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Zorro Unmasked: The Official History
To coincide with The Mask of Zorro, the blockbuster film produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Antonio Banderas, Hyperion presents a complete, illustrated history of the character--from 1920's pulp fiction to the present. 75 photos & illustrations.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 4, 2021
Since I just finished reading about The Lone Ranger, this book about another of my childhood heroes seemed like a logical next choice.
And I enjoyed learning so much about Zorro, but I have to say before I go any further that this book is basically one giant plot spoiler for many of the Zorro stories and all of the Zorro television programs and films. If you have not seen some of these and want to enjoy them without knowing exactly what is going to happen, do not read this book first, whatever you do!
The author takes the reader right back to the beginning of Zorro's life by talking about the Johnston McCulley story The Curse Of Capistrano, which was published as a serial in five editions of the All-Story Weekly in 1919. (And guess what, that original story is available at Project Gutenberg, and since I have never read it, I have added it to my Someday Lists. Naturally. lol)
Anyway, the first chapter talks about McCulley and his career, then proceeds to tell the plot of the story in great detail, with a few passages from the story included. In the next chapter we learn how Douglas Fairbanks became the first film Zorro and how he adapted the character to fit his own ideas. After that chapter we have an interesting history of early California to help the reader understand life in Zorro's day. And also to probe the different phases in history that McCulley apparently blended in order to create Zorro's surroundings.
And then we come to the chapter which discusses my favorite Zorro, Tyrone Power. I used to watch his 1940 version any time it came on cable, usually with my ex-mother-in-law swooning beside me on the sofa. She still had a major crush on Power forty-six years after the movie was released, and now that she is gone I swoon for her at all of her favorite scenes.
The author was thorough with the information she shared. We get biographical sketches of each actor who played Zorro and the main characters from each movie version (quite a few of which I had never known about). She follows her timeline right through the 1998 version with Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins.
Basically this was a publicity book, to be sure, since the author was (is?) Vice President and Creative Director of Zorro Productions. So of course it would be a great idea to release an information packed book along with the resurgence of Zorro items released to tie in with the movie. But until the last section, the book does not feel like an advertisement for that latest movie. It feels like what it really wants to be: a look back at a hero who meant a great deal to many people all over the world and an homage to all who helped bring him to life.
And I enjoyed learning so much about Zorro, but I have to say before I go any further that this book is basically one giant plot spoiler for many of the Zorro stories and all of the Zorro television programs and films. If you have not seen some of these and want to enjoy them without knowing exactly what is going to happen, do not read this book first, whatever you do!
The author takes the reader right back to the beginning of Zorro's life by talking about the Johnston McCulley story The Curse Of Capistrano, which was published as a serial in five editions of the All-Story Weekly in 1919. (And guess what, that original story is available at Project Gutenberg, and since I have never read it, I have added it to my Someday Lists. Naturally. lol)
Anyway, the first chapter talks about McCulley and his career, then proceeds to tell the plot of the story in great detail, with a few passages from the story included. In the next chapter we learn how Douglas Fairbanks became the first film Zorro and how he adapted the character to fit his own ideas. After that chapter we have an interesting history of early California to help the reader understand life in Zorro's day. And also to probe the different phases in history that McCulley apparently blended in order to create Zorro's surroundings.
And then we come to the chapter which discusses my favorite Zorro, Tyrone Power. I used to watch his 1940 version any time it came on cable, usually with my ex-mother-in-law swooning beside me on the sofa. She still had a major crush on Power forty-six years after the movie was released, and now that she is gone I swoon for her at all of her favorite scenes.
The author was thorough with the information she shared. We get biographical sketches of each actor who played Zorro and the main characters from each movie version (quite a few of which I had never known about). She follows her timeline right through the 1998 version with Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins.
Basically this was a publicity book, to be sure, since the author was (is?) Vice President and Creative Director of Zorro Productions. So of course it would be a great idea to release an information packed book along with the resurgence of Zorro items released to tie in with the movie. But until the last section, the book does not feel like an advertisement for that latest movie. It feels like what it really wants to be: a look back at a hero who meant a great deal to many people all over the world and an homage to all who helped bring him to life.
