El Mariachi (1993)

All he wants is to be is a mariachi like his father his grandfather and his great grandfather before him. But the town he thinks will bring him luck brings only a curse of deadly mistaken identity. Forced to trade his guitar for a gun the mariachi is playing for his life in this critically-acclaimed film debut from director Robert Rodriguez. Financed with earnings from a month-long stay in a research hospital this astonishing action adventure was shot with no second takes using borrowed equipment and a talented cast of unknowns. The riveting result is a wild bullet-dodging ride through a world of bandido violence from the suspense of the opening shoot-out to the tragedy of the unexpected conclusion. With little more than a great story and a lot of heart Rodriguez has created pure movie pleasure setting new standards for independent filmmaking and establishing himself as an unquestionable talent. "An enormously entertaining movie." (Roger Ebert CHICAGO SUN-TIMES)System Requirements:Running Time: 81 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R UPC: 043396093065 Manufacturer No: 09306 Product Description

Mexico 's version of Mad Max , Mariachi style

I felt i had to buy this , due to the fact I love the sucessors that followed , and in spite of the fact I do not speak or understand a word of Spanish , but I took a chance anyways. Although I do not think this is as good as the other Mariachi films, I was suprisingly impressed with this very low budget film that that launched off the career of Mr. Rodriquez. It was not hard to follow and was entertaining,and it does remind me of Mad Max (even though it is very little) , but the simularaties are that both films started with low budget first's and then succeeded with two fantasic Sequels that followed. So I will say this is one Spanish film worthy of my collection. April 25, 2008

Still The Best In The Trilogy

This movie put director Robert Rodriguez "on the map." He followed up with two sequels: "Desperado" and "Once Upon A Time In Mexico." Not surprising, the best of the three was this low-budget opening film. As Rodriquez had more and more money to spend on the sequels, the stories got more and more carried away with too many explosions and special-effects, losing the charm of this first effort.

Unlike the sequels, this Mexican-made, so it is in Spanish with English subtitles. Don't let that scare you away. There isn't a great deal of dialog so keeping up with the subtitles is very easy.

The movie has very interesting camera closeups and angles as Rodriquez showed he was going to be a stylish director. The story is simple but effective, suspenseful and even with some humor. Unnlike his subsequent films in this trilogy, the action is not overdone here.

The length is also is a plus. At 80 minutes you can be thoroughly entertained in less than an hour-and-a half. The only disappointment to me was the print quality on th DVD, but I got an early edition. There might be better editions out since. It's not fuzzy but it's not sharp, either.

Anyway: highly recommend for actions/crime buffs who like style in their photography, or saw the sequels and would like to know the history of this particular "Mariachi."
September 18, 2007

Legendary film, but I expected it to be little better

This film is certainly an inspiration for every aspiring director dreaming about making his way in the maze of movie industry with virtually no money in his/her pocket.. The movie was shot with the strikingly low budget of 7,000 USD (may be + or - a little) by Robert Rodriguez - my personal idol and the most insolent "director" on the face of earth! Well there are many legends about how this guy, who was fanatic about making movies and did this solely for his pleasure, decided to make a big 16 mm project and had to undergo some medical experimentation on his body to raise enough money for it, which nobody else in his sane mind would deem enough.. There is no need to recite these stories because they are well-known. But to those of you who plan to buy this DVD I strongly recommend to order it together with his book "A Rebel Without A Crew" where Rodriguez in his simple and humorous style describes the whole adventure, how he and his friends went through all the troubles to shoot the movie and then how they marketted it in Holliwood and totally by chance it was noticed by some big ones.. It's really a very exciting book and makes you go through all the thrills together with the crew members. So it's 100-times more interesting to see the movie after you read the book, because it's exciting to see how all that was so well described and nurished in the book, looks in reality. Well, and to speak honestly, the movie itself is not of very high artistic value of course, but it's value is made by the story of its creation among other things. I must say I was a little bit dissapointed when I saw the film after reading the book, which probably made my expectations too high.. It seemed to me little too primitive and vulgar at times.. but, hey, then I remembered that it was made by non-professional with virtually no equipment except an old 16 mm camera and casting random villagers.. and I forgave it all its pitfalls. Overall 4 stars from me for very good movie and even better story that veils it!

P.S. Yeah, and this DVD comes with very good add-ons, namely there is Rodriguez' short film "Beadhead" which won some prize at one of the amateur festivals. Also his "10 Minute Film School" fiturette, which is well worse seeing for every aspiring amateur director.

To those of you who might complain a little about the quality of the picture, I should remind that this film was originally shot in 16 mm format, then it was transfered on various formats several times until finally this master version was produced. So.. don't be too judgemental and just enjoy the movie! March 21, 2007

El mariachi

Great movie preview!Makes you want to see the movie!Rated R for strong violence. May 30, 2006

six stars

Fantastic movie - Spanish subtitles - plot is the old mistaken identity one - with lives at stake - ending was wonderfully Spanish - Diego Rivera's (the great muralist) blood and guts and doom with much hilarity thrown in. Energy of Spike Lee - message of John Singleton ("Boys n the Hood"). As surprisingly good as "After Dark, My Sweet" and as offbeat and original. Don't miss it. February 14, 2006

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