Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa (Antonio Banderas) finds himself without adequate funding to finance his war against the military-run government. He also finds himself at odds with the Americans because of the Hearst media empire's press campaign against him. To counter both of these, he sends emissaries to movie producers to convince them to pay to film his progress and the actual battles. Producer D.W. Griffith (Colm Feore) becomes interested and sends Frank Thayer (Eion Bailey) with a film crew to develop film reels. Thayer becomes horrified and fascinated by the bandit. He finds an enigmatic individual that is both ghoulishly brutal and charmingly captivating. The resulting film became the first feature length movie, introducing scores of Americans to the true horrors of war that they had never personally seen. Thayer sold the studios on making the film despite their concerns that no one would sit through a movie longer than 1 hour by convincing them that they could raise the price of movies to ten cents, doubling the going price at that time.
| Release Date: | Sep 2003 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | Drama / Biography / Action |
| Awards: | Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 7 wins & 18 nominations |
| Cast: | Antonio Banderas (Pancho Villa), Eion Bailey (Frank Thayer), Alan Arkin (Sam Drebben), Jim Broadbent (Harry Aitken), Matt Day (John Reed), Michael McKean (William Christy Cabanne), Colm Feore (D.W. Griffith), Alexa Davalos (Teddy Sampson), Anthony Head (William Benton (as Anthony Stewart Head)), Kyle Chandler (Raoul Walsh), Saul Rubinek (Eli Morton), Cosme Alberto (Abraham Sanchez), Damián Alcázar (Gen. Rodolfo Fierro), Pedro Armendáriz Jr. (Don Luis Terrazas (as Pedro Armendáriz)), Fernando Becerril (Priest), Michael F. Boyle (Sgt. Edward Emerson), Steven Calcote (Reporter #1), Rita López Carrasco (Carmen), Carl Dillard (Charles Rosher), Omar Espino (Anastacio Sanchez (as Omar Éspino)), Marcelo García (Gen. Toribio Ortega), Peter Gregory (William Randolph Hearst), Adrián Hernández (Peon woman), Isaías Jiménez (Peon man), Jorge Jimenez (Gen. Hipolito Villa), Jay Kimball (W. H. Lawrence), Jake Koenig (Reporter #2), José Manuel Lambarri (Gen. José Refugio Velasco), Madeline Lee (Drebben's Mother), Benjamin Long (Duffy Dorfman), José Concepción Macías (President Victoriano Huerta), Mauricio Magaña (Older Abraham Sánchez), Barbara May (Irene Hunt), Lorena Mínguez (Peon daughter), Darrell Pritchett (Senator Albert Fall), María Guillermina Ramírez (Esperanza Sánchez), Gabriela Reynoso (Señora Madrigal), Guillermo Ríos (Federale Officer #1 (as Guillermo Rios)), Diego Sandoval (Gen. Felipe Ángeles), Patricia Schweers (Zenia the make-up lady), Julian Sedgwick (Carl von Hoffman), Sacha Oberlander Tasletikye (Adrian Brodsky), John Wharton (Hennie Ausenberg), Lilia Zelinna (Rosita), Cesar Di Parra (Harmonica Player), Lynnanne Zager (Actress (uncredited)) |