January 6, 2010
This "inside" history of Zorro, written by the wife of one of the franchise's current owners, is, overall, an interesting and entertaining read. It contains several delightful stories and gives lots of production information about various film and television interpretations. The book covers the original Zorro stories and compares the film and TV programs based on them, and also discusses the history of California and real-life bandits who may have served as an inspiration to Johnston McCulley.
Unfortunately, this book is not the be-all and end-all of Zorro history, having noticeable gaps in the coverage. There were one or two items that I, as a longtime fan of Zorro, knew that were not discussed in the book. The importance of some of the "history" seemed arbitrary; some versions were barely mentioned, while others had scores of pages dedicated to them. Others were missing from the text, except for a reference listing in the appendix. At least one version was completely absent. A few long-standing legends and rumors were never addressed. The book has also incited wrath among some fans for its opinionated claims about various actors who have portrayed Zorro -- for example, Curtis strongly criticizes Duncan Regehr's interpersonal skills, but has only glowing reports of Antonio Banderas' personality, kindness and enthusiasm. This presentation comes across as biased and petty for a book claiming to be an "official history" of the franchise, even if this was the author's true perception of the actors.
On a note less analytical and more editorial, the book is riddled with typos and misspellings. I find this irritating in any publication, but imagine how distracting it is when an actor's name changes spellings twice on the same page, or when, in a paragraph about the history of the California territory, the date suddenly switches from the mid-1800s to the 1900s and back.
I would definitely recommend this book to fans of any version of Zorro; it is interesting, and you're likely to learn something new, even if the volume is somewhat disappointing as a complete history of Zorro. However, I would also suggest reading some of the other Zorro histories or cast biographies (such as Britt Lomond's Chasing After Zorro) for a more complete picture.
Unfortunately, this book is not the be-all and end-all of Zorro history, having noticeable gaps in the coverage. There were one or two items that I, as a longtime fan of Zorro, knew that were not discussed in the book. The importance of some of the "history" seemed arbitrary; some versions were barely mentioned, while others had scores of pages dedicated to them. Others were missing from the text, except for a reference listing in the appendix. At least one version was completely absent. A few long-standing legends and rumors were never addressed. The book has also incited wrath among some fans for its opinionated claims about various actors who have portrayed Zorro -- for example, Curtis strongly criticizes Duncan Regehr's interpersonal skills, but has only glowing reports of Antonio Banderas' personality, kindness and enthusiasm. This presentation comes across as biased and petty for a book claiming to be an "official history" of the franchise, even if this was the author's true perception of the actors.
On a note less analytical and more editorial, the book is riddled with typos and misspellings. I find this irritating in any publication, but imagine how distracting it is when an actor's name changes spellings twice on the same page, or when, in a paragraph about the history of the California territory, the date suddenly switches from the mid-1800s to the 1900s and back.
I would definitely recommend this book to fans of any version of Zorro; it is interesting, and you're likely to learn something new, even if the volume is somewhat disappointing as a complete history of Zorro. However, I would also suggest reading some of the other Zorro histories or cast biographies (such as Britt Lomond's Chasing After Zorro) for a more complete picture.
November 11, 2019
As were many of my generation, I was introduced to character "Zorro" by Disney's 1957 TV Show. I became fascinated with him, eventually finding & watching the Douglas Fairbanks' movie as well as the Tyrone Power version & Frank Langella's. I even found a copy of the book compiled from the original stories. This book pulls it all together in a very detailed, very well researched and very well written history of the character from his beginning in 1919 to the recent (as of the writing of this book) movie with Antonio Banderas. I highly recommend it!
March 2, 2021
It's got a lot of great information, but no the best writing in the world.
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May 31, 2011
I got into Zorro when I was 15 yrs old and I've always had this love affair-fascination with him as a hero. He's the original Batman, the first dichotomous protagonist. I think the idea of channeling your dark side (anger at injustice) to do good is an appealing concept especially when it comes alive as a masked man riding a dark horse.
January 12, 2010
This was a very interesting book about the origin of the Zorro stories and the subsequent movies and t.v. shows. It also had a bit of California history as part of the background. There were some fun details about the actors from the various productions.
March 27, 2010
A history of the character in fiction, serials, film, television, and Saturday morning cartoons. A fun if unimportant book that badly needs dozens of illustrations from all of the above.
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July 4, 2018Will resume later.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews