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Show:		8.0
Picture:		8.0
Sound:		7.0
Extras:		7.0
Score:		8.0

Director(s):	Hollingsworth Morse • Charles Barton • Norman Foster
Writer(s):	Johnston McCulley, Bob Wehling, Lowell S. Hawley
Starring:	Guy Williams • Gene Sheldon • Henry Calvin • Don Diamond • George J. Lewis
Genre:	Action • Adventure • Children & Family
Release Date:	November 03, 2009

List Price:	DVD - $38.99
Amazon:

Not long ago, I sort of chastised Disney for a series of DVD releases of older material on the basis that they did not have a clear idea of who the set was intended for. I felt a little bad about it, but that was before I took a look at their new Disney Treasures collection of the new season of Zorro. It’s become somewhat vogue to criticize the Disney company (Lord knows how many times Family Guy has held up their product as an object of ridicule), but there’s really no two ways around it: when they set their mind to it, they really have no serious competition, and this new Zorro set speaks to that tradition of excellence. It’s really, really cool.

For many Americans (particularly those of the ‘television generation’, as Leonard Maltin repeatedly refers to it in his introduction), the Disney primetime television show is the definitive version of Zorro, eclipsing even the 1940 Mark of Zorro as the most popular version of the character. Set in old California, Zorro follows the adventures of Don Diego de laVega (Guy Williams), a former University student recently recalled from Spain by his wealthy father, Don Allejandro de la Vega (George J. Lewis). Diego is something of a disappointment to his father, demonstrating none of the ambition that would befit a person of his station. Unbeknownst to his father, however, Diego leads a double life, moonlighting as the populist hero Zorro, who protects the afflicted of California from the predations of wealthy landowners. Aiding him in his adventures is the mute manservant Bernardo, who is the only person to know Diego’s secret and acting as a virtual stand-in for Alfred (one of many direct parallels to the Batman mythos).

In its aesthetic, its social politics, and its proposed solutions to problems (one episode has Zorro dressing up like a ghost to frighten away guards), Zorro could hardly be more antiquated, and might be hard for a post-Frank Miller audience to relate to, which Disney wisely recognizes here. Instead of packaging this as an introduction to Zorro for a new generation (an attempt that almost always fails). Disney presents this as a key part of its history, and approaches the collection as such. The episodes (all 39 of them; they didn’t mess around with their television seasons back then) are laid out in a pleasing fashion, the special features are all easy to find, and the entire package is contained in a collectible tin that feels like it was designed with a new car in mind. In addition, the set also contains the one hour specials Zorro: El Bandido and Zorro: Adios El Cuchillo, which originally aired on Walt Disney Presents, as well as an exhaustive history of the character and a whole lot of Leonard Maltin. In short, this set is nothing if not complete, with none of the promotional materials standing in as documentaries or padding that plague so many DVD sets, nor is there the suggestion that they’re holding anything back in the hope that they’ll be able to release an expanded set if this one proves to be popular.

To get back to the show for a moment, it really is very good, but is definitely not for all tastes. It’s outdated, and can only be looked through the prism as such. Once that is taken into account, the show can be greatly enjoyed, even if the advances made between now and then in the formatting of television seasons can’t help but be noticed. One thing that transcends that gap, however, is the indelible performance of Guy Williams as Diego de la Vega. At once suave and funny, handsome and self-deprecating, he is everything that a movie star once came to represent. It is all the more impressive when you think that he had to do it for 39 episodes in a season.

DVD Bonus Features

The set also contains Zorro: El Bandido and Zorro: Adios en Cuchillo as mentioned, as well as an excerpt from “The Fourth Anniversary Show” and “The Life and Legend of Zorro”.