Douglas Fairbanks in "Zorro"

[soogoonu]

I would have named this movie "Extreme parkour 1920" or "Assassin Creed: Zorro"

man, he was such an awesome athlete

[dimlight49]

02:45 and 02:59 - so the Assassins do exist!

[xflowsivemovement]

I love how this shows that parkour has been apart of human nature since the beginning. We just finally gave it a name.

[olie171]

AMAZING!!! We have came along wayyyyy haven't we?The original has always been the best no matter what.

[FireWaypoint]

Theewssome ooollddd Parkour skills right here.

David Belle must watched this as he was kid or something...

[Kenneth48]

Freerunning and parkour before there was parkour and freerunning. Which proves the old saying there is nothing new under the sun.

[milhouse777]

1:00 and 3:27

Sweet Moves

The Prehistoric Parkour

[REpsycho]

WOW! this is great!

[joakon989]

at 4 persons who didn't like this, are guards!

[saxomar84]

Parkour??? great video¡¡¡¡¡

[1psoas9]

AM I right in thinking that he choreographed this as well as doing all his own stunts?

[kreion]

he was an amazing parkourist !

[DL305]

I'm related to Douglas Fairbanks. Just found out O.o crazy.

[Zacatown]

@DL305 Wow, you should be VERY proud. Fairbanks' influence is still being felt. "Robin Hood", "The Three Musketeers", "Zorro" and "Thief of Bagdad" are still being remade.(Ever see Disney's "Aladdin"?) I wrote Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in the early 1990's and he wrote back, answering all of my questions. He even said that he was offered the lead role in "The Adventures of Robin Hood"(1938 - eventually played by Errol Flynn) but turned it down because he didn't want to "ape" his father.

[DL305]

@Zacatown My favorite part about him is how he did all his own stunts. Adds a lot more to his legitimacy and commitment. I'm thinking of taking parkour/free-running acrobatic lessons as a homage to my ancestor.

[Alfourthousand]

The ancient art of being awesome

[TheArcheoman]

Fairbanks out Jackied Jackie Chan

[furstone1]

Fairbanks was certainly the catalyst to Zorro's becoming an icon on both the big screen and small screen. The Mark of Zorro was truly a great movie. Fans of Zorro should check out the full-cast audio drama version of The Mark of Zorro starring Val Kilmer when it's released on April 1, 2011 by Blackstone Audio.

[madmonkeykungfu36]

un artiste complet avec une condition physique digne d'un athléte,il a inspiré beaucoup de mondes par la suite et 90 ans aprés il est sur youtube,respect!!!

[Zacatown]

@pastelpinkgirly According to Fairbanks' wife, Mary Pickford, Douglas was extremely jealous of Valentino whenever Rudy was near her. But there's footage of Fairbanks and Valentino together (with Al Jolson) looking like the best of friends. And, of course, Fairbanks and Pickford attended Valentino's funeral.

[kemarianking101]

Love the Assassin's Creed moment at 2:56-3:00. Zorro was the original Altair lol

[av3nger3]

Love the part where he pulls the guy off the fence like a friend lol. The guy totally doesn't know at all.

[tjabon80]

Ancient parkour!!!!

[oXtrueloveXo]

He's the Parkour king!!! :D

[superdavid002]

I mention Fairbanks in The Celebrity Song.

[nightowlvg]

That was really awesome!

[JuaquinFierro]

....Continued from above

"I didn't want Batman to be a Superhero with superpowersSo I made Batman an ordinary human being; he is just an athlete who has the physical prowess of Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. [who first played Zorro], who was my all-time favorite hero in the movies. Bob Kane

[KajiRider1997]

@JuaquinFierro They got the inspiration for Batman from Zorro, The Bat and The Shadow. But in turn Zorro was inspired by the older novel heroes, Smuggler heroes, and Penny Dreadfull heroes. Especially from Spring Heeled Jack a real live menace turned hero in fiction.

[JuaquinFierro]

"Zorros use of a mask to conceal his identity as Don Diego gave me the idea of giving Batman a secret identityBruce Wayne would be a man of means who put on a façade of being effete. Zorro rode a black horse ...and would enter a cave and exit from a grandfather clock in the living room. The bat-cave was inspired by this cave in Zorro." Bob Kane

Continued......

