And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself (HBO), 2003

Additional Captures

Director: Bruce Beresford

Co-Stars: Eion Bailey (Frank Thayer); Alan Arkin (Sam Drebbin); Jim Broadbent (Harry Aitkens; Michael McKean (William Christy Cabanne); Colm Feore (D.W. Griffith)

Screenwriter: Larry Gelbart

Studio: HBO Films and Green Moon Productions

Premiere Date: September 7, 2003

Filming: Mexico

"The improbability of the events depicted in this film is the surest indication that they actually did occur." (HBO Films)

ANTONIO ON HIS ROLE AND THE MAN:

"When you tell people about this story--that there was an American crew filming Pancho Villa in battle, in 1914 in Mexico--they say that's not true, that it is a fantasy, a legend. But it is true. It happened."

"This is a man that committed acts that are beyond human, sometimes. At the same time, in the context of Mexico, poor people...saw him as a liberator, somebody who set them free."

"From a dramatic point of view, [portraying Pancho Villa] is a dream."

"Could you possibly change your attack so that you fire from the West instead of the East? That would give us so much better a picture," Frank Thayer asks Pancho Villa as the General prepares for what could be one of (and ultimately was) the most important battle of his life. The General agreed.

CRITICAL PRAISE FOR ANTONIO'S PERFORMANCE:

USA Today: "[Banderas] is an inspired choice."

The Boston Globe: "Banderas is an excellent Villa - dusty, sweaty, and morally slippery. He brings physical prowess and enough charismatic complexity to merge Villa's violent streak with his bouts of poetry. He seems to be having a great time in the role, and when he's on-screen, the movie wants to be more than just average."

The Philadelphia Inquirer: "[And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself] spectacularly stars Antonio Banderas, who as Villa has more fun than a whole battalion of pillaging mercenaries."

Florida Sun-Sentinel: "A tour de force performance"; "Banderas is such a commanding figure that this is essentially a one-man show.

Star-Telegram: "Banderas, for once given an opportunity to play a role that doesn't require him to smolder or smirk seductively, gives an emphatic performance as Villa, convincingly making him, by turns, silly, saintly, scary and prone to the kind of capricious violence that strips away some of Thayer's naivete."

Ain't-it-cool-news.com: "Banderas really comes through with his portrayal of Villa in a big way. I can honestly say I haven't enjoyed him this much since, well, I've probably never enjoyed Antonio as much as in this role. He chews, tears and glides his way from scene to scene. The portrayal is his own personal symphony, and he's determined to play every note with precision. He embodies the central character in a way that convinces you nobody else could ever have played the part."

HBO Films (not particularly objective but we like it!): "Banderas delivers a powerful, larger-than-life performance."

In 1914, when Fort Lee, New Jersey, was considered the movie capital of the world (I kid you not), famed director D.W. Griffith (Colm Feore) and his partner, Harry Aitken (Jim Broadbent), of Mutual Films, undertook a project that was actually conceived by the legendary Mexican revolutionary, Francisco "Pancho" Villa. General Villa, strapped for cash in his war with Mexico's dictatorial president, Victoriano Huerta, and squeezed by an American corporate arms embargo fueled by William Randolph Hearst, offers the American movie company the film rights to his revolution. All Villa wants is $25,000 in gold (a considerable fortune at that time) against 20% of the profits. The resulting film, "The Life of General Villa" - in which actors played the younger Villa and his family, the self-styled General played himself and prostitutes played soldiers' wives - was released in 1914 and became the world's first full-length feature film. It also became enough of a hit to help sway Americans in favor of Villa's revolution.

In the HBO film, Harry Aitken sends his nephew, Frank Thayer (Eion Bailey), a young production assistant with the Company, to Texas to strike a deal with Villa and film his troops at work. They watch the war transpire across the Rio Grande before actually taking the camera crews into the fray itself. But when they do, it's a chaotic scene; one cameraman loses control of his bladder but keeps on filming, much to the General's amusement. And we see the early development of what will become a complicated friendship between young Frank and the General, and the realization that neither one of them fully grasps the consequences of the deal they have made.

The footage doesn't play well back in America, where it is laughed off the screen. Thayer realizes that to get the footage he needs, the film company needs more control. With the promise of another $25,000 in gold and a print of the completed film (to air himself in Mexico and thus earn additional funds), Villa agrees to go into battle only during daylight hours when the light is best for the film crew. An experienced director is brought in (Michael McKean), along with American film actors.

It is clear that the main thing Villa wants is greatness and to be remembered as the savior of Mexico after he is gone. He also shows his desire for self-portrayal in the realm of reality alone, not in some Hollywood time capsule, but it turns out that he wants to be shown in his best light. Villa manipulates the studios much the same way that the studios are manipulating him.

The film has its light moments and certainly has good humor about the insanity of the situation, but it is rooted in reality and historical accuracy. While some could accuse it of glorifying an outlaw, it also shows Villa's atrocities, his willingness to send boys into battle, putting a bullet into the head of an hysterical widow whose husband was assassinated by Villa's men, his vicious, cruel streak and the notion that truth is the first casualty of war. At the same time, it shows Villa to have been a complex man with many admirable traits: a love of children and education; a brilliant military tactician; and, most significantly, a consuming concern for the plight of the people of his country.

One of the many great things about this film is the way it seems to balance the heroic adventures of Pancho Villa without ever forgetting that he was no angel. There are several times that you feel great rooting for him as he fights for freedom, and others in which Villa makes you sick to your stomach. There's quite a lot to be said about both sides and both stories are told. But admittedly when in doubt, the film puts a little more weight on the heroic side of the balance.

"This was a totally uneducated man, and yet he was compared to Napoleon in terms of his battle tactics," says Larry Gelbart, the screenwriter. "It was his idea to have the battles filmed. He wanted to raise some money to buy arms, but he was [aware] of the fact that more people would probably see him in a film than could read about him in the newspaper. He was that bright."

Related Information

No substantial footage from the actual film, "The Life of General Villa", exists today, but the unedited footage from the battles was used as research in making the HBO film. According to Joshua D. Maurer, an executive producer of the movie,"Apparently, a Mexican historian has uncovered maybe a few feet of the actual teleplay, but it's basically only inches," Maurer said. "Maybe one day it will turn up."

Along with boots and artillery, Mutual Films supplied 5,000 Confederate uniforms for Villa's scruffy soldiers because the studio wanted to make them look better (this is briefly depicted in the film).

Villa, who often transported his troops by train, reserved cars for reporters and a special car for Mutual that allowed its employees to develop and edit film. It is said the train was more than two miles long.

According to Mark Cronlund Anderson's book, "Pancho Villa's Revolution by Headlines", Mutual President Harry Aitken told the media: "I found him to be a very different man from the uncouth bandit he has been painted. He is a serious dignified man who conducts the affairs of his army in a systematic and orderly manner, which would do credit to a much older and experienced military man."

Ultimately, the United States recognized Villa's opponent, Venustiano Carranza, as Mexico's President. The Carranza general responsible for Villa's defeats, Alvaro Obregon, was later elected president and some believe had a hand in Villa's assassination in 1923. As Villa was driving home from the baptism of a friend's son, he and three others were ambushed and died in a hail of bullets.

Synopsis by Lisa