THE MASK OF ZORRO
Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment
Special Edition 2-DVD Set, $27.95

Donning the mask of Zorro, the legendary Don Diego de la Vega battled to protect the ordinary man from Governor Don Rafael Montero's injustices.  Upon uncovering Zorro's true identity, Montero punishes de la Vega by killing his wife, kidnapping his infant daughter and locking him up for twenty years.  After escaping his captors, de la Vega wishes to exact revenge upon Montero.  De la Vega first chooses his Zorro successor-to-be in the person of Alejandro Murrieta, a dashing bandit on the run from the authorities.  After training Murrieta in the ways of Zorro, the two men set out to confront Montero and stop his latest scheme.     

The Mask of Zorro stars Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stuart Wilson and Matt Letscher.  The movie was directed by Martin Campbell and features music by James Horner.  It is rated PG-13 with a feature running time of 137 minutes.           

The film is presented in an anamorphic widescreen version (2.35:1) on Disc One, and in a full screen version (4:3) on Disc Two.  The overall quality of the transfers is excellent.  Images are finely detailed and colors are vivid with fully saturated hues.  There is a high level of contrast and deep black levels.  Picture defect mastering is perfect with no major flaws or digital compression artifacts.

Video Rating: 8 out of 10

The following spoken language options are available on both discs: English DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1, and French Dolby 5.1 channel surround.  The following subtitle tracks are available on the discs: English, French and Spanish subtitles, and English closed captions.  The English DTS 5.1 track is the basis for this review.  Dialogue is intelligible and clear.  The surround channels are very active, and there are several split rear effects.  There are numerous discrete channel effects that take place across the forward channels.  The LFE channel is dynamic and does a wonderful job of providing booming bass to the movie's soundtrack.

Audio Rating: 9 out of 10

The tactile sound effects are very good and are present in most of the DVD's chapters.  Everything from subtle to heavy impacts can be experienced.  The best tactile information comes in de la Vega's initial battle in chapter 2, the explosion in the barracks in chapter 13, and in the encounter at the mines in chapter 27.

Tactile Sound Effects Rating: 8 out of 10

Bonus features exclusive to Disc One include the 45-minute documentary Unmasking Zorro; 2 deleted scenes; costume designs; advertising materials; Marc Anthony and Tina Arena music video; theatrical trailers; filmographies and DVD-ROM content.  Bonus features present on both discs include an audio commentary with director Martin Campbell; production notes and scene access.

Bonus Features Rating: 8 out of 10