[bigcree]

I have to say, this man was really something else! He did his OWN stunts! How cool is that? He was gone long before most of were even born, and this is what I like about Hollywood! Classic and timeless. The new Movies just lack the real 'Expression' and passion he had! Cool! ******

[LIamUrizen]

wwoow!! great, the oldest parkour clip!!!! I think parkour is as old as cavemans

[ob4985]

I think that Fairbanks is the original Jackie Chan/free runner. Amazing stunts and the fact that he did them makes me respect him even more.

[spiderman5402]

@ob4985 yes he was and im an actor and do my own stuts ragardless just like fairbanks and beacause of douglas and jackie chan hell me me want to fly too

[bigcree]

@ob4985 No kidding! Jackie Chan plus! Cubed even!

[chancescheatz]

the dive roll was sweet, he rolled straight down his spine though... ouch

[ItachisOnly1]

now thats what i call parkour

[Laffington]

You see him jump over that mule?Phenomenal! Actors of old had to actually perform the heroic stunts. Today, they just work out just enough to look like they can do them. Another noteworthy point, Fairbanks set the standard for Zorro's now famous costume. If you read McCully's original story, Zorro wore a sombrero -- among other things. It was Fairbanks who changed it to the black ensemble we know and love today..

[JuaquinFierro]

True that, Mcculley changed it for all his subsequent novels and stories inspired by Fairbanks , he also changed the name of the first novel to The Mark of Zorro from the original Curse of Capistrano. Zorro had two daddies - Johnston Mcculley and Douglas Fairbanks .

[Laffington]

There's a sense of urgency to the film that's absent in today's features. Probably because everything nowadays is CGI. Fairbanks probably had the greatest influence on the Zorro character outside of the creator Johnston Mccully..

[Zacatown]

Good points Laffington, thanks.

[andrefelipeluz]

What's the name of the song plz?

[Zacatown]

Tchaikovsky's "Capriccio Italien".

[PiratePowell]

3:20 was SICKKKK

[tdell1275]

Douglas Fairbanks seriously kicks ass!

[bigcree]

37 yrs old at the time of making this Film with all that running, jumping and stunt work! Sounds like real WORK! Russell Means did something similar when he filmed Last of The Mohicans. And Antonio Banderas in his Zorro film! Kudos to all three of them!

[RaYBaSHKatan]

Superb! One cannot beat the silent film era: Fairbanks, Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd Hughs, Fatty Arbuckle, Lon Chaney, etc... Thanks for posting!

[SuperInfective]

How did he do such fantastic stunts... with such little feet?

[JuaquinFierro]

Blazing Sadles ! :P

[Greywolf05]

King kong vault at 1:01.

WTF!?

[Shindai]

No wonder movies have gone downhill nowadays when they have such pure awesomeness to follow as early as 1920! I love it :D

[LiberalDemocrat83]

I agree, I mean movies like "Fast and Furious!" Pointless movies for morons.

[sokerhead]

fairbansk was an awesome zorro

[ChamisaMesaTV]

what song is this?

[Chansonmusika]

One of the things i love about silent films is the wit employed, and this is full of that! beautiful!

[rhd1958]

I am a long time Fairbanks fan/biographer and I am glad to see so many of you respect his work. One thing no one mentioned is that he was 37 years old when he made this film.

[munichpictures]

wow great, this is an example that the idea and the moves existed long before it got the name "parkour"

[hooperz06]

wow it proves that the french didnt make dynamic movement they just gave it a name "parkour". this video is great btw slizzard i agree we are capable of this but we still need to train to do it

[stetteo]

the first parkour video hehe

[BatmansJournalist]

Great music choice. That looks like a lot of fun. I think I'll pour through my music collection and see if I can come up with something too.

[matserofgod]

parkour!

[RageicaNiels]

wauw that was actually better parkour then i thaught it would be. i thaught it would just be some crappy jumps but some of them were sick!! :O

[slizzardman]

Does anyone really believe that no one ever taught themselves how to run through obstacles before the 70's? These kinds of athletic feats, just like feats of strength, have been around forever. They are part of our heritage as humans. Pretty amazing, what we have inherited!

[sk8RAS]

wow, who fat & sappy & coarse Antonio Banderas looks compared to this!! Doug Fairbanks you rule!! slim, fit and did all his own stunts, wow!!

