The story surrounding El Mariachi actually deserves to be made into a film. The debut film by Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) was filmed with a budget of 9,000 US dollars, of which only 7,200 were used. The director, screenwriter and cameraman even underwent drug tests to finance the film.
That’s what El Mariachi, the first film by Tarantino’s friend Robert Rodriguez, is about
We’re not just dealing with an action flick here, but also with a classic comedy of mistakes: The serious criminal Azul breaks out of a Mexican prison and wants himself with a guitar case full of weapons take revenge on the drug lord Moco. He in turn sends out a bunch of criminals to get rid of the criminal who wants to get his hands on him.
Hits at the same time but also a young mariachi (i.e. a Mexican singer and musician, played by Carlos Gallardo) in the small town. Of course he also carries a guitar case with him. Only not full of weapons, but with a guitar in it. But the killers don’t know what Azul looks like, they’re just looking for a dark-clothed man with a guitar case and the disaster begins.
Columbia TriStar Movie
El Mariachi
Tarantino’s friend Robert Rodriguez even tested drugs for the production of El Mariachi
Robert Rodriguez, aka Hollywood’s one-man army, firmly believes that the best way to learn filmmaking is through filmmaking. That’s why he didn’t hesitate for long, but moved heaven and earth for his first big film. He hired amateur actors and did without a crew, did everything myself and with just a single camera. For example, the prison guards are real prison guards, so money could be saved on actors and costumes.
But in order to get enough money to film El Mariachi, Robert Rodriguez is said to have undergone various drug tests. Meanwhile, he also wrote the script for the film. The original plan was only to release El Mariachi for the Mexican video market. Ultimately he became but then bought by Columbia and it was a huge success (via: Filmmaker Magazine).
In fact, El Mariachi was so well received that Robert Rodriguez almost shoot the remake of it immediately afterwards could. This time, however, with well-known actors and actresses such as Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas and a significantly higher budget. You probably know the result as Desperado.
In the stream: You can stream El Mariachi here
El Mariachi is currently not available in a streaming flat rate. You can rent and buy the film from Amazon, Maxdome, Apple TV or Google. You can now find the successor, Desperado, with a subscription on Netflix and WOW.
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