5/5 Robert Rodriguez is truly making films with passion for the medium...
  by S. M. Robare (Duluth, GA USA)
El Mariachi is one of those movies that I didn't realize how much I loved it until it was over. At first it seemed like a very straight forward foreign action film with so-so cinematography and quality and a bunch of novice actors, but as the film progresses and you get used to the comedy and shooting style you begin to see a glimmer of something more interesting on the screen. By the end of the third act when the Mariachi is in pseudo Mad Max mode, after he's lost the girl he loves, and is going back out into the world much like Joe in a Fistful of Dollars it's hard not to just smile at what Rodriguez was trying to do. Then once you get into the story behind the filming of the movie, it's impossible not to love the movie. Filmed for $7,000 that Rodriguez earned while subjecting himself to a sequestered medical testing facility, the film is a marvel of frugality. Practically everything in the film was either free, borrowed or improvised, from the weapons (which were on loan from a Mexican police station) and locations, to the camera and the actors (who were either friends, local newsmen, or other "patients" from the testing facility), and most of the budget was used for film stock and developing. Rodriguez, knowing he was going to be spending a bit of time in the testing facility, made sure to use that time to write the script. The whole story is available in an awesome book he wrote called Rebel without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player, which is pretty much a day by day journal of the time spent filming and then eventually shopping the picture around.


Desperado on the other hand was pure love from the opening of the movie until the ending. Not only did Rodriguez tighten his film making chops as far as cinematography goes, but he also made a giant leap in his writing as well. Add to this a full cast of great actors and a modest but substantially larger budget and it's just pure fun the whole way through. This is also the film where we begin to see a company of actors gathering around him including Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Danny Trejo, Tito Larriva, and Cheech Marin (who would go on to work with him through films like From Dusk Til Dawn, Spy Kids, and Once Upon a Time in Mexico.)

All in all this is a great double bill! the commentaries on these two films are probably the best I've ever heard on any DVD or Laser Disc, and could easily form the basis for a film 101 class.


5/5 Great movies - even greater instruction
  by Dustin Adams (NY)
I bought these movies after reading Robert Rodriguez's book and listening to El Mariachi's commentary. It became a must have in my library because of the high level of instruction both commentaries give.

If you are an indie film maker, pick these up without thinking twice.

If you dig action movies, they are pretty good for that as well. =)

4/5 robert rodriguez fans
  by Werner Blignaut (South Africa)
definate must see for rodriguez fans. one of the best action films from the database of robert rodriguez. maybe antonio's best aswell. definatly recomended to good action and rodriguez fans. quality of movie very excelent from amazon.com.....

1/5 BUY THE BOX SET
  by Karen Jaime
THESE MOVIES ARE EXCELENT. I LOVE THEM! BUT THIS DOESNT MAKE SENSE. THIS DOUBLE PACK COST MORE THEN THE BOX SET WHICH IS THE SAME TWO MOVIES AND SAME STUFF. EXCEPT THE BOX SET HAS A COOL BOX.

4/5 Mindless but Entertaining
  by Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas)
As I watched this film for the first time, my two reactions were (a) I'll bet they all had fun making it and (b) is this a parody of the so-called "Spaghetti Westerns"? Essentially, there is no plot. El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) seeks revenge from Bucho (Joaquim de Almeida) in a town which the drug dealer controls. EM enlists the support and assistance of Carolina (Selma Hayek) who owns and manages the local book store. (I'm not making this up.) No one eats or sleeps in this film. All of the action occurs during the day. There are a few crowd scenes but no one in the crowd seems to have any interest whatsoever in the fact that the street scenes are being filmed. There is one bar of special note. Cheech Marin is its host and bartender. (If you think the bar in Star Wars is unfriendly, this one makes it seem like the Palm Court at The Plaza in New York.) At one point, Quentin Tarantino briefly appears. Apparently he is involved in a drug deal which goes bad. Steve Buscemi also makes a brief appearance. Prudently, he decides not to become involved in the plot. (Where is Harvey Keitel?) EM is a one-man-army. Credit Rodriguez with brilliantly choreographing his creative and relentless carnage which leads up to the inevitable showdown with Bucho. Although most of this film makes no sense whatsoever, I found it thoroughly entertaining. It is on my Top Ten list of films to watch while consuming buttered popcorn, a box of Dots, and a cold beverage...or two.