User reviews

El Mariachi (1992) was a fine debut for film maker Robert Rodriguez. He makes the most of his minuscule budget and makes a very entertaining action film. The story behind the making of the film is even more interesting than the movie itself. You can tell from this movie that Robert Rodriguez had a bright future in the movie business.

The story is about a musician who's trying to find work in a Mexican border town. None of the places he visits wants to hire a guitar player for their business. Meanwhile another man comes to town carrying a guitar case, he's no musician. He's a notorious hit man for a local gangster. When their paths cross, nothing but trouble lies ahead for the El Mariachi. Can the poor dude survive the week without being killed? Who is this guitar carrying killer? Why is he in town? What are the local crime boss' motives? To find out you'll have to watch EL MARIACHI!!!

An interesting debut that showed lots of promise. The movie was followed by a pseudo-sequel/remake a few years later with a bigger budget and a cast filled with a lot of named actors.

Highly recommended.

I have loved some of Robert Rodriguez's later works like Sin City, so I was pretty excited to see this movie.

The movie is extremely small budget and it really feels like it is more expensive than that. I mean, Robert Rodriguez makes this movie look like it had much more money spent on it, and that is because of his creativity and resourcefulness.

The directing is really good. I loved many of the shots and scenes in this movie and the way they are edited.

My problem with the film or at least my dilemma is... I just find this movie OK. The main actor and character itself is pretty lousy, the movie is too long for its own good, and the story is just OK.

Many people argue that this might be justified because of the low budget. But I do believe that all of the story problems don't have anything to do with the budget. It is not as if I don't like low-budget films, I LOVE "The Evil Dead" and other low-budget films. I just find this movie uneventful, and sometimes boring.

I think this film is the kind of film you should only watch once and move on with your life. I do recommend you to watch it though.

I really appreciate this work from Robert Rodriguez. The so-called low-budget film, shot for just $ 7,000, and Rodriguez put his heart and soul into this film. He was a director, a screenwriter, a producer, he did effects, he did absolutely everything except acting. He was even tested for some drugs because they paid him for it, all to raise money and make a movie. From that aspect, the film looks extremely good. However, some flaws are visible, such as the camera or wooden acting, at times the film is too raw, but all this is understandable.

El mariachi... the 1992 one. It's a lesson on how to make a film, by yourself, on a small part of a shoe-string budget. Carlos gallardo is a mariachi player. But not gang banger. So when he gets mistaken for an assassin, he goes on the run to save his life. I encourage you to read the trivia section to see just how the film was made. Innerastin stuff! Which explains the high number of mistakes in the goofs section! It's totally amateur hour, but it's still fun to watch. A fight and gun-shoot-out, where no-one grunts or yells. Totally silent. Couldn't afford the foley guy. Some great scenes of familiar mexico. It's silly but fun. Most of the shots are done with the close-up lens, which is weird. Directed by robert rodriguez. Filmed in ciudad acuña, mexico, which is about three hours west of san antonio. Currently showing on the pluto channel. It looks like they tried to make a television series from this film... which didn't last long.

Pretty good with so little. Of course the acting isn't that good at all, nor is the dialog and special effects (only action). But the story, plot and main character are all very likable. I'll admit I am not a Robert Rodriguez fan, I'll Repeat NOT a Robert Rodriguez fan this is my favorite of his work. Where did he turn after Four Rooms (which I didn't even really like) he became Hollywood BS is what he did. He conformed to BS of Hollywood because for an ambitious very cheap independent film he had a promising career. I'm sure others would disagree (just because he's made much money and success in Hollywood) but nonetheless a bunch of BS is what he's done after El Mariachi. The end was good and like I said the plot was simple the story was interesting and the Mariachi was a likable character.

This is pretty good for a limited budget film debut. Rodriguez has campiness, Hong Kong-style action sequences, good music and a Western atmosphere.

Carlos Gallardo is good as the main protagonist and it sure is a hoot seeing him jump off of buildings with his guitar, hide in cars and escape at least a dozen assassins.

It's so cool and funny that it reminds the viewer of a Jackie Chan flick with a hint of John Woo as well. Rodriguez does however suffer from the budget due to having the in-between scenes drag on even for a eighty-one minute film project.

I should probably see this film again, in English, because while I'm in Spanish class and saw this on a Telemundo channel, I didn't quite understand this film as much as I could have.

Well-known as the film that put director Robert Rodriguez "on the map" – he was able to remake it as an English-language film three years later, as DESPERADO with Antonio Banderas – EL MARIACHI is an entertaining little film that once again shows that it's possible to shoot decent action on a very low budget. In tone it reminds me a lot of the gritty crime thrillers that came out of Turkey in the 1970s, except with more comedy and romance. The story, one of mistaken identity, is kept simple but there are quite a few decent twists as things play out. Rodriguez really gave a tour-de-force effort behind the scenes; not only did he act as director and editor, he also performed most of the other duties behind the camera. His swooping, frenetic, perfectly-edited style brought him to Hollywood's attention and the rest is, as they say, history.