[artvandelay13]

that is effing amazing!!!!! fairbanks ftw

[icsalex2008]

wow,smooth flow parkour,that was awesome,im traceur too but wh ocares,thi is awesome

[themessiah360]

wow, who knew david fairbanks was a traceur eh?

nice moves, very smooth, very good flow.

[Jootiae]

Le parkour ;)

[matenzo]

No idea why but I find silent films really eerie and dreamlike :S

[TheJoker781]

1920 and already Parkour! bravo fairbanks!

[leflipmo]

Not everything including bad guys chasing the good guys or vice versa is to to with parkour. It's just a simple fact that when the guy chased moves smoother and smarter than the people chasing him he's more likely to get away. And everybody know that when you include cool death defying leaps and breath taking vault it's quite a lot entertaining. They already knew that in the way before the 80's.

[elvisguerra]

Amazing! the "grandpa" of B-13 and Casino Royale chase scene. The music selection fits nice!

[VinceThePrince101]

nice parkour

[ZapovitDancer]

I watched this whole movie on the way to Europe on an Air Canada flight, haha it was awesome!

[waggsthadogg]

Magnificent!!!

The further we go in the future, the more I love the past...

[hippiepage]

sweet he is using parkour. sweet. pop vaults dash vaults, dive rolls, kongs, precisions this clip rocks

[Sheik06]

This is not parkour. Parkour was invented by David Belle and Sebastien Foucan until 1988. What Fairbanks is using here is called "Méthode Naturelle", which is a physical discipline invented by Georges Hébert in 1912 for training the military to overcome obstacles in battle.

It is similar to parkour. In fact, David Belle learned the 'Méthode Naturelle' from his father

[ruzkin]

What are you on about? Douglas Fairbanks never studied the Methode Naturelle. Not everyone doing stunts is a student of Herbert or Belle. This is simply proof that the "movements of Parkour" have been co-opted from a hundred different forms of movement over the past centuries.

Also, just to correct your other facts - the name "Parkour" was not created until the late nineties, after the Yamakasi and David split due to the Luc Besson deal. You're talking out your arse.

[Sheik06]

How can you be sure that he wasn't trained in that for his stuns? I agree that parkour has been co-opted from other forms of movement. I just supposed that it was the methode naturelle because it looks like it on the video.

And I never said that the NAME of Parkour was created before 1990's, I said "parkour was invented..." in 1988: I was referring to the discipline, regardless of what it's name was on that time. Sorry if I didn't explain myself correctly, sir.

[ruzkin]

I'm going to risk being crucified by some Douglas Fairbanks biographer now, but Methode Naturelle was developed and taught as part of the physical curriculum in French schools. It didn't become a prescribed training method for the French military until after WW1.

Finally? Methode Naturelle looks nothing like Parkour. The only link between the two is that MN provided David Belle with the physical strength to train Parkour. MN has nothing to do with vaults, jumping rooftops, underbars or escape.

[HaoPK]

Although part of MN was to "vault", along with swimming, climbing etc.

[DazaPk]

Good, and accurate posts "ruzkin".

This is what agility and strength looked like before we tried to name and categorise everything.

[faiz434]

so?its the same rite?

[BubinPL]

awesome! and funny ^_^

[80stimeagain]

The music is wonderful. It is Capriccio Italian by yes Tchaikovsky. I wonder if Douglas ever got seriously injured doing his own stunts.

[McMaximilian]

verdammt gute Parkour Technik die er da drauf hatte

[NYPKLazer]

At 1:00 I got my first real shock, "Holy crap, Brown-and-White Zorro just did an 8 foot Kong!".

Then the underbar at the end, the roof jump... this is like Caveman Parkour, and it's seriously not bad.

I gotta get me his movies now.

[foolishosric]

Douglas Fairbanks Sr. is FLIPPING AWESOME.

Fantastic Music choice, btw. Capriccio Italien is my favorite Tchaikovsky piece.

[ParkourAtVienna]

Damn, that´s pre-historic parkour!!!^^

[PkEklips]

Assassin`s Creed :)))

[Johnnythemonkey26728]

Actually, Batman was based on The Shadow.

HOWEVER, not the point. Nice vid.

[jadedknyte]

Sorry but the combination of the black mask and cape, the animal themed totem, the secret lair under the Mansion accessed by a hidden passage, the sleek black mode of transportation, the rich playboy secret identity by day vigilante by night, were all according to Kane inspired by Zorro, particularly Fairbanks's portrayal of Zorro.

