The Mask of Zorro (1998)

Antonio Banderas: Alejandro Murrieta, Zorro

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Quotes 

• Elena : [in a confessional, Alejandro posing as a priest]  I have broken the fourth commandment, padre.

  Alejandro Murrieta : You killed somebody?

  Elena : No, that is not the fourth commandment.

  Alejandro Murrieta : [pause]  Of course not. Tell me, in what way did you break the most sacred of commandments.

  Elena : I dishonored my father.

  Alejandro Murrieta : That is not so bad. Maybe your father deserved it.

  Elena : What?

  Alejandro Murrieta : I said tell me more, my child.

• Elena : [in a confessional, Alejandro posing as a priest]  Forgive me father for I have sinned. It has been three days since my last confession.

  Alejandro Murrieta : Three days? How many sins could you have committed in three days? Come back when you have more time, please.

• Don Diego de la Vega : [Alejandro draws his sword]  Do you know how to use that thing?

  Alejandro Murrieta : Yeah. The pointy end goes into the other man.

  Don Diego de la Vega : [sighs]  This is going to take a lot of work.

• Alejandro Murrieta : Look at me, I look like a butterfly. This is the most stupid thing I've ever done.

  Don Diego de la Vega : I doubt that.

• Alejandro Murrieta : Do you surrender?

  Elena : Never, but I may scream.

  Alejandro Murrieta : I understand. Sometimes I have that effect.

• Elena : [dancing with Love]  Yes, were you looking for something?

  Alejandro : A sense of the miraculous in everyday life.

  Captain Harrison Love : Really? Well, why don't you try looking somewhere else? The lady and I are trying to dance.

  Alejandro : You were trying; she was succeeding. Forgive me, Captain Love. A shameless joke at your expense... and I hope it won't be the last.

  [Love scowls, Elena grins slightly] 

• Alejandro Murrieta : [whispering to his baby son]  And so it was. Lighting split the sky, thunder shook the earth, and then all was quiet. The great warrior known as Zorro was gone. The people of the land gave him a hero's funeral, the largest anyone had ever seen. They came from far and wide to say farewell to their brave and noble champion. But don't worry, little Joaquin. Whenever great deeds are remembered, your grandfather will live on. For there must always, always be a Zorro. And some day, when he's needed, we will see him again... on his fearsome steed Tornado, riding like the wind, his sword blazing in the sun... leaping, jumping, swinging through the air... fighting like a lion. Fighting like a tiger. Fighting...

  [sees Elena watching him] 

  Alejandro Murrieta : ... as safely as possible.

  Elena : Is this your idea of putting the baby to sleep?

• Alejandro Murrieta : I miss my brother, sir.

  Don Diego de la Vega : Your brother is dead. We lose the ones we love, we cannot change it. Put it aside.

  Alejandro Murrieta : How? How can I do what is needed, when all I feel is... hate.

  Don Diego de la Vega : [holds up black mask]  You hide it, with this.

• Alejandro Murrieta : [upon first meeting her]  Be careful Señorita, there are dangerous men about.

  Elena : Well, if you see any, be sure to point them out.

• Don Diego de la Vega : You have passion, Alejandro, and your skill is growing. But to enter Montero's world, I must give you something which is completely beyond your reach.

  Alejandro Murrieta : Ah, yes? And what is that?

  Don Diego de la Vega : Charm.

  Alejandro Murrieta : Charm? And what is that?

  Don Diego de la Vega : Convince Montero that you're a gentleman of stature, and he will let you into his circle.

  Alejandro Murrieta : Me, a gentleman?... This is going to take a lot of work.

  Don Diego de la Vega : Yes.

• Don Diego de la Vega : [after beating Alejandro in a training session]  Lesson number one: never attack in anger. Lesson number two...

  [smells Alejandro, who is very dirty] 

  Don Diego de la Vega : Come with me.

  Alejandro Murrieta : [Don Diego de la Vega leaves; Alejandro sniffs his own underarm]  What?

  [later, as he washes in a pool] 

  Alejandro Murrieta : So what is lesson number three?

