Zorro, The Gay Blade (1981)

Best movie of this year hands down!

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I have to admit that I don't the Zorro series except for "Zorro, the Gay Blade" and "Mask of Zorro" (and Isabel Allende's novel portraying the origins of the character). You gotta love the former movie. Basically a parody of the genre, they pretty much get as silly as they want. I, for one, am always going to remember George Hamilton as Zorro and Dracula (from "Love at First Bite"). And if I may say so, Lauren Hutton is quite sexy here! So, if you like totally zany nonsense humor, then this is the movie for you. Even though I've only seen two movies directed by Peter Medak (this one and his satire "The Ruling Class"), I like them both and recommend them very much. Muy bien! Also starring Ron Leibman and Brenda Vaccaro.

I just finished another of many viewings of this superb comedy. Everything is virtually perfect: the script; the actors and their performances; the cinematography; the various comedic zingers. Hamilton's dual role is a masterpiece of comedic acting, as is Liebman's over-the-top and subtle portrayals of the sexually repressed martinet Esteban. Hutton is more than gorgeous; she presents the ideal of liberated femininity and power. The actors are having a contagiously great time with this, and that alone is worth the viewing.I do not see a single wrong move in the film. Great farce is not easy to do, and this is an example that should be appreciated on its own terms and not measured against other genres.

George Hamilton's finest role was the hilarious send up of the Dracula Film genre in "Love at First Bite" Now he sets his sights on Swashbucklers like Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power, and the immoral Douglas Fairbanks Junior in this howler, "Zorro the gay blade." Ironically, this is one of the first mainstream comedies to use a gay character in a lead role, long predating such films as "La Cage Au Foules". And while Hamilton does well as the two main characters, there is a sense that this film tries too hard. Some of the comedy is as shrill as Leibman's Alcalde character. All of this aside it is still a fun film, and the underlying tribute to the character created by McCauly Johnson over a century ago still rings true. So let the "Fox" hunt commence.

i saw this when i was 11 yrs old and it was one of the first videos i had ever watched.it has remained one of the funniest comedies i have ever seen, every scene is funny on so many levels. George Hamilton is most definitely a genius in it, Brenda Vaccaro and Rob Leibman are the funniest comedy actors i have ever seen. if you get the opportunity, please watch it, for all the family and worth a Saturday or Sunday afternoon watch. Guaranteed to cheer you up if your feeling low. The fact that it is so over the top makes it all the more enjoyable. I cannot wait for the day that i can show this to my kids and have them laugh as hard as i did when i was there age.