El Mariachi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| El Mariachi | |
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| Directed by | Robert Rodriguez |
| Produced by | Robert Rodriguez Carlos Gallardo |
| Written by | Robert Rodriguez |
| Starring | Carlos Gallardo |
| Distributed by | Columbia TriStar |
| Release date(s) | September 15, 1992 |
| Running time | 81 min. |
| Language | Spanish |
| Budget | $7,000 US |
| Followed by | Desperado |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
El Mariachi is a 1992 motion picture production directed by Robert Rodriguez as the first chapter in his Mariachi Trilogy.
It was a commercial and artistic success, inspiring a new wave of young producers to film low-budget movies such as Clerks and The Blair Witch Project.
It was shot in the northern Mexican border town of Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila completely in Spanish, using primarily amateur actors and on a budget of only US$7,000. It was initially intended only for the Hispanic home video market, and Rodriguez never thought an American release was a possibility. Executives at Columbia Pictures liked the film so much that they bought the rights to it for American distribution. Columbia eventually spent several times more than the film's original production budget on 35 mm film transfers (it had been shot on 16 mm), a marketing campaign and the eventual distribution/release of the film. It was so well received that they eventually chose to finance the second part of the trilogy, Desperado and then the final chapter, Once Upon a Time in Mexico.
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[edit] Plot
El Mariachi tells the story of an out of work musician (the titular Mariachi) traveling through Mexico, looking for work. He dreams of being a big-time Mariachi as his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were before him. He arrives in the small border town of Acuña, hoping to find work in some of the local cantinas and clubs. He is unable to find employment, and decides to check in at a local hotel while he continues his search for work. Unfortunately for El Mariachi, a recently escaped convict, Azul, is looking for revenge against his former partner, named Moco (short for "Maurice"), who failed to give Azul his cut of their criminal profits. Azul has been conducting hits on Moco's men using a stash of weapons hidden in his guitar case. A group of hitmen are dispatched to kill Azul, but they mistake El Mariachi for the criminal they are hunting. In self-defense, El Mariachi kills four of Moco's men. As El Mariachi seeks refuge in a bar owned by a woman, Domino (for whom, ironically, Moco is a suitor), he falls in love with her. She realizes what has happened to him, and attempts to set things right. In the process, El Mariachi is captured and taken to Moco who correctly identifies him as the wrong man, and sets him free. Meanwhile, Azul has taken Domino hostage and forced her to lead him to Moco's estate so that Azul can confront Moco. When he arrives, Moco realizes that Domino has fallen for El Mariachi and, in a rage, shoots her and Azul. Suddenly, El Mariachi arrives to find the woman he loves gunned down. Moco then shoots El Mariachi's left hand, rendering him useless as a guitar player. However, overcome with grief and rage, El Mariachi is able to acquire a weapon and kill Moco, taking revenge for Domino's death. He then sets out to get revenge against all others that he deems responsible for her death.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Carlos Gallardo | El Mariachi |
| Consuelo Gómez | Domino |
| Peter Marquardt | Moco |
| Reinol Martínez | Azul |
| Jaime de Hoyos | Bigotón |
| Ramiro Gómez | Waiter |
| Jesús López Viejo | Clerk |
| Luis Baro | Domino's Assistant |
| Óscar Fabila | The Boy |
[edit] Awards
El Mariachi won multiple international awards, and writer/producer/director Rodriguez went on to gain international fame, being interviewed on such shows as Sábado Gigante, etc; and going on to make more Hollywood-backed movies such as The Faculty and Sin City.
[edit] Trivia
- Rodriguez raised almost half of the film's budget by volunteering for experimental clinical drug testing in Texas.
- Because of the limited budget for the film, every scene in the movie was filmed with no second takes. Several mistakes were left in the final cut, including the Mariachi bumping his weapon into a street pole.
- The firearm wielded by El Mariachi on the DVD cover is an Ingram MAC-10 equipped with a suppressor.
- The second film, Desperado, helped enhance the fame of Antonio Banderas and introduced Salma Hayek to English-speaking audiences.
- The story of El Mariachi's production inspired Rodriguez to write the book Rebel Without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player.
- The movie was shot in numerous locations in Acuña, Coahuila. The intro bar scene was shot inside the Corona Club, and exterior street scenes were shot on Hildago Street. The shoot out was filmed outside at "Boy's Town" the local red-light district.
- In the 'Director's commentary' Robert Rodriguez describes that condoms filled with fake blood were used instead of sqibs in fight scenes due to the low budget of the film.
