Good idea lost in the noise

Absolutely amazing

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It's all true. HBO film about a very 'truth as strange as fiction' bit of history. No doubt details have been 'movied' but this is one astonishing true life adventure story. Antonio Banderas is very good. Too 'pretty boy', but still good. Eion Bailey plays the young director in charge of the production. Alan Arkin is quietly wonderful as always. Jim Broadbent is good as the studio head. The movie is fun; big, elaborate, ambitious, filled with convincing detail and includes several well staged battle sequences sufficiently brutal and bloody. Excellent and appropriate score.

Considering that this was made for TV, it is one strange take on the life of a 'man who would be king', and deserves a much wider viewing audience that it may have attracted.Antonio Banderas is a much underrated actor - partially because he seems to accept any role that comes his way - and this should indicate to the harshest critic that he is most capable! Much as Robin Hood and, here in Australia, Ned Kelly, are revered as 'outlaws with a conscience', Pancho Villa is perceived as a folk hero. I hope this film dispels THAT particular notion. He was a self-serving bandit with a huge ego and, as the film shows, not above killing the 'locals' to further his grandiose schemes.Banderas makes a fine fist of what is, essentially, a portrait of a seemingly-complex yet simple man seduced by the notion of Hollywood stardom. The irony, of course, is that, these days, anyone who appears on the screen (silver or no) is perceived as a 'star'.Villa is presented as one in a long line of anti-heroes who find themselves fighting an unjust regime - but essentially just as brutal.Overall a charmer of a film. Definitely worth more than one viewing.

The film chronicles about the title role,the Mexican bandit and guerrilla leader, with broadened focus on the filming his life and actual war.Mexican revolutionary urges funds to finance the battles against the Huertas government.Great director D.W.Griffith(Colm Feore)sends Frank Thayer(Eion Bailey)and crew as Raoul Walsh(Kyle Chandler) pull off the shooting the events around Pancho Villa.Thayer converts annoyed and disappointed by the rebel.This vibrant film an uneven rehash of Pancho Villa legend including strong violence,profanities,epics battles and bloody scenes. Antonio Banderas plays the famous and rowdy bandit,he is perfect in title role.Remainder casting is frankly well:Alan Arkin,Colm Feore(Griffith),Michel McKean,Kyle Chandler..Another films about Villa feats are : the classic ¨Viva Villa¨with Wallace Beery,forever belongs this role;¨Villa¨with Rodolfo Hoyos and Brian Keith; ¨Villa riders¨with Yul Brynner,¨Pancho Villa¨with Telly Savalas and Clint Walker.The picture is based on true events,thus : Pancho Villa born in Chihuahua with the name Doroteo Arango,from his peasant upbringing he became an outlaw in his youth and adopted the name Francisco Villa from another outlaw.He played a leading role in the Mexican Revolution(1910-1920),winning many victories (as Torreon battle narrated in the film).For a time Villa,who seemed in line for leadership of Mexico,enjoyed the agreeable interest of the United States government;but William Randolph Hearsts media empire's press campaign against him and USA authorities then dropped Villa and supported his rival,Carranza.Villa's resentment resulted in the revenge raid on Columbus(deeds narrated in another films but no here) by General Pershing's column.Unable to suppress Villa by force,the Mexican government purchased his retirement from the political arena as a weary, disillusioned political liability with a handsome pension and large estate.Villa was assassinated in 1923 when gunmen ambushed his car.

That the movies are a perfect way of making propaganda isn't new. The Germans used it very often during the Second World War and even in more recent times it has been used to make publicity for the army (remember the boom of young men who wanted to join the US Air Force after seeing "Top Gun"). But that Pancho Villa already used it during his Mexican Revolution between 1912-1916 is something special. And don't think that this has been made up by some smart Hollywood wise guys who thought that this might be a nice story and an easy way to make a lot of money. No, this actually happened. If you don't believe me: just type Pancho Villa in the IMDb search box and check his filmography. You'll see that there have been several movies made with him in a leading role. Too bad that they are all lost.But no problem, we still have HBO, a company that is known for its good quality work when it comes to historical projects (think for instance of "Band of Brothers" and "Citizen X"). This time they have recreated the actual events of the film crews that had an exclusive deal with Pancho Villa and that followed him during the different battles with the federal Mexican army. They show how the studio payed big money (which Villa used to fund his revolution with), so they could introduce Villa (as a good man, but also as a merciless villain), his revolution and the war the way the American public had never seen it before. All this resulted in the very first feature length movie in history.When you are interested in the history behind the Mexican Revolution, than this is definitely a movie you shouldn't miss. But even when that subject doesn't appeal to you all that much, you should give it a try, because it's also very interesting to see how the movie studio's worked at the time and how a movie was shot. OK, you don't get to see the actual movie from 1912, but you get a very good idea of how it all worked. And the fact that this is a TV movie certainly doesn't mean that the battles don't look real or that the characters seem to be made out of cardboard.Next to the 'historical' value of this movie and the interesting story, I also want to point out that Antonio Banderas did an excellent job portraying Pancho Villa. There are perhaps people who don't agree with me, but personally I find this his best and most convincing role ever. The other actors did a very good job as well, but in my in my opinion he was the best. All in all this may not be a masterpiece, but it certainly is worth a watch. Don't be scared off by the label TV that you find behind the title. This isn't a typical, extremely dramatic TV movie, but a very decent and strong historical drama. I reward this movie with a 7.5/10.