  Don Diego de la Vega : To get to lesson number four.

• Don Diego de la Vega : This is called a training circle, a master's wheel. This circle will be your world, your whole life. Until I tell you otherwise, there is nothing outside of it.

  Alejandro Murrieta : Capitan Love is...

  Don Diego de la Vega : There is NOTHING outside of it. Captain Love does not exist until I say he exists. As your skill with the sword improves, you will progress to a smaller circle. With each new circle, your world contracts, bringing you that much closer to your adversary, that much closer to retribution.

  Alejandro Murrieta : I like that part.

• Don Diego de la Vega : I gave my life to them, and in return I lost everything. My wife was murdered before my eyes, and my child was stolen to be raised by my mortal enemy.

  Alejandro Murrieta : Montero? Elena... she's your daughter.

  Don Diego de la Vega : Yes, she was.

  Alejandro Murrieta : So... you will simply take your revenge.

  Don Diego de la Vega : No, I will take my daughter. And don't pretend she means nothing to you.

  Alejandro Murrieta : She does. But you taught me to see beyond personal feelings, remember? Was that all a lie?

  Don Diego de la Vega : You're too young to understand.

  Alejandro Murrieta : To understand what? Betrayal? All the work, all the training, all the wise words, for *what*? To smile in the face of my brother's killer while you make your own plans?

  Don Diego de la Vega : Alejandro, I taught you everything you needed to survive. Now, I must look to my own heart. Elena is all I have left, I'm not going to lose her again.

  Alejandro Murrieta : What about California? What about the people?

  Don Diego de la Vega : They still have Zorro.

• Alejandro Murrieta : I would have killed him.

  Don Diego de la Vega : No, not today. He is trained to kill. You seem trained to drink. Oh, yes, my friend, you would have fought very bravely, and died very quickly. Who then would avenge your brother?

• Alejandro Murrieta : [Cuts a mark on Captain Love's face]  "M"... For Murrieta.

• Alejandro Murrieta : [about Zorro]  He probably wears the mask to hide his bald head and unsightly features.

• Alejandro Murrieta : All that shooting guns, racing around on horses - gives me a frightful headache. It's hardly the work of a gentleman.

  Elena : What is? Climbing in and out of carriages?

  Alejandro Murrieta : No, but increasing one's holdings so as to provide comfort to ladies. Such as yourself.

• Alejandro Murrieta : Just one question.

  Captain Harrison Love : Really? What is that?

  Alejandro Murrieta : How would you like your remains displayed?

• Alejandro Murrieta : So, how much are we worth?

  Three-Fingered Jack : Uh, all told... about two hundred pesos?

  Joaquin Murrieta : That's it? After all the payrolls we've robbed, a lousy two hundred pesos apiece, that's all we're worth?

  Cpl. Armando Garcia : We're wasting time.

  Three-Fingered Jack : Now that's two hundred pesos for the both of you.

  Alejandro Murrieta : What? Are you crazy? Don't take it, Jack!

• [at the ball] 

  Alejandro Murrieta : We will never get away with this.

  Don Diego de la Vega : Yes, we will. A nobleman is nothing but a man who says one thing and thinks another.

  Alejandro Murrieta : What if Montero realizes who you are?

  Don Diego de la Vega : Montero thinks of himself as a true nobleman. He will never look a servant in the eye.

• Alejandro : I've never lost a fight.

  Don Diego de la Vega : Except to a crippled old man just now.

• Alejandro Murrieta : Is something... amusing Captain Love?

  Captain Harrison Love : [having just shot Jack]  Strange, actually. This is the second time I've shot this man while he was flying through the air.

• Don Diego de la Vega : You should not trade something like that for a mere glass of whiskey.

  Alejandro Murrieta : Why not? You think I could get two?

• Alejandro Murrieta : [Swordfighting]  Only one question.

  Captain Harrison Love : Really, What is that?

  Alejandro Murrieta : How would you like your remains displayed?

