list of footage missing from the Somerville House release

In 2012 Sommerville House finally released a near-complete version of ZORRO on Blu-ray and DVD in North America. However, the claims that their release is complete and uncut are misleading, as their print still falls short of the two hour mark. A comparison of the Sommerville print to both the French DVD edition from MGM and the Italian language print released on DVD in Japan reveals the following omissions:


Let's start with the more substantial cuts ...

At the 36 minute 30 second mark (36:30) in the Sommerville print, 987 frames are missing. They constitute an entire scene in which Colonel Huerta hears of Zorro for the first time. (This scene does appear in both the French and the Japanese/Italian prints.)

At 58:34, Sommerville's print is missing 2123 frames, covering shots of Huerta's troops mistreating the townspeople and a scene in which Garcia discovers that Zorro has stolen the soldier's payroll from the garrison safe.

62:40 - missing 1270 frames - an extended opening to the scene in which an opera singer performs at the party thrown by Diego to celebrate his Aunt Carmen's engagement to Fritz.

116:07 - missing 890 frames - After Huerta has fallen to his death, Hortensia delivers a speech to the townspeople, telling them that Zorro has delivered them from a tyrant.


Then there are some cuts that are brief, but which still eliminate bits of dialogue from the film. These include:

11:24 - missing the final 90 frames from the scene in which Diego swears to his friend that he will not use violence in Nueva Aragon. The cut removes the real Miguel's dying gasp.

19:52 - missing the final 163 frames of the scene in which Diego tells Aunt Carmen that he is a man of peace. The cut removes Carmen's closing remark, "A man of peace? You're such a silly person."

62:24 - missing 238 frames from the scene in which Carmen and Fritz return from their trip cut short by an ambush by bandits. The cut deletes Fritz's line, "Enough, Carmencita; you embarrass me."


The remainder of the cuts are less significant from a storytelling standpoint, but remove many interesting shots, or truncate various sequences:

3:36 - missing 158 frames - various travelers waiting at the shipping station.

7:33 - missing 131 frame - Miguel and Joachim stand with their backs to Diego.

18:22 - missing 45 frames - Joachim shakes his head to Diego's question, "Indigestion?".

22:28 - missing 100 frames - Garcia shrugs as Diego reacts to his display of strength.

25:17 - missing 90 frames - shot of people and cattle in the Nueva Aragon marketplace.

29:39 - missing 50 frames - Joachim stands half hidden behind a cart.

39:48 - missing 55 frames - Zorro laughing at Garcia.

42:06 - missing 70 frames - Zorro cutting a rope to block the soldiers in pursuit.

42:27 - missing 260 frames - Zorro hitting two soldiers.

42:50 - missing 40 frames - Zorro running thru the marketplace.

53:10 - missing 83 frames - Fritz salutes and Aunt Carmen leans out of her carriage.

53:20 - missing 110 frames - Fritz sings as he escorts the departing carriage.

58:26 - missing 200 frames - wealthy churchgoers taking off their valuables.

59:10 - missing 755 frames - soldiers capturing townspeople to enslave at the mine.

59:44 - missing 15 frames - shot of soldiers on horseback.

60:35 - missing 450 frames - slave laborers working at the mine.

60:50 - missing 130 frames - Zorro and Joachim spying on the activity at the mine.

61:29 - missing 120 frames - Aunt Carmen and Fritz return from their aborted journey.

61:39 - missing 50 frames - close-up of Colonel Huerta.

67:24 - missing 165 frames - Hortensia's mother protests the arrest of her daughter.

81:41 - missing 158 frames - shot of Garcia fishing.

83:13 - missing 65 frames - extended footage of Diego walking in the stream.

86:46 - missing 300 frames - soldiers on horseback chasing Zorro.

97:17 - missing 35 frames - close-up of soldiers' horses galloping.

101:07 - missing 17 frames - extreme close-up of Zorro talking.

101:51 - missing 6 frames - soldier raising his saber to attack Zorro.

102:52 - missing 130 frames - Zorro fighting soldiers on a rooftop.

102:59 - missing 62 frames - villagers fighting with soldiers.

103:41 - missing 165 frames - more villagers fighting with soldiers.

106:03 - missing 175 frames - Zorro and Huerta begin their final duel.

107:38 - missing 290 frames - Zorro and Huerta dueling in a room containing suits of armor.

108:56 - missing 240 frames - Zorro and Huerta fighting on a stairway.

109:06 - missing 25 frames - more Zorro and Huerta fighting on a stairway.

109:23 - missing 120 frames - Zorro and Huerta fighting in a red-draped room containing statuary.

109:41 - missing 75 frames - Huerta lunges at Zorro with a pike.

111:06 - missing 40 frames - Zorro and Huerta fight in the rafters above a chapel sanctuary.

111:14 - missing 100 frames - more of Zorro and Huerta fighting in the rafters above a chapel sanctuary.

111:27 - missing 150 frames - more of Zorro and Huerta fighting in the rafters above a chapel sanctuary.

111:28 - missing 50 frames - more of Zorro and Huerta fighting in the rafters above a chapel sanctuary.

111:51 - missing 270 frames - more of Zorro and Huerta fighting in the rafters above a chapel sanctuary.

113:53 - missing 85 frames - Zorro and Huerta fighting with torches in a bell tower.

114:36 - missing 220 frames - Garcia entering the bell tower.

114:39 - missing 135 frames - Assassin approaching Garcia thru doorway.

115:04 - missing 75 frames - Hortensia looks up at Zorro and Huerta fighting atop the tower.

115:35 - missing 150 frames - close-up shots of Zorro and Huerta's eyes.


So, there is the low-down on exactly what's missing from the Sommerville House print of ZORRO. In the spirit of completeness, it should also be noted that in the scene in which Huerta is racing to Diego's bedchamber to see if he is actually there (after Zorro breaks Hortensia out of jail), the Sommerville print actually contains a tiny piece of footage that is missing from most other prints. It's a shot of Zorro tossing a torch off a roof (and runs about 60 frames). Equally tiny bits of extra footage appear in Sommerville's sequence in which Fritz fights off the "bandits" in the forest and the sequence in which Fritz describes to Diego the security precautions being taken to guard his bedchamber.

This examination of the footage missing from the Sommerville print is in no way meant to discourage any Zorro fan from seeking out their Blu-ray or DVD releases of the film. Their work in finally giving the movie a legitimate DVD release in the U.S. is commendable, and Zorro enthusiasts owe Sommerville House a debt of gratitude. But for the fans looking for a 100% complete print of the film, this release only hits the 99% mark. The search for a full-length English language print continues ...