[Johnnythemonkey26728]

Seriously? Crap. That's the last time I talk to my brother about Batman.

Or rather, listen to my brother talk about Batman.

[jadedknyte]

He's not wrong actually, Batman was essentially Zorro transplanted to the then "modern" 30s-40s setting of The Shadow pulps.

[jadedknyte]

He's not wrong actually, Batman was essentially Zorro transplanted to the then "modern" 30s-40s setting of The Shadow pulps.

[elbethere]

Excuse my ignorance but what exactly is parkour?

[ZenWolfDances]

Briefly, it's a discipline of movement through (mostly) urban environments that resembles the stunts Doug is performing here. It's very popular at the moment. There are thousands of parkour videos here on YouTube.

[FollowerCrox]

PARKOUR!

[SANDSDJ]

so david belle isnt the first one who made parkour haha ;)

[KaikaKia]

who told you that?

[tyleb121]

actually david belle WAS the first, he created it.. just because fairbanks climbed some walls and did a vault and some other shit, doesnt amke it parkour, back then it was just moving only recently was a name slapped onto it..

[LINYJumper]

David was the first to give it a name. It was always there dude, he even says that in one of his documentries. All david did was name it something and it took off.

[tyleb121]

pretty much what i said..

[LINYJumper]

Well, you said he created it like he created that type of movement which he certainly did not. He did create a name, but nothing else. I may have misunderstood you.

[jaycam63]

wow such great parkour moves goes to show that parkour always existed im sure even the late cavemen had certain situations where they did pk!

[osloparkour]

true genious

[reasalt]

Nice XD

[IamHLO]

They copied him

[juncatv]

In my opinion THIS is the real Zorro, And it is my opinion that Anthony Hopkins tried to get that look in his acting.

[IamHLO]

Fairbanks was copied by Chan. Also you can see here that fairbanks was the first invent that french sport where they jump from roof to roof. Can't remember the name.

[stuntus]

Parkour?

wrong.. Belle did, thoug this guy did understand the principles of human body and what we can use it for ;)

[Bond007nz]

there is even earlier vids of people doing similar stuff. i think the movie is gadget or something. th original tarsan.

[fantasmavagabundo]

douglas fairbanks the frist traceur(parkour) in the world!!!! esto es parkour y del bueno douglas no utilizo doble, es arte en movimiento!!! JD CRUZ.

[jdlewis60]

The part where the Mexican soldier has his pants caught on the fence and Fairbanks helps him free him, HILARIOUS!

[kittybirg]

I didn't think I could laugh any harder after he vaulted the burro, but then he leapt between the two buildings and "fell" into the haybale... WONDERFUL!

[BerlinLynn]

Excellent display of Fairbanks, Sr.'s athletic prowess!

[muxammad]

LOL Zorro was a traceur! He's got mad parkour skills! All those hours of watching him and Spiderman when I was a kid is probably why I love Parkour so much today.

[ddrhero]

that was one of the greatest underbars i've ever seen(at te end) i always find it's best to look to the past for future inspiration.

[pylgrym]

Oh that Jacky Chan would have done Zorro! But would he have OUTdone Doug Sr.?

[prgwbtd]

I just got back from seeing "Pirates" - this beats that movie tenfold. Nowadays they have to use CGI to do stunts. This was the real thing, and much more believable because of it. Modern Hollywood doesn't know how to put out quality stuff anymore.

[shelayne4]

Don't ever forget that Fairbanks did all his own stunts!

[lonewolf379th]

Wonder if Wheaties was his cereal of choice? lol

[Luthce]

Yeah, but I think Guy Williams is the best of all ;)

[scientist2007]

Outstanding! Fairbanks was Zorro. Add various films of Lon Chaney Sr. and Tom Mix serial "The Miracle Rider.

[johncarter55]

try fairbanks in arabian nights.

[gabrielnyc]

NOW this is zorro. not that shit soap opera

[wryone]

Douglas is still the best Zorro for my money.

[collinwoodgoverness]

This is probably the most amazing action seqence in a movie I've ever scene! I love it!

[creamofcardstv]

I like your video clip and have rated it as awesome. Please check out my clip of silent movie star tobacco cards. They include: Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, Tom Mix, Jackie Coogan, Harold Lloyd and many more.

[meowmeowkitty3]

fabulous