soundtracks that I can still play to this day that puts my imagination right in the middle of all the action.

The Mask of Zorro first hit theaters in 1998. Now twenty-two years later it will debut on 4K Ultra HD. This swashbuckler film includes a fantastic cast of some of Hollywood’s best talent. It stars Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stuart Wilson, and Matt Letscher.

ALSO SEE: AVAILABLE ON DISNEY+: THE SIGN OF ZORRO

It follows the story of the power-crazed Don Rafael Montero, played by Wilson. He schemes to try and buy California from Mexico with the blood and sweat of his hard-working people. This time it will take two Zorros to try and take down the tyrant. One is the legendary Don Diego de la Vega, played by Hopkins. The other a dashing bandit turned hero, Alejandro Murrieta, played by Antonio Banderas, who de la Vega has chosen to be his successor. But saving his people is not his ultimate goal. It’s revenge against the man that killed his wife, kidnapped his daughter, and threw him in a prison to rot.

The original 136-minute film has been scanned from the original camera negatives at 4K resolution and presented with High Dynamic Range and an all-new Dobly Atmos audio mix, along with the original 5.1 theatrical audio. Here is a list of the bonus materials that are included with the 4K Ultra HD as well as the Blu-ray.

BONUS MATERIALS:

4K ULTRA HD BONUS MATERIALS:
Never-Before-SeenDeleted Scenes
Theatrical Trailers

BLU-RAY BONUS MATERIALS:
Director Commentary
“Unmasking Zorro” Documentary
2 Deleted Scenes
Music Video by Marc Anthony and Tina Arena

As a fan of The Mask of Zorro, I found a couple of bright spots in the bonus material. One is the documentary Unmasking Zorro. Since it was two decades ago it’s interesting to see how they put together the film. Like I didn’t know that they had to add all the sword fighting noises including the swooshes as the swords on set didn’t deliver the desired sounds. Also that this film was mostly shot on location in Mexico and mostly employed locals. They helped make the over sixty sets that were required to make the film.

The other thing that I liked was a few of the deleted scenes that were included. One, in particular, caught my attention. Scene 66 titled Pay A Visit to Santa Ana. In this scene we find Elena Montero, played by Zeta-Jones racing against Captain Harris Love, played by Matt Letscher in a training exercise while the soldiers cheer on. An upset Don Rafael takes her away upset, but upon moving away from Captain Love asks her if she let him win. To this, she replies “of course”.

ALSO SEE: NEW FEMALE LED ZORRO SERIES BEING DEVELOPED FOR CBS

The reason I find this deleted scene interesting is that had it been included in the film, it would have ruined the sword fight between Alejandro and Elena later in the film. As an audience we would have already understood that she was a well-trained individual. It would have come as no surprise that she could hold her own against the new Zorro.

Other than that, there wasn’t anything else that stood out to me in the bonus features. This is a film that I can see fans of the film buying just to have as part of their collection. I think it comes at an interesting time as the film is also currently available on Netflix. It’s a great classic action-adventure film without a lot of language or blood that the whole family can enjoy.

The Mask of Zorro was directed by Martin Campbell. It’s based on a story by Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio and Randall Jahnson. The Screenplay is by John Eskow, Elliot and Rossio. The executive producers are Steven Spielberg, Walter F. Parkes, and Laurie MacDonald. Producers for the film are Doug Claybourne and David Foster. The co-producer is John Gertz.

The Mask of Zorro will be available on 4K Ultra HD and digitally on May 5th, 2020. Also being released digitally that day will be the 2005 sequel, The Legend of Zorro.

Continue the LRM Online conversation on Discord by CLICKING HERE!