Back to EL MARIACHI, and it's a film with some decent performances – first-timer Carlos Gallardo essays the reluctant hero role with some skill, while Reinol Martinez's thug-turned-assassin packs some real presence, and Peter Marquardt's villain is supremely slimy. I could have done without the wooden Consuelo Gomez in the romance scenes; thankfully she was replaced by Salma Hayek in DESPERADO. Said romance scenes drag the pacing of the film down in the middle and leave a hole of about twenty minutes where not a lot happens.

Thankfully, things pick up for an engaging final shoot-out, and there's always an action scene never too far away. The shoot-outs are a lot of fun, as are the stunts – I especially liked the "bus swing" which shows you need practically no money or CGI effects to create an exciting shot. While the fact that it's a low-budget, Mexican, Spanish-language film – one that Rodriguez regarded as "practice" for his later Hollywood career – work against it and mean that most people will never have seen or heard of it – EL MARIACHI is a fun B-movie that fans of the director will enjoy.

This movie put director Robert Rodriguez "on the map." He followed up with two sequels: "Desperado" and "Once Upon A Time In Mexico." Not surprising, the best of the three was this low-budget opening film. As Rodriquez had more and more money to spend on the sequels, the stories got more and more carried away with too many explosions and special-effects, losing the charm of this first effort.

Unlike the sequels, this Mexican-made, so it is in Spanish with English subtitles. Don't let that scare you away. There isn't a great deal of dialog so keeping up with the subtitles is very easy.

The movie has very interesting camera closeups and angles as Rodriquez showed he was going to be a stylish director. The story is simple but effective, suspenseful and even with some humor. Unnlike his subsequent films in this trilogy, the action is not overdone here.

The length is also is a plus. At 80 minutes you can be thoroughly entertained in less than an hour-and-a half. The only disappointment to me was the print quality on th DVD, but I got an early edition. There might be better editions out since. It's not fuzzy but it's not sharp, either.

Anyway: highly recommend for actions/crime buffs who like style in their photography, or saw the sequels and would like to know the history of this particular "Mariachi."

When Robert Rodriguez's "El Mariachi" was released back in the early '90s, it received a tremendous amount of press because it was made for a measly $7,000. Thanks to about a million dollars of marketing, the film exploded first onto the indie scene, then into mainstream cinema. With two expensive sequels, 1995's "Desperado" ($7 million) and this fall's "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" ($30 million), the original film has garnered even more attention.

"El Mariachi" tells a simple tale of mistaken identity. The protagonist and title character is a mere wandering mariachi looking for work, until he is confused with an escaped prisoner. Then of course, all hell breaks loose. Bullets fly and the fun begins.

Strictly on its cinematic merits, "El Mariachi" is not as great as you have probably heard. The story, as I described, is nothing special. The acting doesn't detract at all from the movie, but no one stands out either. There are a number of continuity errors; shots within individual scenes are inconsistently lit; some of the cuts seem unusual; and the special effects are elementary. The technical aspects, except the necessarily innovative cinematography, are not quite up to Hollywood standards. All of this would not seem to add up to a classic independent film.

But the borderline crude nature of all these pieces add up to a fascinating film, and they do that for one reason: Robert Rodriguez. His creativity and vision collide with his lack of money to produce a fascinating film. Filling virtually every major role on the crew, he creates a style all his own. Within this style, all of the "problems" are transformed into resourcefulness and creativity, the product of which is a consistent look akin to what he forged in Once Upon a Time in Mexico and his other films.

This uniformity alters one's perspective on the entire film and its parts. A basic story somehow grabs your attention. There is a charm to the naivete of the actors. The lighting often proves to be a refreshingly unique change from the norm. Continuity problems can willingly be ignored. Even the meager special effects aren't much of a distraction. The almost dizzying editing actually enhances the tale's frenetic nature. On top of all of this, Rodriguez utilizes unique zooms, angles, frame rates, and film speeds that give the flick an playful visual look not often found.

Bottom Line: While none of these aforementioned pieces would work all that well individually, Rodriguez uses these tools to morph a dusty Mexican fable into a cartoonishly enjoyable story that dollar-for-dollar may be the best movie ever made. 8 of 10.

(Side note: The new DVD is one of the best I've seen. Not necessarily in scope, but in content. Rodriguez's nonpareil information about a remarkable piece of filmmaking is simply superb. Well worth your $15.)

