Desperado (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Desperado | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Robert Rodriguez |
| Produced by | Robert Rodriguez Elizabeth Avellan Carlos Gallardo Bill Borden |
| Written by | Robert Rodriguez |
| Starring | Antonio Banderas Salma Hayek Joaquim de Almeida Steve Buscemi Danny Trejo Cheech Marin Quentin Tarantino |
| Music by | Los Lobos |
| Distributed by | Columbia TriStar |
| Release date(s) | August 25, 1995 (USA) |
| Running time | 106 min. |
| Language | English / Spanish |
| Budget | $7,000,000 |
| Preceded by | El Mariachi |
| Followed by | Once Upon a Time in Mexico |
| IMDb profile | |
Desperado is a 1995 film directed by Robert Rodriguez. The film stars Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek. It is a "sort of" sequel to Rodriguez's earlier El Mariachi, meaning that the storyline isn't quite linear nor are all the events connected, just the characters and some scenes. This is the second entry in his "Mariachi Trilogy". The trilogy culminated in 2003 with Once Upon a Time in Mexico, also not quite a linear sequel, just a few characters connected, but all three are actually independent stories.
Tagline:
- He came back to settle the score with someone. Anyone. Everyone.
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[edit] Plot
A former guitarist (Banderas) seeks revenge on the drug lord who killed the woman he loved. His quest leads him to battle with a dangerous drug lord. Along the way, he also falls in love with Carolina (played by Hayek), a woman who works for Almeida. The movie is well-known for its inventive gun battles, including one featuring a machine gun and a rocket launcher both disguised as guitar cases.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Antonio Banderas | El Mariachi |
| Salma Hayek | Carolina |
| Steve Buscemi | Buscemi |
| Joaquim de Almeida | Bucho |
| Carlos Gómez | Right Hand |
| Tito Larriva | Tavo |
| Angel Aviles | Zamira |
| Danny Trejo | Navajas |
| Abraham Verduzco | Niño |
| Carlos Gallardo | Campa |
| Albert Michel, Jr. | Quino |
| Cheech Marin | Short Bartender |
| Quentin Tarantino | Pick-up Guy |
[edit] Production
Desperado helped enhance the fame of Antonio Banderas and introduced Salma Hayek to American audiences. Hayek's role in the film is the first starring role for a Mexican actress in a Hollywood film since Dolores del Rio in the 1940s[citation needed]. The studio initially wanted a blonde to play the role; after her screen test, Hayek was the clear choice for the character.
Rodriguez's friend, writer/director Quentin Tarantino appears in a cameo, playing the character "Pick-up Guy." Also appearing is Carlos Gallardo, who played Antonio Banderas' role in Rodriguez' previous film El Mariachi. He appears in Desperado as a friend of El Mariachi called Campa.
[edit] Trivia
- Many of the actors portraying secondary characters appear in other Rodriguez movies including the Spy Kids series, From Dusk Till Dawn and the original Desperado movie, El Mariachi.
- Desperado is actually not intended to be an official sequel, but instead the movie Rodriguez wanted to shoot had he had the budget for El Mariachi.[citation needed] It was at his friend Quentin Tarantino's insistence that Rodriguez change a few story elements telling him that this was his, "Mexican Dollars Trilogy", referencing Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy of the three Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Westerns, also not exact sequels but full of characters and/or actors that appear in all three of those films.
- The codpiece pistol that Sex Machine wears in From Dusk Till Dawn is the same one that was seen in Desperado.
- Due to her discomfort, when Salma Hayek's love scene was shot, all the crew members were ordered to exit from the set while only Robert (the director) and his wife shot the whole scene, even though the crew members were anxiously awaiting that day. It was also the only day that every crew member showed up (from the DVD commentary).
- Robert Rodriguez included his sisters Angela Lanza and Patricia Vonne in minor roles.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Desperado at the Internet Movie Database
- All Movie Guide entry for Desperado
- Music sheets for Desperado musical theme
- MovieMaker magazine interview with Rodriguez
