El Mariachi

Stars: Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gomez. Overrated by the critical community, El Mariachi is still a promising and, at times, laugh-out-loud, debut effort from filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. Made on a chump change budget ($7,000), the film stars Carlos Gallardo in the title role as an itinerant guitar-player determined to follow in the footsteps of his musical father and grandfather. Coming into a sleepy little village in Mexico, the mariachi walks smack into an almost fatal case of mistaken identity. Unbeknownst to him, a similarly dressed, guitar-case carrying killer is looking for the local head bandido who cheated him out of serious coin. The bandido, on the other hand, has hitmen in droves out looking for a guy with a guitar case. Needless to say, the mariachi hasn't a clue why everyone is shooting at him. A simple concept made fresh by Rodriguez's quirky sense of detail and kinetic camerawork, El Mariachi breathes new life into the action/adventure formula, and sprays enough bullets and blood around to satisfy the most jaded action junkie. We watched the dubbed version, but given our druthers, we would opt for the subtitled version. Audience: A rare combination: action fans and foreign film buffs.El Mariachi: Special Edition--DVD Review--September 9, 2003--Columbia TriStar, 81 min., in Spanish w/English subtitles, R, $19.95 ($27.95 w/Desperado)--Robert Rodriguez's 1992 indie El Mariachi (remade in Hollywood in 1995 as Desperado) remains a quirky, exciting little film (made for under $10,000). Boasting good-as-might-be-expected video and audio qualities, this special edition also features an outstanding guerilla filmmaking commentary track by Rodriguez, a "10-Minute Film School" featurette (that actually runs 15 minutes), Rodriguez's amusing early short "Bedhead," and a sneak peek at the new sequel Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a solid action flick--the double-disc pack w/Desperado is a real deal. (R. Pitman)