El Mariachi / Desperado (DVD)

Advantages: great extras, great films
Disadvantages: none

...First up is El Mariachi. This was intended to be made for the spanish video market alone and Rodriguez bankrolled the $7000 production budget by submitting himself for medical tests. The story follows a Mariachi guitar player who arrives in a town looking for work. He finds himself having to trade his guitar for a gun as he becomes caught up in a case of mistaken indentity against a local crime lord. For the tiny budget we get stunts, gunfights, ...
...theatrical trailer. When El Mariachi got recognized in Hollywood, rodriguez was a hot talent and proceeded to sign a deal with Columbia pictures. His next project would be Desparado which essentially is El Mariachi but with a bigger budget. The plot of the movie follows the same kind of themes but this time the mariachi is back in the shape of Antonio Banderas. Also as a result of events in the first fim he is back for vengeance against the man who ... Read review

Advantages: Great extras, full of fun and interesting for budding directors
Disadvantages: Low budgets make the action a bit basic, El Mariachi is in Spanish!

...side of the disc. El Mariachi was what transformed Rodriguez from small-time director using family as cast and home-town as set to a big Hollywood name, now with the likes of From Dusk Till Dawn and The Faculty under his belt. El Mariachi is the precedent for Desperado, having a similar skeleton story and character that Desperado later picked up. The real achievement of Mariachi is it’s budget. Just $7,000 was made to look like so much more, and ...
...special features that come with El Mariachi / Desperado are worth mentioning. Both films come with a very good feature-length commentary by Rodriguez, a trailer and a ten minute making-of film. There are also music videos, biographies and even one of the director’s early films. Overall, this is a great bundle, and both films are well worth seeing. Desperado has to be the better one, though, being newer and having a bigger budget, and I would recommend ... Read review

Advantages: Great use of the DVD format, entertaining, enlightening, great value
Disadvantages: El Mariachi has English subtitles (not English audio)

...how he made them. El Mariachi was his first film, made on a budget of $8000, and follows the exploits of a travelling guitar-player (a Mariachi) who is mistaken for an escaped convict. In isolation, this film is quite good, but once you learn from Robert himself how he made the film on such a tight budget, you really appreciate it loads. The big-budget sequel Desperado starring Antonio Banderas has far more style and great action, showing how far ...
...commentary is very interesting and entertaining. Also included on the DVD are two "Ten Minute Film Schools" (one for each film) focusing on a specific scene and how it was made, a short film by Rodriguez called "BedHead" (which is very funny) that marked his entry into the world of film, filmographies and two music videos. For more technical details, look it up on a website. Overall, this DVD is one of the best in my (large) collection. The bonus ... Read review

Advantages: Fun, if you're looking for an action flick
Disadvantages: Not a patch on the entertainment of El Mariachi

...sequel of the old classic El Mariachi but given the unfortunate Hollywood star and budget, which kills the film off from the start. The previous film had humour as well as a bit of action and was a great comedy of mistaken identity, whereas the new sequel is just a blast ‘em up action flick with a few flashbacks and none of the amusement of the first. In all I can’t say I really enjoyed this film that much and Robert Rodriguez should continue to ... Read review

Advantages: El Mariachi
Disadvantages: Poor imitation in Desperado

...mediocre. To my mind, El Mariachi can never be beaten. It was one of the lowest budget films to ever reach a wide audience. If my memory serves me correctly it was made on a shoestring budget of about $500. It has become a cult classic worldwide - a great achievement for a film in Spanish. El Mariachi is a tale of mistaken identity. A mariachi (musician) comes to town in search of work and unbeknownst to him, there is a gangster who carries a ...
...the identites get confused, and mass carnage ensues. Desperao is the modern-day equivalent starring Antonio Banderas. While there are great special effects and lots of shooting, it doesn't live up to the feel of El Mariachi. It goes to show that money doesn't necessarily make a great film ... Read review