Pancho Villa in popular culture
Pancho Villa was famous during the Revolution and has remained so, holding a fairly mythical reputation in Mexican consciousness, but not officially recognized in Mexico until long after his death. As the "Centaur from the North" he was considered a threat to property and order on both sides of the border, feared, and revered, as a modern Robin Hood. Pancho Villa remains a controversial figure in the United States. "USA Today" reported, "A terrorist in 1916, a tourist attraction in 2011. ... On Jan. 8, 1916, 18 U.S. businessmen were massacred by Villa's men in  a train robbery in northern Mexico. It was not the first or last of Villa's atrocities; he personally shot a priest who begged for clemency for his villagers, as well as a woman who blamed him for her husband's death." In films, video, and television. Villa appeared as himself in the films "Life of Villa" (1912), "Barbarous Mexico" (1913), "With General Pancho Villa in Mexico" (1913), "The Life of General Villa" (1914) and "Following the Flag in Mexico" (1916). Films based on Pancho Villa have appeared since the early years of the Revolution and have continued to be  made into the twenty-first century. Hollywood's role in the shaping of the image of Villa, the Mexican Revolution, and U.S. public opinion has been the subject of a scholarly study. The 1934 biopic "Viva Villa!" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2003, HBO broadcast "And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself", with Antonio Banderas as Villa that focuses on the making of the film "The Life of General Villa". Actors who have portrayed Villa include: More films about Villa: