The Many Faces of Zorro

The Many Faces of Zorro surveys decades of screen incarnations of the masked hero, moving from Douglas Fairbanks' silent-era athleticism up through Antonio Banderas' late 20th century interpretation. Rather than following any single storyline, it pieces together archival clips, trainer demonstrations, and contemporary interviews to show how costume, swordplay, and stunt technique shaped each era's version of Zorro. Performers including Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, and Catherine Zeta-Jones offer personal recollections, while fencing and whip instructors explain the physical craft behind the spectacle. The film stays focused on craft and legacy, avoiding plot spoilers and leaving narrative surprises intact for viewers who want to revisit the original films.

Directed by Phillip Dye and released in 2000, the documentary mixes fresh interviews with historic footage, positioning the Zorro figure as a recurring cinematic archetype rather than a single franchise entry.

Commercially the movie had a limited run, showing at specialty venues and on home video rather than wide theatrical release, and no widely cited box office totals are available for this small documentary.

The film emphasizes how Zorro influenced the swashbuckling genre and popular ideas about masked vigilantes, showing the lineage from Fairbanks to modern actors. It highlights technical moments that became iconic in later productions, and it underlines how performers and fight choreographers shaped the character's public image across generations.

Critics and viewers responded unevenly, with some appreciating the archival material and the detailed attention to stunt craft, while others felt the documentary lacked deeper context or critical analysis. Its themes center on performance, technique, and continuity, presenting Zorro less as a single hero and more as a set of cinematic practices and motifs that different eras reinterpreted.