  [Then starts beating Captain Love] 

• Alejandro Murrieta : When I sleep, I will dream of this dashing rogue Zorro. But what face shall I give him?

  Elena : He has been many different men, but he has loved you as all of them.

  Alejandro Murrieta : How can I refuse such a man? Do you know where I might find him?

  Elena : You know Zorro. He could be anywhere.

• Alejandro Murrieta : Did you miss me?

• [Don Diego has stopped a drunk and revenge-driven Alejandro from attacking Captain Love by defeating him in a sword fight] 

  Alejandro Murrieta : I could have killed him!

  Don Diego de la Vega : He is trained to kill. You seemed trained to drink.

• Alejandro Murrieta : Psst. Horse! Come here!

  [Tornado has no response] 

  Alejandro Murrieta : Blackie? Thunder. Storm. Estupido! Get over here now!

  [Tornado still no response] 

  Alejandro Murrieta : I warn you. I'll get another horse.

  [Tornado's no response] 

  Alejandro Murrieta : Ah.

  [He whistles for Tornado to come here. He makes a jump onto him but misses and lands hard on the ground. Tornado whinnies] 

• Alejandro Murrieta : Señorita, you have done nothing wrong. The only sin would be to deny what your heart truly feels.

• Alejandro Murrieta : I can't believe it. I never thought that one day I would be standing in the lair of the fox.. In the lair of Zorro.

  Don Diego de la Vega : This place was devoted to the training of Zorro.

  Alejandro Murrieta : Where were you all these years? I thought you were dead.

  Don Diego de la Vega : I was dead. And we will leave it at that.

• Don Diego de la Vega : Montero has come back.

  Alejandro Murrieta : Good. Then you can kill him.

  Don Diego de la Vega : No, there are complications. Too many complications for me to ignore.

  Alejandro Murrieta : What complications?

  [Don Diego does not answer] 

  Alejandro Murrieta : I can see we are not going to spend much time talking.

• Alejandro Murrieta : Zorro! The legend has returned!

• Elena : [in a confessional booth]  I try to behave properly, the way my father would like me to. But, I'm afraid my heart is too wild.

  Alejandro Murrieta : [pretending to be a priest]  Too wild?

  Elena : Yes.

  Alejandro Murrieta : Could you be - a little more specific about that?

  Elena : I had impure thoughts about a man. I did! I think he was a bandit or something. He wore a black mask.

  Alejandro Murrieta : He had a - deep voice?

  Elena : Yes.

  Alejandro Murrieta : Ruggedly handsome?

  Elena : I do not know. His face was half-covered. But something in his eyes captured me.

  Alejandro Murrieta : Captured you?

  Elena : I felt warm and feverish.

  Alejandro Murrieta : Lustful?

  Elena : Yes, lustful. Forgive me.

• Alejandro Murrieta : We are - like one spirit.

• Don Diego de la Vega : You're a thief, Alejandro. A pitiful clown. Zorro was a servant of the people. He was not a seeker of fame like you. A buffoon. Zorro did what was needed.

  Alejandro Murrieta : And now he's needed again. I didn't ask for your help in the cantina, but I came here to learn how to fight like you. To have your strength, your courage. Now when I try to use them, you slap me down? Let me tell you something, I am tired of all your training, your lecturing! I am tired of waiting for you to tell me I am ready. I have my own scores to settle, a new life to find. I thought I could do it here. I was wrong.

  Don Diego de la Vega : Alejandro! En garde!

• Alejandro Murrieta : Would you care to try something more robust? Or, do you feel unequal to the task?

  Elena : No, on the contrary, Don Alejandro. I think only of your distaste for perspiration.

• Alejandro Murrieta : She is young and impulsive, but her beauty is beyond compare. And she has her father's commanding presence.

• Elena : Not bad.

  Alejandro Murrieta : Not bad at all.

• Alejandro Murrieta : Maybe someday I will see what I look like through your eyes, Captain Love.

• Alejandro : The only sin would be to deny what your heart truly feels.

• Alejandro Murrieta : I don't have the time to give you the proper instruction.

  Elena : I have had the proper instruction.