Buy the DVD:

Sponsored Links:

And Starring Pancho Villa As Himself

This 2003 made-for-HBO film is the true story of how a film crew recorded the first real battle in cinematic history. It is also a jaded look at how Hollywood alters history to satisfy viewers’ expectations.

Pancho Villa (Antonio Banderas) is fighting two fronts in the Mexican revolution circa 1914: President Victoriano Huerta’s Federalista army and negative press in American newspapers. To help raise funds for his army of revolutionaries and to get good publicity, Villa offers American film companies to record his army in battle for $25,000. Film makers, D.W. Griffith and Harry Aiken, seize the opportunity and send Frank Thayer (Eion Bailey) to Mexico with a suitcase full of money and a camera crew.

Thayer knows he’s making cinematic history by being the first person to capture an actual battle on film. He’s captivated by the fear and thrill of being in the shooting, but he’s fascinated more by the subject of his film: Villa.

Thayer returns to New Jersey with a short documentary that fails to impress many people. Yet, he argues for the film and convinces studio heads Griffith and Aiken to let him make an hour-long feature film about Villa. If you’re upset about the price of going to theaters today, you’ll see the origin of elevated ticket prices here. To encourage people to want to sit through a lengthy project, Thayer recommends ticket prices go to 10 cents – doubling the current price. Meanwhile, American papers are spreading a story about Villa murdering a Texas rancher and, in effect, inciting anger in the public.

Griffith and Aiken agree to Thayer’s plan and send him back to Mexico with money, cameras, crew, actors, and a script. Villa welcomes the movie machine that has come to make him a star, just as he welcomes the extra cash to buy new artillery. The publicity and cash do come at a price. Villa must agree to the script, which distorts Villa’s rise to revolutionary leader and his ambitions when the war is over. "The Life of General Villa" portrays Villa as the new president of Mexico. In reality, Villa wants nothing more than to retire and run a candy store.

The script is just one distortion made to ensure a profit comes to the studio. During filming, prostitutes fill in as the loving wives of Villa and his men, battle scenes are rearranged and a woman that Villa murders himself is shown as being shot by Federalista soldiers in battle. However, the film does its job and wins the hearts of Americans, until Villa’s raid into Texas in 1916 (something not mentioned in the film).

Banderas shines in his role as the famous revolutionary. He delivers patriotic speeches with passion, treats the downtrodden with empathy, and is a sort of Robin Hood character who robs from the rich and gives to the poor. Banderas is also careful to show Villa as a man with murderous impulses.

Larry Gelbart’s script is also well done. The dialogue is engaging and the story moves along fine, but the jaded eye on Hollywood is a bit heavy and takes away from the story. Bruce Beresford does a good job directing Banderas, but he probably could have put the same energy toward the rest of the cast. With the exception of Banderas and Alan Arkin as the colorful Brooklyn-born machine gunner Sam Drebbin, the rest of the performances are not as noteworthy.

Also, starring Pancho Villa, as himself, is quite good and delivers a strong message. After seeing it you’ll want to see "The Life of General Villa" for comparison. Unfortunately, the ground-breaking film has been lost.

DVD extras include audio commentary and a very brief behind-the-scenes feature.

Written by: John Neal

Reviewers Rating: 8
Reader's Rating: 9.00
Reader's Votes: 6

Rate It