Once Upon a Time in Mexico
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| Once Upon a Time in Mexico | |
|---|---|
 The time has come |
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| Directed by | Robert Rodriguez |
| Produced by | Robert Rodriguez Elizabeth Avellan Carlos Gallardo |
| Written by | Robert Rodriguez |
| Starring | Antonio Banderas Salma Hayek Johnny Depp Willem Dafoe Mickey Rourke Eva Mendes Danny Trejo |
| Music by | Robert Rodriguez |
| Cinematography | Robert Rodriguez |
| Editing by | Robert Rodriguez |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures Dimension Films |
| Release date(s) | September 12, 2003 (USA) |
| Running time | 102 min. |
| Language | English Spanish |
| Budget | $29,000,000 |
| Gross revenue | $98,185,582 |
| Preceded by | Desperado |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Once Upon a Time in Mexico is a 2003 action film written, edited and directed by Robert Rodriguez. It is the final film in the "Mariachi Trilogy", which also includes El Mariachi and Desperado. Antonio Banderas reprises his role as El Mariachi. The film also stars Johnny Depp, Salma Hayek, Willem Dafoe, Enrique Iglesias, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes and Rubén Blades.
The film received mostly positive reviews, but was criticized for reducing El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) to an almost secondary character in his own trilogy, and also for having what some viewed as a convoluted plot. However, in the special features of the film's DVD, Robert Rodriguez has explained that this was intended, as he wanted this to be the The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the trilogy.
The film holds the box office record for being the most improved second sequel of all-time grossing 122% more than Desperado. This film was shot before Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over in order to avoid a potential Screen Actors Guild strike. It was the first film Rodriguez ever shot in HD.
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[edit] Plot
The plot centers on El Mariachi (Banderas), who is recruited by CIA Agent Sands (Depp) to kill General Marquez. Marquez had murdered El Mariachi's wife and child and has been hired by Mexican drug lord Armando Barillo to assassinate the Mexican President. Sands recruits retired FBI Agent Jorge Ramirez to kill Barillo, as Barillo had been responsible for the death of Ramirez's partner, Agent Archuleta. Sands also hires AFN Agent Ajedrez to tail Barillo.
As the plot unfolds, informants begin to turn on Sands. On the day of the coup against the President, he finds himself captured and blinded by his captors. With the help of a young gum-selling boy, however, he manages to exact his revenge. Meanwhile, El Mariachi recruits his two friends, Lorenzo and Fideo, to assist him in rescuing the President. Much like Quino and Campa from Desperado, Lorenzo and Fideo also wield weapon guitar cases; in this case, Lorenzo wields a flame thrower, while Fideo has an RC Remote Bomb, which are able to destroy heavy armored vehicles. El Mariachi kills Marquez by shooting both his kneecaps and then shooting him in the head, avenging his lost wife and daughter, and goes on to assist Ramirez in killing Barillo- who falls off a balcony when El Mariachi shoots him with a shotgun.
The movie ends with El Mariachi walking on a desert road with the president's bandadora.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Antonio Banderas | El Mariachi |
| Salma Hayek | Carolina |
| Johnny Depp | Sheldon Jeffrey Sands |
| Eva Mendes | Ajedrez |
| Danny Trejo | Cucuy |
| Enrique Iglesias | Lorenzo |
| Marco Leonardi | Fideo |
| Rubén Blades | FBI Agent Jorge Ramirez |
| Willem Dafoe | Armando Barillo |
| Mickey Rourke | Billy Chambers |
| Gerardo Vigil | General Emiliano Marquez |
| Miguel Couturier | Dr. Guevera |
| Cheech Marin | Belini |
| Pedro Armendáriz Jr. | President |
| Julio Oscar Mechoso | Nicholas |
| Tony Valdes | Chiclet boy |
[edit] Box office
| US gross domestic earnings | US$ 56,359,780 |
| International earnings | US$ 41,825,802 |
| Gross Worldwide earnings | US$ 98,185,582[1] |
[edit] Soundtrack
| Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: Once Upon a Time in Mexico | |||||
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| Soundtrack by various artists | |||||
| Released | September, 2003 | ||||
| Genre | Soundtrack Rock Latin rock |
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| Length | 51:44 | ||||
| Label | Milan Records | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Robert Rodriguez film soundtrack chronology | |||||
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The score of Once Upon a Time in Mexico includes songs composed by director Robert Rodriguez and performed by a group of musicians gathered specifically for the soundtrack recording. Tracks performed by the group includes "Malagueña" with vocal by Brian Setzer and "Siente Mi Amor", with singing by Salma Hayek. Track 9, "Sands' Theme," is credited to "Tonto's Giant Nuts" but was in fact written by Johnny Depp (who invented the name 'Tonto's Giant Nuts' as a joke. It is not the name of his band, as commonly thought). On the DVD director commentary, Robert Rodriguez states that he requested that each of the main actors give him four or eight notes of a melody for their character, but Depp presented him with the entire track.
Additional music includes Juno Reactor's "Pistolero," "Me Gustas Tu" by Manu Chao and "Cuka Rocka" by Rodriguez' own rock band, Chingon.
[edit] Track listing
- "Malagueña" (Brian Setzer) – 4:22
- "Traeme Paz" (Patricia Vonne) – 2:56
- "Eye Patch" (Alex Ruiz) – 1:51
- "Yo Te Quiero" (Marcos Loya) – 3:48
- "Guitar Town" (Robert Rodriguez) – 2:04
- "Church Shootout" (Robert Rodriguez) – 1:38
- "Pistolero" (Juno Reactor) – 3:38
- "Me Gustas Tu" (Manu Chao) – 3:49
- "Sands (Theme)" (Tonto's Giant Nuts) – 3:24
- "Dias de Los Angeles" (Rick Del Castillo) – 5:08
- "The Man With No Eyes" (Robert Rodriguez) – 2:09
- "Mariachi vs. Marquez" (Robert Rodriguez) – 1:33
- "Flor del Mal" (Tito Larriva) – 3:13
- "Chicle Boy" (Robert Rodriguez) – 1:30
- "Coup de Etat" (Robert Rodriguez) – 3:02
- "El Mariachi" (Robert Rodriguez) – 1:22
- "Siente Mi Amor" (Salma Hayek) – 4:24
- "Cuka Rocka" (Chingon) – 1:44
[edit] References
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| Preceded by Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star |
Box office number-one films of 2003 (USA) September 14, 2003 |
Succeeded by Underworld |