I know the budget for this film was somewhere between 5000 and 7000 dollars, but I would like to comment more on the pacing and frenetic film style Rodriguez bestows upon us. Low budget or not,this film has energy. It never lets down for more than a few minutes and the editing is amazing. Robert Rodriguez has such a knowledge of film-making that he makes this movie look like a million bucks easy. The film isn't perfect, but on sheer energy alone it will entertain you more than most over-blown Hollywood action films.

El Mariachi plays his guitar but is mistaken for a hit men. Lot of thugs with guns keep trying to kill him. The story isn't the big draw of this movie. It's really just an excuse to shot a lot of guns and make an action movie. Robert Rodriguez signals his arrival with this well shot indie. Sure the big draw when it came out was the low low cost of production. That didn't matter when it comes to the value of the camera work. Even the most benign scenes are shot in an exciting compelling way. It's a great sample of what Rodriguez would do in Hollywood later on.

I recently watched it again after almost 20 years. I have to admit that I don't remember the narration or the dubbing. They sounded odd to me. It's very distracting.

Let's give credit where credit is due. Although this picture had an extremely low-budget, it goes to prove that a nice film can still be produced if the director has the imagination and talent to pull it off. And let's face it, the sad fact is that there are all too many movies being made today that cost much more than this particular film ($7000) but fail to deliver the same level of satisfaction. The director (Robert Rodriguez) deserves every attribute due to him. The humor was good and there were some social commentaries that I think some people might have missed. That is not to say, however, that this film was necessarily perfect. It wasn't. The acting wasn't great by any means. Neither was the script. But then, the movie was originally produced in Spanish and the version I saw was dubbed in English, so it is possible that some of the dialogue may have been lost in translation. The ending though, was unexpected and abrupt and I didn't quite like it. As far as the characters are concerned, I thought Reinol Martinez (playing the part of the gangster "Azul") did the best. Consuelo Gomez ("Domino") was attractive and put in a fair performance as well. Carlos Gallardo ("El Mariachi") was average at best. The rest of the cast were pretty much forgettable. Having said all of this, the fact that this film was produced with a low budget doesn't mean that a person should lower his standards and give it a higher score than it deserves when it comes to evaluating it. This wasn't "Gone with the Wind" so there's no need to give it an equivalent rating. The bottom line is that it was an enjoyable low-budget film and it made a hefty profit. No need to argue with that.

Robert's feature length debut was made for just $6000 and it's a perfect example of how to get your start as a filmmaker and make something really entertaining with a small budget! We follow the titular character (Carlos Gallardo) who is mistaken for a murderer and then becomes most wanted by a gang intent on killing him. It wears its love of the western genre on its sleeve and is very well performed; Gallardo is really likeable in the central role which has a lot to do with the rewatchability of the film! It's a very basic plot and it does feel a bit stretched over a feature length duration but it's nevertheless an impressive debut that made a huge impression and enabled our main man to venture forth onto larger pastures

There's a certain kind of gleeful, almost childish energy to the low-budget grindhouse aesthetic, something that a lot of directors (including Rodriguez) have tried to capture artificially in recent years (to decidedly mixed results, but that's a different story.) El mariachi, however, has the genuine article in spades, and that's probably it's greatest virtue. At heart it's a mistaken-identity comedy about an assassin and a mariachi who get mixed up with tragic results. The central conceit is essentially comedic, and the violence sometimes gets so over the top you have to laugh, but for the most part El Mariachi plays it straight -- which only makes it more fun. I was fortunate enough to see this movie on a big screen with a big audience as part of a film class, and that's really the only way to watch it -- with an audience hooting and laughing along, creating that raucous carnivalesque atmosphere that mainstream movies are too tame and wannabe-respectable for. I suspect El Mariachi might just seem flat if I watched it on my own, however -- after all, there are a lot of parts that are too goofy for their own good, and more than a bit of exploitation. Still, there's something to be said for the communal act of moviewatching, and El Mariachi was able to evoke that experience that none of the classical or art-house movies did for that class. Not one to seriously contemplate, but a fun one to watch with friends nonetheless.

Robert Rodriguez has his first little/big film here that is by no means big money wise. The book written by Rodriguez, Rebel Without a Crew, illustrates this point very well, but to see the film in its present form you might wonder if it really cost more than he says. But it's this same grit that adds to its rough charm, like a slightly more cartoonish, crazy and action-packed film in the vein of Night of the Living Dead (shoe-string done with a level of truth for what the genre material needs). The budget for this film was 7000. That is the cheapest price for a film given wide release I've still heard of, and probably is. And watching this film I noticed that a lot the big hundreds of millions of dollars spent on other films, while usually bankrolled with high-powered Hollywood casts and immense crews working on special effects, they lost an intensity that this film has even in its brief quiet scenes. Plus, as in the rest of the Mariachi films, it's often got a slick, quick sense of humor where Rodriguez's compositions say almost all there needs to be said. The story shows a singing musician (El Mariachi) who is not looking for trouble, but everyone is wanting to kill a man carrying a guitar case, which he has. It's a nifty little classic of exploitation/action that was meant for video markets but doesn't compromise. It's even got OK acting.

