Analyzing The Intro to The Mask of Zorro - How All Movies Should Start by Dan Krynn
And what lessons can be learnt from it
The 90s were so full of classics and well thought out stories, but none stand out like “The Mask of Zorro”, and you are missing something big if you have never watched it. He is from the original era of pulp stories, and one of the inspirations for Batman; hell, in some of the Batman origins, the movie so happens to be the older movie “The Mark of Zorro”.
The movie starts with two boys looking over a crowd that is trying to get past guards and soldiers to shoot three innocent men, at the orders of Don Raphael. He is looking down at the scene, which can be emblematic of how he looks down on everyone. The two boys are looking down, with a bird’s eye view of the events that are unfolding, and they are representing our viewpoint in the scene. This also follows with one that asks “Where is he?” and it is what we are asking about the hero of the hour.
The execution begins, and this is when Zorro arrives, in a classical sense. The introduction runs like a classical Zorro adventure or movie, with him saving all three prisoners, and ending up having all the soldiers kill their captain. The one thing about Zorro, is that he is Spanish passion incarnate, and that swashbuckling flair. (It’s just a pity Bruce Campbell never played Zorro in the past.) The whip is used, and is one of Zorro’s signature weapons, used to grab the guns away. This is over the top, and something you’d see in a pulp comic, and it’s a well chosen approach.
And here we see Zorro’s entrance as he brandishes and twirls his sword, as the entire crowd cheers. He is a hero of Mexico and California, and a natural Robin Hood. He jumps over to cut the ropes of the prisoners, all the while engaging in a duel with a couple of soldiers. However, Don Raphael’s smile indicates that he actually planned this to lure out Zorro, to try to kill him. This is such a classical story with such a character. He fights with enemies on both sides, cuts down the drop door, falls under there, and afterwards pokes one of the soldiers in the backside.
This shows the Spanish playfulness, and that the hero of the day is having a good time saving the day. Don Raphael is rather amused by the scene, but it’s hard to figure out why he’s smiling. Is he entertained by Zorro’s charm, or is he sneering at the plan he has in store for his nemesis. The boys on the other hand cheer over Zorro’s heroics happening right in front of their eyes.
Don Raphael sounds an alarm so that snipers that were ordered to kill the clever fox, but they are stopped when the boys, Diego and Joachin, when they push a large statue a the location of the snipers below, and they scatter, and are thrown off the high ledge they were on, defeating the snipers. Zorro salutes to the boys, as he is aware that had the boys not been there, he is likely to have been shot. This also shows his goodness, as he is not beyond gratitude and humility when it comes to his life being saved.
Next, he duels against three soldiers at once, and this results in the people pelting the soldiers with vegetables, showing their anger, and wanting to protect their hero, as they see it as a duty, as Zorro is there to protect him, and they need to show their own loyalty to the one who sacrifices so much for them. Don Raphael is not pleased, as his plan went awry, as the hero slips into the crowd (Even if he’s the only one wearing black. Every other citizen is wearing browns of one form or another, and the people finally rush the soldiers, as the people let Zorro move freely, then they move in to fill the space Zorro ran through, to cover him.
Often, heroes are seen as people to ostracize, and to shun, like Spider-Man. Others prefer not to get people caught up in trouble like Batman. It shows he appreciates the people, and respects their willingness to return the favour that he grants them. A being of hope to guide and protect them, who also loves to be part of them.This also reveals what’s Zorro’s philosophy, and that he is no better than the people. Like them, he is passion incarnate, and will not deny the people the ability to fight for themselves. It also shows that he will appear when he sees that the people cannot protect themselves.
And this is when the enigmatic Zorro appears behind the boys, startling them, unaware that he appeared behind him, similar to how Batman would do it. He smiles, and calls them “gentlemen” in a fond tone. This tells us that he is good with kids, and enjoys performing a good show for them, and he respects them greatly, and is grateful for their hard work saving his life. He grants Joachin his amulet, which reveals that he is giving them a promise of a favour, if ever they ask for it, as he owes them his life. He then tells them that he has another party to attend to.
He jumps down, with his cape billowing, and we see the flair and flamboyance of Zorro, as he runs across the buildings, with hats thrown about, and cheering. Raphael orders to kill him, and the soldiers have a hard time aiming, since the people are shoving and pushing them, angry at them threatening their hero. He is showing off a little, giving a bit of a show with his traveling with his whip, and finally landing on Don Raphael’s balcony. With his blade at the nobleman’s throat, asking him why he would kill three innocent men to kill Zorro, then the villain said he’d be willing to kill 100 men just to kill Zorro.
And now, we have Zorro who does his trademark “Z” on the side of Raphael’s neck as a warning and a message. He threatens Raphael, and tells him to GTFO of Mexico, as he is a Robin Hood there. Difference is, Zorro isn’t as worried about playing fair with villains. This is probably Zorro’s greatest mistake. He should have killed Raphael, but what kind of man would he be then? He would be no different from his arch nemesis Zorro is a good person, but he is a very dangerous man.
And now, Zorro whistles to call over Tornado, his horse. Zorro jumps off, landing on Tornado, and goes to leave through the crowd, and everyone cheers running after their hero. One soldier prepares to fire, only to get elbowed by a monk. I can’t help but think that this might be a Friar Tuck expy as an extra. He has Tornado go through the crowd, not hurting anyone, and climbing the stairs to the top, and has the horse rear itself on its hind legs, with his sword to the sky. This is a legendary image of the man, and it’s obviously a shout out to the previous work that has made the image of Zorro’s silhouette iconic, finishing with the camera zooming in on the image, showing us the image of a dark warrior, A silhouette is seen as a mystery, something unknown.
To the people, his identity is a mystery, but the people want to remain it that way. Why? Because the mystery adds to his legend, and wondering who he truly is grants them hope, and gives them a mythic being that will fight for them, and they also see it as they won’t be spilling who they think he is, as he is to be protected, and the mask protects him.
Plus, the Mexicans value family quite a bit, and it’s how they view him: Family. Often the sun is seen as a symbol of a connection to the divine, and this tells us that Zorro is a guardian angel, and he is not to be trifled with. He is a warrior of God (So to speak) and as Robert E. Howard, Tolkien and C.S. Lewis would all say, “A Good man is also a Dangerous man.”
This is what I imagine a Zorro short story would go, and it’s a very energetic way to start the story. And the music really adds to the ambiance. It’s the only way to start the movie, and is absolutely necessary to really demonstrates who the hero is.
Very nice analysis. I always loved the old world elegance and passion of Zorro. He represents a new path in a radically different world—a blend of the positive side of historical high culture, the responsibilities of the warrior and the goodness of average people.
Raphael Sabatini is my favorite author of these type of stories. Captain Blood and Scaramouche are two of his well known works. In essence, he wrote the precursors to HPL, Howard and the early comics and superheroes, though his heroes and villains tended to be historically based.
Captain Blood is basically Robin Hood as a pirate captain with a heart of gold working against the evil inherent in the aristocracy. Swashbuckling at its’ finest.
Sabatini’s writing is like a jewel: beautifully done, colorful and exciting. These stories were targeted at preteen boys, and he wrote quite a great number of them. I read at least ten of them to my son and daughter when they were young, and they both loved them, but for entirely different reasons.
I haven’t read them in years, and now I want to read them all over again, just when I was rereading my Harkaway novels. There is never enough time to read fabulous stories.
Thank you for that heroic reminder.
Free ebook versions were available on internet archive.org.
It's so ironic that this most Latino of heroes was created by a very non-Spanish man named Johnston McCulley.