Zorro

Don Diego de la Vega:
You know, Sergeant, I think there's a lesson to be learned from all this. For all the allure of physical beauty, we should remember it's only skin deep.

Sergeant Jaime Mendoza:
That is true, Don Diego. That's why I always say; what counts is not how a woman looks, but how a woman cooks.

Don Diego de la Vega:
Love fries a man's brain like a crisp tortilla.

Don Diego de la Vega:
[as Zorro to Victoria] The man behind this mask is. . . The man behind this mask is afraid of only one thing in this world. That you love a hero with whom he cannot possibly compete. That if this mask were removed, you would still be in love with Zorro and not with the man of flesh and blood.

[first lines]

[Felipe enters the room where Don Diego is trying to make lunar observations with his telescope]

Don Diego de la Vega:
Put out that light. What is it, Felipe? Yes, I know the hour is late. You see, there is one obstacle which has vexed astronomers down through the ages - you can only study the moon at night.

Don Diego de la Vega:
Felipe, it is time for you to learn some swordsmanship.

[Diego parries Felipe's sudden thrust]

Don Diego de la Vega:
Excellent... but you forgot the salute. That's very impolite.

Alcalde Luis Ramone:
Good evening, Zorro. Those shots were a warning... the pleasure of killing you is mine.

Zorro:
My sword says differently, Se?or Alcalde.

[Sergeant Mendoza discovers the "corpse" was feigning death]

Alcalde Luis Ramone:
Why did you not let me in on this plan, Alcaide?

Sergeant Jaime Mendoza:
It was all part of my strategy, Sergeant. If we could fool you, we could fool anyone, because you are a fool's fool.

Alcalde Luis Ramone:
Oh, thank you, sir!

Ricardo Cortez:
But h-how did you know I was really still alive?

Zorro:
The insignia of the great Calederon Theater Company, Mexico City - so nicely embossed upon your saddlebags. Who would want to kill an actor, I asked myself? Not even his harshest critic.

[Zorro sets Sergeant Mendoza's pants on fire with the lens of his telescope]

Zorro:
Yes, Sergeant, I burn, too. I apologize if I've made you uncomfortable, but such are the forces of nature when harnessed by man. I burn, too - with injustice! Alcaide, a remarkable thing has occurred... a dead man has been resurrected. May I present Ricardo Cortes, alias a corpse known as Morales.

Alcalde Luis Ramone:
Seize him!

[the Alcaide's men charge towards Zooro]

Zorro:
Another step and your old school friend may die yet again.

Victoria Escalante:
[of Zorro] "Until we meet again, Se?orita." "Buenas dias, Senorita." "Adios, Senorita." If we were able to meet for more than just a few moments, you would not always depart in such a hurry.

Alcalde Ignacio de Soto:
Buenas tardes. My name is Ignacio, I'll be your waiter this afternoon. Today we have a lovely pollo Zorro. That's chicken, roasted with onions and a lot of chile peppers. It's hot, hot, hot! Served with a skewer, bathed in a black bean sauce, and resting on a delightful saddle of Toronados. It's very nice.

Don Diego de la Vega:
Isn't it ironic? I'm trapped by this brilliant illusion I've created. I'm no longer respected by the very people I've sworn to protect. Yes, Zorro is respected. But who am I? Diego de la Vega or 'The Fox'. The phantom of the night, snatching a few fleeting moments with the woman I love. If she heard me speak today, it would have been a simple matter to conclude that Zorro and I are one and the same. But then Zorro would never catch a cold. Zorro is indestructable.

Zorro:
[after throwing Ramon up against a wall] From this moment on, you are this far away from death. At night, look closely into every shadow for my sword. And by the cold light day, know that I am just one step behind you like the fox that I am. Mark me well, one sinister move, one malicious deed, and I will swoop down on you like God's thunder. From this moment on, I own your evil heart and I will crush it, if you hurt this pueblo anymore.

Alcalde Ignacio de Soto:
By the way, your son sends his regrets. He doesn't wish to see his father hang. A coward to the last.

Don Alejandro de la Vega #2:
Diego de la Vega will avenge my death. Son of Zorro, he could do no less.

Alcalde Ignacio de Soto:
I'm sorry, Senor, but your son couldn't avenge a mild stomach ache.

Victoria Escalante:
[to two men playing cards with Mendoza] In the first place, Senor, gambling is not harmless fun. And in the second place, Mendoza doesn't earn enough AND he has the card sense of a turnip. And in the third place, don't even think in your wildest dreams that I could be 'your' senorita.