This is a flawed movie. The actors are, for the most part, mediocre. Even worse is their hair. But some elements make this a very fun film to watch. A guitar case full of guns, an evil gringo, a "modern mariachi" who plays the keyboard, some hilarious fast forward scenes, and the ugliest motorcycle ever made. Also at the beginning there is one great voice over, when El Mariachi is walking on the road along with a turtle. Dramatic scenes like this are mixed with humorous ones (some intended to be funny, some not), and that makes the film interesting.

If you know a bit of spanish, you'll appreciate the fact that the characters speak very slowly, which allows you to watch the film without subtitles. Also, I recommend watching Desperado right after El Mariachi, you'll understand the mythology of it and enjoy it more.

Jaded, perhaps, by years of toiling in the Public Access field (and having sat through scores of first, foundering efforts by scores of foundering aspiring filmmakers), I was taken completely by surprise by the remarkable Robert Rodriguez's first film. As sure and as "polished" as any feature, EL MARIACHI belies its no-budget roots and stands as a testament to determination- and talent. If you're one of those whose attention span precludes sitting down and actually reading Rodriguez's book REBEL WITHOUT A CREW, I recommend obtaining a DVD featuring his "ten-minute film school." And pay very close attention: There'll be a quiz afterward.

Most people do not know that this is part one to Desperado. I just got to see this film recently and was quite impressed. The acting was not bad for probably most of their first times. There was good comic relief in the film to lower some of the drama but not too much to take away from the film itself. I believe this film is a good watch and has gotten a pretty high score from me. Check it out if you get a chance.

I am a big fan of Rodriguez's films. Particularly 'From Dusk til Dawn','Planet Terror' and 'Sin City'. Then I bought the film 'Desperado' and learned it was a sequel to "El Mariachi". Since I have OCD and everything must be in order, I told myself I had to see 'El Mariachi' before I would allow myself to see 'Desperado'. I looked all over and ended up buying 'El Mariachi', not knowing the movie experience I would soon get...

'El Mariachi' is a low-budget movie and you can tell it is. But it is without a doubt much MUCH better than a lot of these excuses for "movies" they dump on us these days. The concept is simple enough; a traveling Mariachi player is looking for work and gets mistaken for a killer. He has to fight his way out of this one.

The cast was made up of Hollywood "nobodies" but they gave performances so realistic and Oscar-worthy that you couldn't tell. El Mariachi (the character) was wonderfully played by Carlos Gallardo, who should have gotten an award for his part. You sympathized and rooted for him throughout the entire film. The lead actress, Domino was also professionally played by Consuelo Gomez. The REAL killer (with whom El Mariachi is mistaken for), "Azul" was probably my favorite character besides El Mariachi himself, played by the talented Reinol Martinez. There's also the antagonists, like the "gringo" mob leader who tried to kill El Mariachi and Azul, and has a crush on Domino. The leader, Mauricio "Moco" was played by the surprisingly good Peter Marquardt. There's also his main enforcer, who is always after Mariachi and gives a great performance yet doesn't speak a word, "Bigoton", played by Jaime de Hoyos.

Given the small budget, the used/limited props/equipment, and the cast, Rodriguez created a cinematic masterpiece. Many probably do not like the movie because of its lower quality and the fact that its all in Spanish. But these only make the whole experience even better.

Fans of Rodriguez will not want to miss this one. Rodriguez starts off his movie career on a very good note with "El Mariachi."

This movie gets a 10/10. Check it out. Be sure to watch in Spanish with English subtitles, and not in English (audio).

A low budget flick, which is more fun to watch that its regular budget sequel, Desperado. Essentially made with just Rodriguez and a camera, it shows that an entertaining movie can be made without a lot of money. It has a low budget charm, but not the the one you get when you watch a 1950s B-Movie and find its stupidity hilarious.

So many of the reviewers of this listing have based their reviews on the amazing feat by Rodriguez in creating a film for $7,000.

The fact of the matter is that this budget figure is little more than marketing hype, promoted by Rodriguez himself in his book "Rebel without a Crew". This book has sold significant numbers to indie film makers over the years, looking to make successful films on a shoestring and has also dramatically enhanced the reputation of Rodriguez.

The truth is that Rodriguez did indeed make this film for $7,000 but the final version the public got to see, the version reviewers of this IMDb listing have seen, needed a further $300,000 spent on it to bring it up to technical and commercial standards/expectations.

Even for an estimated total budget of around $325,000 this is still a decent little film, demonstrating film making talent on a limited budget and it's certainly worth a viewing but don't judge it on the basis that it cost $7,000 to make!