home made professional movie
Added 1/30/2010
the disc arrived before the due date in NEW or like new condition. It is the only film I know of that was written, filmed, edited, produced and marketed by one man: Robert Rodriguez stood Hollywood on it's head for the first of many times. I love to watch this movie over and over, each time paying attention to a different aspect of film making.
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Fun, brisk action film
Added 10/11/2009
The Bottom Line:
A scrappy little action film made for 250,000 that completely works and rarely betrays its low-budget origins, El Mariachi is not only loads better than the far more expensive Desperado but is a legitimately enjoyable film which could scarcely be much better.
3/4
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Review: El Mariachi (1992)
Added 10/4/2009
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Writer: Robert Rodriguez
Starring: Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gomez, Jamie de Hoyos, Peter Marquardt, Reinol Martinez
This was Robert Rodriguez's first major film, and it is full of actors who never did anything else besides this movie (though a few appeared in Rodriguez's Desperado). It cost next to nothing to make, and for that it should be remembered as a very good low budget foreign film by a promising young director.
El Mariachi follows a young man (known only as El Mariachi) as he enters the small Mexican town of Acuna looking for work as a guitar player in local bars or restaurants. Unfortunately for him, he happens to be dressed in the same manner and with the same guitar case as a man name Azul, who is in a bloody war against local crime lord Moco. El Mariachi is then mistaken for Azul on several occasions and forced to fight for his life and his girl.
You can definitely tell that Rodriguez used many first time actors in this film. Most of the dialogue feels forced and unconvincingly delivered, but it doesn't detract from the film too much. The story itself is very intriguing, and it had me guessing until the end. Action sequences are cleverly shot, and the visual style and special effects are very gritty and believable. This is a decent Western movie in my opinion. It feels a lot like the classic Sergio Leone Westerns, but with a very definitive Mexican flavor (an not just because it is in Spanish).
Final Score: 6/10
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"All I Wanted Was to Be a Mariachi..."
Added 8/27/2008
The Good Things
*Lots of exciting action scenes.
*Some bloody violence for those who enjoy it.
*Some funny parts too.
*Excellent filming style. Lots of unique camera angles. Camera shakes around a little, but not irritatingly so. It's a rough style reminiscent of older 70s films.
*Storyline is simple but engaging.
*Characters are excellent. Good acting and writing.
*Good music.
The Bad Things
*Maybe a little too grainy and gritty. It could use some restoration (on the other hand, the grittiness accentuates the rough style).
For such a low-budget movie, this is quite an excellent and exciting (and sometimes humorous) piece of work. It could have been total garbage, but the film's style, characters, action, and writing makes it great. Highly reccomended to anybody who likes action or crime films.
As noted above, the DVD has very rough grainy video quality, which can be considered good or bad. At the very least, it is anamorphic widescreen. The sound is okay. It is in Spanish with English subtitles (and probably some other languages, but is not English dubbed). It includes a some good features; a commentary and some making-of footage.
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El Mariachi
Added 8/25/2008
This is a fun gun movie. It is also in espaniol or french and subtitled in English.
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