Don Diego de la Vega:
[disgustedly] And then he called her his little grapefruit, and she called him her peach. Between them they have the makings of a nice fruit salad. My father was right, Sergeant, it's really quite nauseating.

Victoria Escalante:
The fire reminds me when my mother used to read me poems and adventure stories about love and courage. "Love has no rhyme and no reason. It strikes with a passionate fire, engulfing the hearts in flame."

Don Diego de la Vega:
[finishing the quote] "And only your cool, sweet lips will quench my burning desire."

Victoria Escalante:
[looking at him oddly] Diego, something happened today. Something that I've never noticed before. Today when you stood up to the King's emissary, there was something about you. . .well, you seemed different somehow.

Alcalde Ignacio de Soto:
[to Don Alejandro] Senor, the tactics employed by the Colonial Regimental Army were good enough for Cortez when he conquered the Indians.

Don Diego de la Vega:
The problem is these aren't unarmed Indians and you aren't Cortez, are you?

Sergeant Jaime Mendoza:
Zorro, you are under arrest for...for what?

Alcalde Luis Ramone:
Treason, sedition, conspiracy, thievery, assault with deadly weapons, attacking government troops and riding with reckless endangerment.

Sergeant Jaime Mendoza:
I prefer a quick bullet through the heart than to be boiled in oil like a beef empanada.

Alcalde Ignacio de Soto:
More like a chicken empanada, eh, Sergeant?

Don Alejandro de la Vega:
That's not nice, Alcalde. I like the way Sergeant Mendoza is philosophizing about this whole thing.

Alcalde Ignacio de Soto:
Sending Diego for help is like asking Sergeant Mendoza to guard a plate of roast chicken.

Sergeant Jaime Mendoza:
A soldier is not trained to deal with the unknown. It is the unexplained, the mysterious, that promotes fear. And fear is a soldier's greatest enemy.

Alcalde Luis Ramone:
Tell me the name of the man who wears the black mask and I will spare these men.

Victoria Escalante:
Even if I did know his name, I wouldn't make one deal with the devil himself.

Alcalde Luis Ramone:
Why do you insist on protecting a mere criminal?

Victoria Escalante:
He may be a criminal in your eyes, but in mine he's a hero.

Alcalde Luis Ramone:
Then you, my dear, are terribly short-sighted.

Sergeant Jaime Mendoza:
[on first seeing Zorro] OH, MY GOD, IT'S A DEMON!

Zorro:
[taking off on a flying machine based on Leonardo da Vinci's model] I hope da Vinci knew what he was doing...

Don Diego de la Vega:
[as Zorro, fencing with de Soto] When I fence with Mendoza,I fence with simplicity. When I fence with a subtle swordsman such as yourself, I employ subtlety. [Zorro then punches de Soto in the face.] Unfortunately, I don't always succeed.

Dr. Henry Wayne:
Incredible! A secret cave - how splendid!

Zorro:
I thought you might appreciate it.

Dr. Henry Wayne:
Oh, I do, I do... Is that a laboratory I see?

Zorro:
Exactly. I have great respect for scientific endeavor, Dr. Wayne, so long as it is used for progress and not suppression. You do have a certain inventive genius.

Dr. Henry Wayne:
You really think so?

Zorro:
The only proof of it will be what good you can do with it. Any fool can wreak havoc.

Don Diego de la Vega:
Go to the cuartel with the sergeant and get help. I'll stay here in case they return.

Don Alejandro de la Vega #2:
Will you act like a de la Vega for once in your life?

Don Diego de la Vega:
But, Father, you don't know...

Don Alejandro de la Vega #2:
Don't 'But, Father' me. Felipe in in danger of being gunned down and you can only muster the courage to say 'I'll stay here.'

Don Diego de la Vega:
Father, you don't know the whole situation.

Don Alejandro de la Vega #2:
I know enough. I know that my only son is... is a coward.

Zorro:
[to the soldiers] This puzzles me. Why steal a pig from these poor farmers when you already have the Alcalde, the biggest pig in California?

Don Diego de la Vega:
[as Zorro] Victoria, for whatever I've done, I truly apologize. It wasn't me.

Victoria Escalante:
Oh, it was you all right.

Don Diego de la Vega:
No, it was something deep inside me. An irrational force. Perhaps a dark side we all share. The same irrational force that seems to have Sergeant Mendoza in its grip.

Victoria Escalante:
So you're free from this. . .force? This. . .um. . .dark side?

Don Diego de la Vega:
Yes. Completely.

Victoria Escalante:
How can you be sure?

Don Diego de la Vega:
I'll let you be the judge. [He takes her into his arms and kisses her.]