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Filmmaker Robert Rodriguez captured the world's attention with this little 1992 film, made for only $7,500 (not counting the cost of a little prerelease polish) and originally destined for the Spanish- language video market. An enterprising studio executive saw the enormous Spielbergian talent in Rodriguez's work and decided to get
El Mariachi out to the international public. A tight, inventive, highly entertaining movie from start to finish, the story concerns a guitarist mistaken for a hired killer and forced to fight a local crime boss and his army of goons. Rodriguez makes clever use of every available prop, from guitar cases to a beat-up bus to a funny-looking dog. But his promise as a director--he went on to make
Desperado and
From Dusk till Dawn--is evident in every scene. The DVD release pairs this film with its sequel,
Desperado, and has optional full-screen and widescreen presentations, an interview with Rodriguez, theatrical trailer, Rodriguez's short film
Bedhead, optional English-dubbed soundtrack, optional French and Spanish soundtracks, and optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles.
--Tom Keogh